DC Matt Eberflus expects Cowboys to be an 'attacking defense' in his return

FRISCO, Texas Matt Eberflus is the only member of the Dallas Cowboys coaching staff with NFL head coaching experience.

That seems valuable to a first-year head coach like Brian Schottenheimer.

The first couple of meetings I had with him, I said, Im here for you, Eberflus shared Tuesday while talking to reporters at The Star.

I really want to do a good job of (letting him) bounce ideas off of me, experiences that I had.

And just working together to utilize me because I do have the experience of being a head coach, and to make his job easier.

Advertisement Eberflus was fired by the Chicago Bears in November.

They were 14-32 during his three seasons as head coach.

Eberflus said he learned a lot from that experience and has reflected on what he can do better.

He didnt get into specifics but made it clear that he was not interested in sitting out the 2025 season.

The Cowboys defensive coordinator job became available and he was intrigued by the opportunity to return to Dallas after coaching the teams linebackers from 2011 through 2017.

I was excited to get back on it, he said.

I had several phone calls from a bunch of different people.

I was excited about looking at different opportunities.

And this was the best opportunity that I felt was really cool for me to come back to Dallas.

I have a lot of familiar faces here.

I cherish my time here in Dallas.

Im excited about being back.

Regardless of how he performed as a head coach, theres no questioning that Eberflus knows defense.

Asked specifically for a hallmark of his coaching that side of the ball, Eberflus responded that its pretty simple.

We take the ball away, he added.

Thats what we do.

We stop the run.

We want to make exciting plays for our football team.

New Cowboys DC Matt Eberflus on defensive philosophy: Its pretty simple, we take the ball away.

Thats what we do.

We stop the run.

We want to make exciting plays for our football team.

Thats really what we do.

pic.twitter.com/HFaPwbVW0k Jon Machota (@jonmachota) February 18, 2025 He also added that he expects to have an attacking defense.

Theres statistical evidence to back up his opinion.

The Bears had the NFCs worst run defense during his first season in Chicago.

They had the leagues best the following year.

The Bears also finished 10th in takeaways last season after finishing fifth in 2023.

Advertisement Before being hired by the Bears, Eberflus spent four seasons as the Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator.

The Colts had a top-10 run defense and finished top 10 in takeaways all four years.

During his previous stop in Dallas, his last two years included him being the teams defensive passing game coordinator under defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli.

That was the last time Dallas led the NFL in run defense, holding opponents to 83.5 yards per game and 3.9 yards per carry.

They also had a top-10 run defense in 2017.

Over the last five years they havent been higher than 16th.

This is a players game, so the talent level does matter, Eberflus said.

But I do believe you can be where youre supposed to be and have really good fundamentals to really help enhance the run (defense).

GO DEEPER Cowboys mock draft 1.0: Addressing the trenches and running back are top priorities That starts up front with a group that could have several moving pieces over the next few months.

Osa Odighizuwa, the teams top defensive tackle, is a free agent.

Same thing with starting defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence.

Certainly Osa is a guy that we like a lot, Eberflus said.

Hes a really good player for us.

But well look at other guys too.

Were in the middle of that process right now.

...

Its really about getting the depth (on the defensive line) that we need.

There are some really good pieces there to work from.

Its exciting to be able to look at that and in the future, in terms of draft and acquiring other players that are special talent guys.

Were excited to get that done.

Whether they are able to re-sign Odighizuwa or they go in a different direction in the middle, they need more in Year 3 from former first-round pick Mazi Smith.

Im excited about Mazi, Eberflus said.

I liked him coming out (in the draft).

Real explosive athlete, big body type that can move really well.

Were excited about bringing his game to the next level, and he can certainly do that.

Advertisement Eberflus also spoke highly of the teams secondary, calling Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland two of the NFLs top five cornerbacks.

He said he believes they also have really good players at safety.

It all starts with being able to play man coverage, I believe, he added.

Being able to match guys up and stay with your man, and then work our zones from there.

Of course, the success of the defense is likely tied to the success of star pass-rusher Micah Parsons.

Micahs a premier pass rusher, Eberflus said.

Hes a heck of an athlete.

He can do a lot of different things for us on defense.

When you have a guy like that, you want to be able to utilize his skill set.

As were around him more, well be able to see what that skill set is and really take advantage of that.

LFG https://t.co/ubtT02pfW8 Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) February 18, 2025 Regardless of what anyone says in February, no one will really know much until after free agency and the draft when the team actually gets on the field.

There are a lot of new pieces, most of which Eberflus has never worked with before.

That could be cause for concern, or it might just be what the franchise needed.

I always believe that having new ideas in your staff every single year is important, Eberflus said.

Were changing and adjusting our scheme every single year.

It has to grow every single year to really be in front of the league, so to speak, but also to really utilize your skill sets and the players you have currently on your roster.

(Photo of Parsons: Jared C.

Tilton / Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.