Cowboys Hire Former Bears HC Eberflus as New DC

The Cowboys staff is now rounding into shape.

The Dallas Cowboys have locked up their next head coach in former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and introduced him to the media. With the new head coach coming in, he has already selected the team’s new defensive coordinator.

The Cowboys were expected to sign former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus as the team’s new defensive leader, and that has now come to fruition and been made official.

Todd Archer of The Athletic reported the news that Eberflus has officially been made the defensive coordinator under Schottenheimer.

Eberflus most recently served as the coach of the Bears but was fired the day after Thanksgiving after a controversial loss to their division rival Detroit Lions. He became the first head coach in franchise history to be relieved of his duties in-season.

Eberflus took over the Bears head coach position in 2022, replacing Matt Nagy and led the team to an overall record of 14-32.

The former Bears coach has a boatload of experience in the NFL, and it is not his first rodeo with the Cowboys. Eberflus served as a Cowboys’ assistant coach under Jason Garrett for seven seasons. While working his way up the ladder, Eberflus served as a linebackers coach with Rob Ryan as defensive coordinator, running a 3-4 scheme and stayed on when the Cowboys switched to a 4-3 under Monte Kiffin and Rod Marinelli, and was passing game coordinator between the 2011 and 2017 seasons. In 2016-17, Anthony Spencer and Sean Lee made their first Pro Bowls as Cowboys with Eberflus as their coach and overseer.

The experience with the Cowboys led to him landing his first coordinator job with the Indianapolis Colts in 2018, where he served until 2021. He would be given his first opportunity to be the commander and chief for the Bears following his stint with the Colts.

Eberflus joining the Cowboys means that the team has moved on from Mike Zimmer, who took over defensive duties in 2024. Zimmer returned to coaching in the NFL following stints in the collegiate world with Jackson State and Colorado with ‘Prime Time’ Deion Sanders.

Zimmer also previously was a head coach in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings between the 2014 and 2021 seasons.

Zimmer has a strong but old school defensive mind, but the Cowboys’ job was filled with turmoil from the beginning. As the weeks went on, Dallas would lose several key players on the defensive side of the ball like Sam Williams, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Micah Parsons, just to name a few.

All three stars either missed most or all of the season. Parsons would eventually return to the lineup, but Lawrence could not make it back following a severe foot injury he suffered.

The Cowboys’ defense was ravaged by the injury bug all season, so Zimmer had to deal with adversity from the get-go. Still, Schottenheimer coming in meant he was likely going to choose his own staff.

That staff is now being built, which now includes Eberflus running the defensive side of things.