In most cases, it would be premature to call for a head coach's or coordinator's job less than a month into the season. However, it is absolutely warranted in Matt Eberflus' case after the Dallas Cowboys' defense offered zero resistance against a Bears offense that couldn't get out of its own way before Sunday.
It is beyond clear that Week 1 was a product of the Eagles refusing to throw the ball downfield. The Cowboys don't just have the worst defense in football, but they are on pace to be one of the worst defenses in the history of the franchise.
Brian Schottenheimer is running out of words to explain the defense's ineptitude. However, he thinks Eberflus should make one major tweak to potentially get better results: simplify the coverage.
Brian Schottenheimer thinks Cowboys DC Matt Eberflus needs to simplify things
"That starts with us, and we got to do a better job, simplify some things maybe," Schottenheimer said. "And the one thing we knew going into this game is they would challenge us with some of their motions and shifts and they did that. I thought (Williams) played very, very well. Threw the ball really well, made some plays off point. But got to tighten the coverage down for sure. We’ll take a hard look at it and maybe to simplify things and we’re going to do what we do well. I can promise you that.”
In a vacuum, Eberlfus runs really simple coverages. However, he disguises them a lot with pre- and post-snap rotations that make things more complicated than they need to be.
It became clear in Week 2 against the Giants, whose offense reverted to being toothless on Sunday, that the second level (the linebackers and defensive backs) is not picking up those rotations. There were multiple instances against the Bears in which pass-catchers didn't have a Cowboys defender within 10 yards of them.
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There's a freeze frame making the rounds on social media of D.J. Moore standing wide open in the middle of the end zone on Chicago's successful two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
There's another freeze frame of Dallas' DBs playing 10 yards off on a 3rd-and-2. We're not going to pretend we know more about scheming up a defense than Eberflus, but what is the logic behind playing that soft on 3rd-and-short?
Schottenheimer is spot on about Eberflus needing to dial back the exotic pre- and post-snap rotations. That should improve the communication on a granular level and lead to fewer explosive plays, but there are a lot of basic things that Eberflus is getting all wrong. Defending a 3rd-and-2 like a 3rd-and-20 sticks is insanity.
It doesn't help that the pass rush couldn't generate pressure against a college offensive line, but Eberflus has to account for that. It takes a lot of time for new defensive coordinators to learn the strengths and weaknesses of their personnel, but it doesn't take an NFL coach to realize that Donovan Wilson shouldn't be their last line of defense.
Simplifying the coverage will help, but the defense won't begin to improve until Eberflus stops trying to fit square pegs into round holes.