Shortly after a full press conference with the new Cowboys head coach, the organization unveiled their next big plan: a new defensive coordinator. Specifically, the addition of Matt Eberflus, the former Chicago Bears head coach. And so, the Cowboys defense will have to learn an entirely new scheme. But hopefully, as a defensive coordinator, Matt Eberflus can replicate some of his former success in the league.
The Cowboys Future with New Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberflus
Dallas Cowboys Defense and the Run Attack
A blaring flag with the Cowboys for the past two seasons has been the inability to stop the run. This season, they suffered injuries to both DeMarcus Lawrence and Marshawn Kneeland, who were supposed to be their run stoppers. Although signs of success started to crop up for the defense, the overwhelming tone is still inability to stop the run. This is where Eberflus can step in with his unique skillset.
Back in 2016, Eberflus worked with the Cowboys as the Defensive Passing Game Coordinator, managing to bring the team to number one in the league for rushing yards allowed. This led to other stats like being 5th in points per game for that season. A revitalized rushing attack is exactly what the Cowboys need if they don’t want a repeat of 2024.
Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberflus and Creating Turnovers on Defense
The turnover deferential for the Cowboys led to quite a few losses. Although Mike Zimmer’s defense began to click later in the year, it never created a massive amount of turnovers. Eberflus can change all of that.
During his years as a DC with the Indianapolis Colts, The Colts managed to keep moving up in their turnover margin. In 2019, the Colts were 11th in the league. But in 2020, they saw a jump to 5th, and then 2nd in 2021, only behind the Cowboys. Even with the Bears, some of that success trickled into the organization, where they were 5th in turnovers created in 2023. Turnovers create momentum shifts for the team. The Cowboys offense needed more opportunities to score. Now, the hope is that they’d finally get those chances with Eberflus in charge.
Continued Reliance on Culture Building
Although Eberflus was unsuccessful as a head coach, he managed to bring drive out of his players, especially on defense. This is part of his success repairing broken defensive programs. He manages to bring the best out of his players and create schemes that work. He’s also another familiar face for the Cowboys. He worked with them from 2011 to 2017. The expectations of the organization aren’t new and strange to him as they would be for others buying in for the first time.
Instead, the Cowboys get a head coach who has made it paramount that culture be the priority of the organization and a defensive coordinator who has roused armies in the field defensively. The Cowboys will be working towards stabilizing their linebacker core, who lost DeMarvion Overshown mid-season and could see the departure of Eric Kendricks. They’ll probably bring in new guys via the draft. Good thing they’ve already seen Eberflus have success with linebackers in the past, like Demarcus Ware. Although there will be a lot of system adjustments, there are many positive aspects about this change that could lead to much more success for the Dallas Cowboys in 2025 and beyond.
Main Image: Mike Dinovo – USA Today Sports
