FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys fired first-year defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus on Tuesday after they allowed the most points and intercepted the fewest passes in franchise history.
It’s the second consecutive season in which Eberflus has been fired. He was let go midseason in 2024, his third year as head coach of the Chicago Bears.
Eberflus made it to the end of the season in his return to Dallas, where he had been an assistant from 2011-17 before going to Indianapolis as defensive coordinator. But the 55-year-old’s fate appeared sealed before Sunday’s finale, a 34-17 loss at the New York Giants that set a club record as the ninth game of allowing at least 30 points.
“Having known Matt Eberflus for decades now, we have tremendous respect and appreciation for him as a coach and a person,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. “After reviewing and discussing the results of our defensive performance this season, though, it was clear that change is needed. This is the first step in that process, and we will continue that review as it applies to reaching our much higher expectations.”
The departure of Eberflus means the Cowboys will have their fourth defensive coordinator in four seasons, following Dan Quinn in 2023, Mike Zimmer last year and Eberflus. Dallas’ past five defensive coordinators have been former NFL head coaches.
The Cowboys (7-9-1) finished last in the NFL in scoring defense and passing defense and 30th overall, wasting one of quarterback Dak Prescott’s best seasons for the league’s No. 2 offense.
Dallas gave up 500 points for the first time in club history, allowing 511 for an average of 30.1. The only higher average was the 30.8 points per game given up by the franchise’s winless expansion team in 1960.
The defense’s six interceptions fell one short of the previous franchise low, and the 12 takeaways were the second fewest in club history. The Cowboys finished tied for 29th in the NFL with a minus-9 turnover margin.
Jones didn’t do Eberflus any favors by trading star pass rusher Micah Parsons a week before the season started.
One of the two first-round picks acquired from Green Bay in that deal led to a trade for standout defensive tackle Quinnen Williams of the New York Jets, a move that sparked a three-game winning streak under first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer.
Jones has said the most surprising moment of the season was the 44-30 loss at Detroit that ended the winning streak and sent the Cowboys tumbling to a 1-4 finish. Trailing most of the game, Dallas couldn’t get a fourth-quarter stop after trimming the deficit to three with 10 minutes remaining.
Dallas has consecutive losing seasons for the first time since the last of three in a row in 2002. The Cowboys had three straight 12-win playoff seasons from 2021-23 but just one postseason victory.
Schottenheimer replaced Mike McCarthy after a 7-10 finish in 2024, and the Cowboys went with a coach they knew to complement Schottenheimer, who calls the plays on offense.
The zone-heavy scheme under Eberflus never seemed to fit with personnel that was more familiar with man-to-man coverage, leading to blown assignments and plenty of open space in the secondary. Plus, the pass rush struggled without Parsons.
Eberflus moved to the coaching booth from the sideline with three games remaining, but the results didn’t change much.
“I don’t really think about it that way,” Eberflus said when asked before the season finale what he might have done differently. “I think about being in the moment and just keep adjusting and learning and growing and getting better. I don’t think I’d do anything differently.”
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By SCHUYLER DIXON
AP Pro Football Writer
