JANUARY 28: As expected, this hire is now official. The Cowboys announced on Tuesday that Eberflus has returned to the organization under the defensive coordinator title. His second stint in Dallas will double as his second DC gig in the NFL.
JANUARY 27: Matt Eberflus‘ name quickly emerged as one to watch closely regarding the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator vacancy. With Mike Zimmer known to be out of the picture, the former Bears head coach is indeed on track to fill that position. 
Eberflus is set to interview with Dallas for the DC gig today, and NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that meeting is expected to result in a hire. Provided that proves to be the case, this will mark a return to the Cowboys for Eberflus. He worked as the team’s linebackers coach from 2012-17.
When the news broke of former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer being promoted to head coach, Eberflus was named as the team’s top target for the defensive coordinator position. Dallas has since conducted one other DC interview (Andre Curtis, who worked under Eberflus with the Bears and is a candidate to land a role on the Cowboys’ staff). A request was also recently made to speak with Dolphins outside linebackers coach Ryan Crow, but given this latest update it remains to be seen if that meeting will actually take place.
In any event, Eberflus is set to handle coordinator responsibilities for the second time in his career. After his first Cowboys stint, he worked as the Colts’ DC for four years. Indianapolis ranked top-1o in points allowed three times in that span, and as a result his head coaching stock was high when Chicago hired him. Eberflus’ Bears tenure did not go according to plan, though, and after entering the 2024 season on the hot seat he was among the NFL’s midseason firings.
Given the clock-management issues and player dissatisfaction which emerged at the end of his Bears run, Eberflus may have a long wait until his next HC opportunity arises. In the meantime, the 54-year-old is in line to take charge of a unit which dealt with a slew of injuries this past season but still fell short of expectations. During Zimmer’s first (and only) year in his second Cowboys coordinator stint, Dallas finished 28th in total defense and 31st in points allowed. To say the least, improvement on that side of the ball will be key in 2025.
With Schottenheimer in place as head coach, Dallas is still in need of a OC. The Cowboys are also among those seeking out a new special teams coordinator. While the searches to fill those vacancies will continue, it appears one coordinator position will officially be taken care of by the end of the day.
Looks like the blind leading the blind in Jerryland. Mike McCarthy hardly illuminated the NFL these past twelve years, but this crowd of coaches looks like a bunch of second-raters and failures.
Nah, Eberflus is actually a very good coordinator. They would be lucky to have him. Just can’t let him lead a team.
Will Ebeflus actually be on time for his interview or will he have to call a timeout?
Eberflus doesn’t use timeouts
Agreed!
NYJ D was the worst victim of him being made HC
Not so sure about being a very good coordinator. As a Bears fan he had some success leading the D. However his approach and play calling was deemed predictable at times. Known to be rigid in his play calling and that led to late game collapses. Same thing with his tenure with the Colts. He was actually on the verge of being fired by the Colts but the Bears came to the rescue and made him their HC. The Colts handled that brilliantly. The Bears hired former Colts GM Bill Polian as a consultant to help with the search for a HC. And just like that… Eberfluss was hired.
Yes and no, flus scheme requires a good pass rush. Like most do but if he doesn’t get a pass rush his zone defense is picked apart. The cowboys personal actually fits his scheme. He’s got Micah to raise hell and good dbs who can fly and make turnovers. He’s just not a leader but he’s a solid coordinator who can be controlled easily
The Cowboys haven’t hired Eberflus as co-ordinator have they? He’s a two-time failure at DC and one time failure as head coach. Peter Principle in action.
He was only a dc once. He had a top 10 defense 3 out of those 4 years he was coordinator… Reading is hard.
Lol
I think they’re heading into tank mode. These hires are questionable at best.
Eberflus’s defense is a dinosaur. Cover two prevent defense. It helps that Dallas has a decent front four. But they will not be a top 10 defense.
Does the Rooney Rule apply to any other hires but head coaches?
TIA for any info…
Yes, hence why they interview a couple of minority assistants before hire Ebeflus. Even though the whole world knew they were hire Ebeflus last week.
The typos in that last post was crazy lol.