After several candidates and rumors, owner Jerry Jones selected Brian Schottenheimer as the new head coach of the Dallas Cowboys for the 2025 NFL season. Now the search has begun for the ideal candidate for the vacant defensive coordinator position. And it appears that a former head coach of a team in the league is one of the candidates.
Prior to assuming his new role as Dallas‘ head coach, Schottenheimer was the team’s offensive coordinator. This will be his first coaching experience since joining America’s Team in 2022.
Jones chose to promote a member of the Cowboys to replace Mike McCarthy, who stepped down as head coach following the expiration of his contract at the end of the 2024 NFL season in which Dallas had a disappointing campaign and fell out of the playoffs.
Who is the former NFL team coach who could be the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator?
Jones has already set his sights on an old acquaintance for an important position on the coaching staff. According to NFL insider Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus is a leading candidate for the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator position under new head coach Schottenheimer.
Eberflus worked in Dallas
Eberflus already had previous experience in Dallas, where he spent seven seasons between 2011 and 2016, holding the positions of defensive passing game coordinator and linebackers coach. After his time with the Cowboys, he took on the role of defensive coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts for four years before becoming the head coach of the Bears.
Eberflus as Chicago Bears head coach
Matt Eberflus had been named head coach of the Chicago Bears on January 27, 2022. While his tenure with Caleb Williams’ quarterbacking staff started off promisingly, he had disappointing results last season that led to his dismissal after three seasons at the helm.