FRISCO, Texas – After naming Brian Schottenheimer the 10th head coach in franchise history on Friday night, the Cowboys announced the hiring of their new defensive coordinator; former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus.
Eberflus, 54, returns to Dallas after he spent seven seasons on Jason Garrett's staff from 2011-2017 as linebackers coach and pass game coordinator.
Following his first stint in Dallas, Eberflus took his first defensive coordinator position with the Indianapolis Colts in 2018. He'd spend four seasons in Indianapolis before the Bears him to be their next head coach in 2022.
In three seasons with the Bears, Eberflus recorded a 14-32 record as a head coach, but saw positive play from his defensive over the course of those three seasons. His defenses were among some of the best in the league at taking the ball away and defending the run, but ultimately couldn't find ways to win games.
In his seven years as a defensive play caller, Eberflus' defense ranked in the top half of the league five times and were top 10 in takeaways in six of those seven seasons. With the weight of head coaching duties off his shoulders, focusing on the defense in a place he's familiar with gives Eberflus a chance to prove himself as a defensive mind again.
With Eberflus' hiring, Mike Zimmer's time as the Cowboys defensive coordinator comes to a close. After a slow start to the season, Zimmer's unit closed the year out strong, seeing a resurgence when Micah Parsons returned from a high-ankle sprain. The defense was riddled with injuries for a majority of the year, but Zimmer found a way to get the most out of his unit.
From the jump, Eberflus will have to replace a key member of the former staff in assistant head coach and defensive backs coach Al Harris, who joined Ben Johnson's staff in Chicago as the passing game coordinator on Friday.
Brian Schottenheimer's staff in his first head coaching position is now coming into form with Eberflus in the fold. The Cowboys will continue to round out their staff in the coming days, with two coordinator positions and assistant coaching roles still needing to be filled.
