Cowboys Interview Update Puts Eberflus In 'Challenging Situation'

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys' search landed on offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer being promoted to head coach, with "Schotty'' conducting his press conference here at The Star on Monday.

Next order of business around here? We're told Schottenheimer and the Joneses will host Matt Eberflus here in the building with the plan to hire him as the defensive coordinator.

Eberflus’ time in Chicago ended after a clock management gaffe wasted an opportunity to beat the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, the last of a series of breakdowns that spoiled a once-promising Bears season. 

But Eberflus is generally highly regarded as a coordinator ... and the Joneses know him from his time as a Dallas assistant coaching the linebackers from 2011–2017. He added "passing game coordinator'' to his resume for his final two seasons after having been mentored by a collection of famous older coaches who ran a variety of styles.

He’s going to be welcomed in Dallas to make defensive play calls and turn a handful of dynamic talents into a cohesive unit. On that front, there’s reason to believe Eberflus will find success in Dallas.

Before Chicago, he was the defensive coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts from 2018–2021. There, his defenses ranked ninth, 17th, ninth, and 13th, respectively, in expected points added per play. Notably, this came without a cast of stars – particularly on the edge.

Eberflus will be Dallas' third defensive coordinator in as many years, with Dan Quinn here in 2022 and Mike Zimmer - who tells us he's retiring in an exclusive visit - here in 2024.

"That's a challenging situation,'' conceded COO Stephen Jones. "But we're in the process of putting together a great staff.''

What might work for Eberflus in Dallas is that like his two predecessors working under the departed head coach Mike McCarthy, he will run the defense while first-time head coach Schottenheimer oversees the offense.