Report: Cowboys defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton to leave for Titans

Dallas Cowboys defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton plans to take the same role with the Tennessee Titans, according to Titans insider Paul Kuharsky. This puts an end to Whitecotton’s short stint in Dallas, which lasted only one season.

Whitecotton brings 12 years of coaching experience with him to the Titans, including four seasons as the DL coach for the New York Jets from 2021-24. He was also an assistant defensive line coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers.

The Cowboys are coming off of a 7-9-1 record this past season and missed the playoffs for the second straight year. Defensive struggles were a big part of that, as Dallas gave up the third-most yards per game in the NFL at 377.

Tennessee finished 3-14 for the second straight season in 2025 and earned the No. 4 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. They also hired Robert Saleh, whom Whitecotton worked under with the Jets, to be their next head coach.

Whitecotton had success under Saleh, developing defensive linemen such as Will McDonald (10.5 sacks in 2024), Quinnen Williams (29.5 sacks from 2021-24) and Bryce Huff (10.0 sacks in 2023). He’ll hope to do the same as he reunites with his former boss at a new stop.

The move for Aaron Whitecotton is the latest of many on the defensive staff for the Cowboys this offseason. Dallas also hired Christian Parker as its defensive coordinator after parting ways with Matt Eberflus.

Soon after, Parker fired passing game coordinator Andre Curtis, secondary coach David Overstreet and linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi. Now the Cowboys can add Whitecotton to the list as another vacancy opens up.

With all the defensive issues they had this year, it seems that Dallas is committed to changing things up heading into 2026. We’ll see how they fill out the void left behind by Whitecotton and these other moves as they look to break their postseason drought.

Cowboys hire Christian Parker as next defensive coordinator

Before joining the Eagles’ staff, Parker was the Denver Broncos’ defensive backs coach from 2021-23. He was the Green Bay Packers’ defensive quality control coach in the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

Christian Parker also has collegiate coaching experience. He served as a defensive analyst at Texas A&M and Notre Dame. Before entering the coaching realm, Parker played college football at Richmond.

Parker is the organization’s fifth defensive coordinator since the 2020 season. As the Cowboys enter Year 2 under head coach Brian Schottenheimer, they will want stability at DC.

On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this report.