Jerry Jones may have just signaled a change is coming.

Dallas Cowboys v Denver Broncos – NFL 2025

The Dallas Cowboys’ defense has been a talking point for most of the season. Team owner/GM Jerry Jones went out of his way to make sure that defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus had everything he needed, going as far as to trade for Quinnen Williams and Logan Wilson.

That seemed to work like a charm in the first three games after the trade deadline. The Cowboys went back to their old ways after that impressive stretch, and their defensive shortcomings may cost them a trip to the playoffs. That’s why it’s not much of a surprise to hear that Jones might be done with Eberflus already, according to The Athletic’s Jon Machota.

Jerry Jones Sounds Ready to Move on From Matt Eberflus

“Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on 1053 The Fan while talking about DC Matt Eberflus said he believes that coaches should adapt their scheme to the players. Jones doesn’t think their talent is an issue,” Machota wrote on X. “‘I’m satisfied that the players we have fit what we’re trying to do very well.’”

Notably, the controversial mogul didn’t stop there. After watching the struggling J.J. McCarthy dominate them after being the most mocked player in the league this season, he believes that’s a worrisome trend for his defense:

“It seems like we’re always saying that about these QBs — some of them that haven’t played as well, but when they play us, they play better. I think that’s telling,” Jones said, per Joseph Hoyt of The Dallas Morning News.

Truth be told, it’s easy to understand where Jones is coming from. The Cowboys’ defense ranks 29th in total yards (391.1), 32nd in passing yards (254.8), 18th in rushing yards (120.1), and 31st in points (30.0). They also rank 30th in third-down conversion rate allowed at a whopping 46.5%.

Adding Williams to the mix worked wonders for their run defense, but there’s only so much a single player can do. Eberflus has a proven track record of success as a defensive mind, but he has failed to make the necessary adjustments. Now, Jones doesn’t trust him, and there’s no coming back from that.

The Cowboys have had three defensive coordinators in the past three years. While having some continuity would be ideal, and Brian Schottenheimer has certainly earned the benefit of the doubt, it’s become painfully evident that Matt Eberflus might not be the right guy to keep the reins of this defense.

Jones, clearly, is beginning to think the same thing.

Matt Eberflus didn’t give the Cowboys any advantage against the NFC North

Ever since Week 2, when the Cowboys welcomed the New York Giants to AT&T Stadium, almost every team Dallas has faced has been a “get right game” for their offense. When Eberflus came in to replace Mike Zimmer, the Jones’ were hoping they were getting the same hot-name coach who left the team after the 2017 season to become the defensive coordinator in Indianapolis with the Colts.

Eberflus went on to have enough success with the Colts to land him a head coaching job with the Chicago Bears. In his nearly three years with the Bears, his defenses were hit-or-miss, but for the most part were not the weakest part of the operation—that fell on the shoulders of the offense, and his lack of experience as a game manager in big-game moments.

It felt like a natural transition to hand the keys over to a coordinator who was familiar with Dallas and lend a helping hand to a first-time head coach, Brian Schottenheimer. However, for a variety of reasons, the wheels fell off early and often, leaving Dallas with a historically bad defense for most of the season.

Allowing opponents to score an average of 38 points per game is unacceptable. Allowing this to occur against teams from your old neighborhood is grounds for dismissal.

The NFC North should be a division Eberflus is well familiar with, given that he coached in it for three years. Okay, so maybe the Bears can be an exception given having a first year head coa……… oh, wait. Ben Johnson moved just four hours west of where he had his claim to fame as the offensive coordinator with the Detroit Lions, so Eberflus had no reason not to be ready for the offensive play callers in the division.

The familiarity goes both ways. Johnson, Matt LaFleur, and Kevin O’Connell are used to playing an Eberflus-led defense, too. If the Cowboys want to contend with the top teams in the conference, including the Lions and Packers, they need a coordinator who can keep up with the NFC North. Look at Mike Macdonald in Seattle. A major reason he was hired as head coach was that his defensive scheme gave the Seahawks a fighting chance against Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan in the NFC West.

When the Cowboys’ schedule came out, it felt like having Eberflus in the building would have given Dallas a fighter’s chance against the teams in his former division. Instead, Dallas’ defense lost by knockout a didn’t manage to win a single game.