Odighizuwa Points Out Improvements in Cowboys Coaching

The most glaring deficiency in the Dallas Cowboys performance in their 7-10 season in 2024 was the inability to stop the run.

Under a new defensive coordinator in Mike Zimmer who came out of retirement to join then head coach Mike McCarthy, the Cowboys allowed the most rushing touchdowns, fourth-most yards, and third-most yards per attempt in the entire NFL.

The largest proponent of those struggles was the poor health of multiple key position groups and the lack of depth at defensive tackle around 3-tech starter Osa Odighizuwa.

After parting ways with McCarthy, the Cowboys promoted Brian Schottenheimer as head coach. Schotty then hired a former Cowboys coach in Matt Eberflus to be this year's defensive coordinator.

Odighizuwa now enters his fifth season in Dallas and will play under his third different DC - and third in as many years.

However, Osa has already noticed the differences in Zimmer and Eberflus' schemes, with the latter's looking like an upgrade.

"Based on some of the things that we're being asked to do right now, I was going back and just watching some of the tape from last year, I'm like 'If I was doing the stuff that we're being coached to do now, I'm making this play, I'm making that play.'" Odighizuwa said via the team website.

"So just seeing that there's going to be a lot more opportunities based on the stuff that he's having us do."

Odighizuwa is already finding areas he can improve from last season under Eberflus' guidance, but he remembers that last season's disappointment should not be completely wiped from memory.

"I wouldn't say [last season's] anything to erase," Odighizuwa said. "You address it, you look at it, obviously it wasn't the year that we wanted, but like I say all the time when you ask me about past things in this game of football, you don't have time to go in the past."

Last season, Odighizuwa took his largest leap as a pro, finishing with a career high 4.5 sacks and 47 tackles.

With Eberflus conducting the defense - and a freshly-signed four-year, $80 million contract - Odighizuwa believes he can expound on that momentum and greatly improve the Cowboys interior defense.