Not even the most optimistic Dallas Cowboys fans could have anticipated the search for a new defensive coordinator unfolding as well as it did.
Rather than falling back on old habits and interviewing retread head coaches, Brian Schottenheimer took the wheel from Jerry Jones and targeted innovative assistants, ultimately landing Eagles defensive backs coach Christian Parker in what is universally considered a home-run hire.
Now that the hire is official, details about the interview process have started trickling out courtesy of Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Harris revealed on the Cross Chop podcast that Vikings DBs coach Daronte Jones was “very close” to landing the job. While former Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon impressed the Cowboys with his defensive acumen, he left something to be desired in one area that led to Matt Eberflus' undoing.
"Jonathan Gannon on Tuesday, (I) was told that this guy is very smart," Harris said. "He understands defenses. He gets it. But can he connect with the players? And I don’t think they got that question answered in the interview process. That was the big thing for Gannon."
Cowboys dodged a bullet by hiring Christian Parker over Jonathan Gannon
It's important to note that Gannon and Eberflus aren't on the same playing field in terms of scheming up X's and O's and willingness to adapt on the fly.
That distinction matters, and Eberflus left himself zero margin for error in the schematic department by failing to teach and connect with players.
That may have been (part of) Gannon's undoing in Arizona. He gave off weird energy in his initial interactions with Cardinals players, and, while the Cardinals gave Dallas fits in his three years as head coach, they finished 15-36, including losing 13 of 14 to end the 2025 season.
"He (Gannon) was a top-two contender for this search," Harris continued. "He has a lot of supporters in Dallas . . . He certainly was ahead of a guy like Christian Parker and Daronte Jones, but I don’t think he got that question answered to them -- if he could connect with the players, just on a personal basis, and being able to communicate to these guys what he wants out of them.”
As Harris notes, Gannon had the inside track on Parker and Jones when the interview process started. He worked with Cowboys offensive coordinator Klayton Adams in both Indianapolis and Arizona, and he previously coached under Eberflus with the Colts and former Dallas DC Mike Zimmer with the Vikings. Not only that, but he was the Eagles' defensive coordinator in 2021 and '22.
READ MORE: Cowboys vet took Matt Eberflus to the woodshed before he got fired by Dallas
Connective tissue matters a great deal in coaching searches, and Gannon had no shortage of ties to the Cowboys. It’s no secret the Joneses value familiarity, but they couldn’t justify hiring a candidate they weren’t convinced could connect with players on a personal level.
While Eberflus failed to put his players in a position to succeed, it quickly became clear that he had sold the Joneses a bill of goods during the interview process.
Gannon would have offered more than Eberflus from an X’s and O’s perspective, but questions about his personality likely would have capped the defense’s ceiling.
Thank goodness Schottenheimer saw the forest for the trees.