Accountability has finally arrived in Dallas, and the front office is done making excuses for its defense. At the 2026 NFL Combine, Stephen Jones spoke openly about what worked and what failed with CBS Sports on Thursday. While the offense showed promise, the defense struggled. Now, the front office says change is coming, starting with support for Christian Parker.

“About last year running the football, we did well, and we feel good about our offensive football team,” Stephen Jones said to the CBS Sports reporter. “Now we got to get CP some good pieces on the defensive side, and we know we got a lot of work to do there.”

The Cowboys leaned on their run game and stayed steady on offense through much of the year thanks to stars like George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb. The mission now is to fix a defense that leaked over 30 points per game in 2025, and Jones’ comments confirmed a promise that Christian Parker would receive help with his defense.

The gap between the offense and the defense units was massive, leading to Matt Eberflus’ firing after just one year as the defensive coordinator. Jones also made it clear that fixing the defense will not mean forcing moves in the draft.

“We understand how we didn’t get the job done on defense,” he said. “In a perfect world, the defensive guys you want are there. But…CeeDee Lamb is sitting there… we just felt like we had no choice.”

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His point goes back to the 2020 NFL Draft when Dallas selected CeeDee Lamb instead of reaching for a defender. Lamb has since developed into one of the team’s top playmakers and a major part of the passing game, crossing the 900-yard mark for a sixth consecutive season.

Jones used that example to show the Cowboys will stay true to their draft board, even with clear defensive needs.

Holding two first-round picks, the No. 12 and No. 20 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, Dallas is expected to look hard at defensive talent. Still, the front office believes balance matters. They want to help Christian Parker, but they will not ignore value if a top offensive player falls. The plan is smart team building, not panic moves.

Dallas knows the defense must improve, and the front office has owned that reality. With draft capital and a new voice in Christian Parker, change is expected. That shift also connects to another big decision Dallas made, moving on from Matt Eberflus.

Stephen Jones’ honest take on Matt Eberflus’ exit

The Cowboys’ defensive reset did not stop at roster changes. It also meant moving on from Matt Eberflus after only one season in charge. The decision came after Dallas gave up 511 points, the most in the league.

“There’s a lot of them,” Jones said about the issues. “They just never gelled as a defense, never had an identity, never really bought into what we were trying to get accomplished.”

That comment made it clear the move was about more than numbers. Yes, the points allowed were alarming. But team leaders felt the bigger problem was the lack of connection and direction on that side of the ball.

The Dallas Cowboys named Christian Parker their new defensive coordinator on February 19, 2026. The move followed a long search in which the team spoke with more than 40 candidates before deciding he was the right fit.

Jones also made it clear the Cowboys did not rush into hiring a new coordinator. He said Brian Schottenheimer took his time, spoke with several top candidates around the league, and carefully studied their backgrounds before making a final call. In the end, they chose Christian Parker.

He described Parker as young, energetic, and a strong fit for the staff. Jones also shared that once Parker was hired, the front office and coaching staff worked together to shape the rest of the defensive group.

Parker’s hiring signals a shift toward building a defense with a clear identity and energy. The Cowboys believe that by rebuilding the staff step by step, they can avoid the same problems that led to Matt Eberflus’s exit.

The message from Dallas is simple. With Christian Parker now in charge and draft help hopefully arriving, the Cowboys believe change is already in motion.