Jerry Jones makes feelings on Cowboys' Matt Eberflus clear amid criticisms

Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus came under fire even before his unit produced yet another poor showing in this past Sunday's 30-27 loss to the Carolina Panthers that dropped Dallas to 2-3-1 on the season. 

On Monday, first-year Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer confirmed that he wasn't planning on parting ways with Eberflus anytime soon. During a Tuesday appearance on Dallas sports radio station 105.3 The Fan, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones offered his support for Eberflus.

Why Jerry Jones wants Matt Eberflus "in the foxhole"

"He’s had tremendous experience," Jones said about Eberflus, per Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News. "He’s dealt with adversity with a long record of not only with us but with his tenure in Chicago and Indianapolis, and had some great successes. But he’s had his tail kicked. That’s who I want in the foxhole with me because there’s no such thing as having all the answers. So I jumped at it when I saw we had a chance to get him (in the offseason). I still feel as strongly as I did the day we brought him in here."

Eberflus served as the defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts from 2018 up until he was hired as head coach of the Chicago Bears in January 2022. He then compiled a 14-32 record and seemingly lost the Chicago locker room before he was fired in late November 2024. 

More recently, the Dallas defense fell to last in the league in yards allowed per game (411.7) and to 31st in points surrendered per contest (30.7) after Jones agreed to trade star pass-rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers for two first-round draft picks and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark in late August. Panthers running back Rico Dowdle torched the Cowboys, his former team, for 239 scrimmage yards and a receiving touchdown in Week 6. 

Why Jerry Jones isn't making a big move after Panthers game

"We were within a possession," Jones said about the Panthers game. "If we’d drive that ball at the end of the game, we got a chance to win it. ...What’s interesting is that the way the game panned out was very, very on point with the way that our coaches planned for the game to pan out. We just thought we could get more stops. We thought we could physically do a better job with them, and they were able to scheme us a little bit to their credit."

Eberflus will next be tasked with stopping a Washington Commanders (3-3) offense that features exciting young quarterback Jayden Daniels. Daniels tallied three touchdown passes in a 25-24 loss to the Bears on Monday night. 

As of Tuesday morning, ESPN BET had the Cowboys as 1.5-point underdogs for the home game that will take place this coming Sunday afternoon.