The Dallas Cowboys are spiraling on a brutal two-game skid, and the playoffs are fading fast with every loss. So head coach Brian Schottenheimer and his crew finally hit the panic button with a coaching shakeup. After that ugly 26-34 gut-check against Minnesota, DC Matt Eberflus is done calling plays from the sidelines. He’s heading to the booth for the final three games.

“At the end of the day, we all understand we need to play better on defense. That’s not a secret. Nobody has shied away from that. Certainly Flus hasn’t shied away from that. I think as we look for options and ideas, it was something Matt and I talked about,” said Schottenheimer on @1053thefan, per Jon Machota of The Athletic. 

“There’s no question you can see things better up in the box. You can make quicker adjustments up in the box. I think when Matt and I kinda talked through this stuff, it became very clear that that’s where we want to put him so that we can make some adjustments faster. I think it’s gonna be a great thing for us.”

Under Eberflus, the Cowboys’ defense has struggled badly all season. It ranks near the bottom in key stats, forcing Schottenheimer to step in with this big decision. Moving the defensive coordinator to the booth gives him a bird’s-eye view of the field, which should help him spot issues faster.

The Cowboys’ offense is dragging the defense through the season, as it sits at number one in the league in yards gained. Quarterback Dak Prescott is having one of the best years of his career. But no matter how many yards the offense piles up or how hot Prescott stays, those defensive woes just won’t stop

Eberflus’ unit ranks 29th in the NFL in yards allowed per game and 31st with 30.0 points allowed per game. The DC was expected to turn around Dallas’ defense, but it actually got worse. As it was 28th in yards allowed per game and 27.5 points per game in 2024. But still, Schottenheimer thinks this was the right time to make the change. And the head coach gave a list of things the team did to improve what they could.

“No, it’s a fair question, but no. You gotta remember, we make the trade for Quinnen (Williams), we actually start playing really good defense. We rip off three (wins) in a row. You’re certainly not gonna do it after one game (when) you lose to Detroit. But just looking at everything from a holistic approach, just kind of the inconsistency of the way we played on defense, it was something I felt was the best thing for us,” the head coach added.

But for Eberflus, this move brings back memories of his successful coordinator days. 

Can Matt Eberflus fix the Cowboys’ defensive struggles?

Eberflus has worked as a defensive coordinator before with the Colts from 2018 to 2021. Eberflus ranked in the top 10 in points allowed for three years during that span. And the DC believes he can do it again with the Cowboys. 

“I’ve done it before, it’s been a while, but it’s going to be a good adjustment,” Eberflus said, via Tommy Yarrish of the team’s website.

The major problems for Dallas’ defense lie in their pass defense and takeaways. Their defense led the league in turnovers in 2021 and 2022; both years, they made it to the playoffs. But in 2023, the defense started showing cracks that never fully healed. And right now, the defense ranks 24th in turnovers with just 11 takeaways. 

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Another key problem lies in their pass defense. The rush defense still sits at 18th with 168.2 yards allowed per game, but the pass defense sits at dead last with 356.7 yards allowed per game. 

It will be interesting to watch how the change plays out in real time at AT&T this Sunday, as the 10-4 Chargers travel to Dallas. This matchup puts extra pressure on Eberflus, as the Chargers’ D-line ranks second-best in yards allowed per game.