Cowboys To Evaluate DC Matt Eberflus After 2025 Season

Dallas lost 34-17 to Los Angeles on Sunday. The Cowboys entered Week 16 ranked 31st in scoring defense and and dead last against the pass. Especially with those figures emerging after mid-season reinforcements (via trade and players returning to health) on defense, Eberflus’ job security has increasingly become a talking point.

No moves in the immediate future will be coming on the sidelines, though. When speaking to the media after the game, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said (via Jon Machota of The Athletic) there will not be any firings made during the final two weeks of the season. Full evaluation of all coaches – which of course includes Eberflus – will take place after the campaign has ended.

That ensures Eberflus will remain in place for two more weeks at a minimum. Beyond that point, though, it will be interesting to see if the former Bears head coach is retained for 2026 or not. Dallas has struggled in numerous departments on defense for much of the season, one in which a turnaround seemed to be taking place during a three-game winning streak. Since then, however, the Cowboys have dropped three in a row while allowing at least 34 points each time.

Eberflus has received an endorsement on multiple occasions in 2025. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer and COO Stephen Jones are among those who have backed the 55-year-old, but things have not gone according to plan on defense for most of the year. Mike Zimmer proved to be a one-and-done defensive coordinator for Dallas in 2024, and a similar situation could be playing out in Eberflus’ case.

“I should, if I’m anything, know and have accessibility to the greatest choices that you could have regarding coaches,” Jones said (via Machota). “That doesn’t mean you can get them all, because they may be committed in other ways. But one of the great things about where we are and what we got is we can get good coaches. That’s not crossed my mind, as far as the inability to effectively do something different if that’s what we decide.”

Based on those comments, Jones and the Cowboys will certainly look into the possibility of finding a new DC through an external hire or an internal promotion. Eberflus is a familiar face in the organization based on his tenure as LBs coach from 2011-17, something which will no doubt factor into the team’s decision. A final call will not be made for the time being, but the possibility of a firing shortly after the season ends will remain something to watch for.