The final depth charts are in, and several teams have made numerous chops and changes to their roster. After a horrible 2025 season on the defensive front, the Dallas Cowboys have an entirely new defense for the start of the 2026 season.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
The change at the Cowboys began with defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus being fired, and that position was filled by Christian Parker, the youngest coach in the league in that position. Along with Parker’s arrival, the entire defensive depth chart has been shaken up, with Cowboys reporter Nick Harris reporting on X that 17 of the 26 defenders on the 2025 week one roster are now unemployed.
There are 32 incomings in the defensive setup, and a whole new defensive lineup will take to the gridiron when the Cowboys begin their campaign against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Only 10 players from the entire defensive setup remain, and former Cowboys wide receiver Jesse Holley wasn’t having it that the fans have only had a go at the former defensive coordinator for last year’s woes and not the players.
“I Don’t And I Don’t Think He’s Blameless But Damn……….. 17 Players!!!!!! Yall Never Blame The Players,” wrote Holley on X, replying to a fan who wrote, “Jesse why do you pretend like Eberflus has nothing to do with the player selection?You think Jack Sandborn came to Dallas out of random chance?”
The comment came on a thread where the discussion was initially about linebacker Jack Sanborn being released by the Bears and joining the long list of 2025 Cowboys starting defenders who now find themselves out of a role.
Holley came across the stat reported by Nick Harris and wrote. “And Yall Put ALLLLLLL The Blame On Eberflus….. ALLLLLL OF IT????So Much For It Being A Player Driven League. 😂🤣😂😂Wowzers”
The fan who was engaged in the exchange on X with Holley was pointing the blame towards Eberflus, who was the head coach for the Chicago Bears until 2024 before he joined the Cowboys in 2025. Eberflus had Sanborn with him at the Bears and was definitely part of the reason why Sanborn secured a one-year contract in Dallas for 2025.
While Sanborn may be one of the players for whom Eberflus needs to take the blame, a defensive coordinator cannot be responsible for 17 of 26 players performing poorly in a season that finished 7-9-1 for the Cowboys. 17 players from last year being currently unemployed points to the fact that none of them are considered good enough by any of the coaches across the league.
Another point that Holley touched on was the player-driven league aspect. Simply because he believes that if players get all the glory for the wins, they should also be taking accountability for all their losses.
Holley’s comments simply call for fans to start calling for players to take responsibility for their performances rather than it being the coaches taking the heat whenever the performances dip.
Matt Eberflus has now moved to the San Francisco 49ers, and Cowboys fans will be excited to see how their new defense looks under Christian Parker.
Major moves have been made to bring in linebacker Rashan Gary from the Green Bay Packers in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2027 draft. Caleb Downs was drafted as a safety, along with linebacker Malachi Lawrence.
The Cowboys have also bolstered through free-agent signings, picking up linebacker Von Miller, Jalen Thompson, and P.J. Locke as options for safety, cornerback Cobie Durant, as well as Otito Ogbonnia as a defensive tackle.
Of those mentioned, only Malachi Lawrence, Von Miller, and P.J. Locke are non-starters as per the depth chart, but the signs are clear that the Dallas Cowboys do not want a repeat performance of the shambolic defense they showcased last season.