Another Jerry Jones interview and another set of answers that make it seem inevitable that Matt Eberflus will not be the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator next season.
At this point, a second season of Eberflus as DC would be a surprise.
During his Friday morning radio appearance, Jones sounded very optimistic about Dallas’ 30-23 win Thursday over the Washington Commanders. But when he was specifically asked if he’s pleased with the scheme and defensive coaching staff, Jones was quick to clarify.
“No. No. Not at all,” the Cowboys owner and general manager said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “We have a lot of work to do there. I’m sorry if I have let my enthusiasm for the win yesterday misrepresent. No. Not at all. We got a lot of work to do over there. But we can do it.”
Jones said last week that he would not make a defensive coordinator change with two games remaining. His plan has been to evaluate everything after the season before making any final decisions about the coaching staff.
While Jones would like to avoid the lack of continuity from hiring a fourth defensive coordinator in as many years, it appears that choice has been made. The Cowboys have arguably the NFL’s worst defense, allowing 30 points and 377 yards per game. Opposing quarterbacks are averaging league-highs of 254 passing yards per game, 33 passing touchdowns and a 109.7 passer rating when facing Dallas this season.
The Cowboys have had one of the NFL’s best offenses all season. The poor defense is the biggest reason that they are missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
When asked how close he thinks the Cowboys are to being one of the NFL’s top teams, Jones immediately brought up the Week 14 loss at Detroit. Dallas entered that game riding a three-game winning streak after trading for All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. The Lions, who won that game 44-30, have lost all three games they’ve played since.
“To be very candid with you, the loss against Detroit was a surprise to me,” Jones said Friday. “I thought we had turned the corner defensively. … I thought it was onward and upward at that point.”
The same day the Cowboys traded for Williams, they also traded for linebacker Logan Wilson. Linebacker has been arguably Dallas’ biggest issue this season. Wilson did not play a single snap Thursday at Washington. Jones’ response to a question about Wilson not playing was another example of his frustration with the team’s defense.
“I don’t have an explanation for you for why Wilson wasn’t in there,” Jones said. “We planned to have him in there. He needs to be in there. He has good instincts. The reason we got him was because he reads the play quick and can basically be in his lane of responsibility and react quick. It’s critical that a linebacker have quick reacting (ability). He’s able to do that. That’s why we got him.”