Matt Eberflus Fired by Cowboys, Who Are Top Candidates to Replace DC?

The Dallas Cowboys will have a fourth defensive coordinator in four years when they begin the 2026 season after firing Matt Eberflus on Tuesday.

Eberflus was the team's third DC in three years after Dan Quinn and Mike Zimmer held the position previously. It's safe to say this firing was anything but a surprise, as team owner Jerry Jones made it clear he was not happy with the defense's performance this season.

On Dec. 21, Jones told reporters "it might not count as difficult" to evaluate Eberflus' performance after the 2025 campaign ended.

"It's certainly something that we have to do," Jones continued. "And that is to look at the entire year and look at what our options are, and how to correct it so we're not here at the same time next year. .. The target is on him because of our statistical, as well as actual play on the defensive side of the ball, but that goes with it."

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Just five days later, Jones said on 105.3 The Fan "not at all" when asked if he was pleased with the defensive coaching. "We have a lot of work to do over there. But we can do it."

On Dec. 28, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported Dallas seemed "destined" to move on from Eberflus and could target Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores since his contract was expiring after the 2025 season.

Even though Minnesota could exclusively negotiate with Flores until that contract expired, that made him one of the candidates to replace Eberflus along with some other notable names:

• Al Harris, Chicago Bears Defensive Backs Coach
• Christian Parker, Philadelphia Eagles Defensive Backs Coach
• Brian Flores, Minnesota Vikings Defensive Coordinator
• NaVorro Bowman, Los Angeles Chargers Linebackers Coach
• Jonathan Gannon, Former Arizona Cardinals Head Coach
• Nick Rallis, Arizona Cardinals Defensive Coordinator

While the 2025 season was one to forget for Eberflus, his defense was put in a less-than-ideal scenario before the campaign even started when Jones traded the unit's best player in Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers.

It was clear from the early going how things were going to go without Parsons when the Cowboys gave up more than 30 points three straight times in Weeks 2 through 4.

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They ended up last in the league in scoring defense and 30th in yards allowed, which is a major reason Dallas missed the playoffs for the second straight season despite a dangerous offense that featured Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens and Javonte Williams.

Eberflus enjoyed more success when he was the defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts from 2018 through 2021 during a stretch that saw the team make the playoffs twice.

However, his tenure as the head coach of the Chicago Bears was a disappointing one when he went 14-32 from 2022 until he was fired in 2024. The Cowboys gave him a chance to bounce back and find success in his former role with a new team, but he did not take advantage of the opportunity.