Brian Schottenheimer’s honesty (somehow) makes Matt Eberflus look so much worse

Christian Parker is all the rage after the Dallas Cowboys introduced him on Wednesday, and every bit of it is deserved.

Between opening by saying that he wants to be a "multiple" defense built around his players' strengths, and his answer on what makes a great teacher, it was a resounding success.

While Parker is the man of the hour in Dallas, Brian Schottenheimer was just as impressive. Of course, Schottenheimer impressing at the podium is nothing new, but you can't help but feel great about the direction he is steering the franchise.

The stink of Matt Eberflus has left the building, even though Schottenheimer's explanation of what drew him to hiring Parker carried an unmistakable hint of criticism toward the Cowboys' former DC.

“I think we hit a home run with this guy,” Schottenheimer said of Parker. “At the end of the day, man, if you can teach and motivate these guys and get them to know you care about them, these guys have shown they will run through a brick wall for you. And I think that’s what we’re going to get.”

Brian Schottenheimer is ecstatic about new Dallas Cowboys DC Christian Parker

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Schottenheimer surely didn't mean any shade toward Eberflus. That's not who he is. But that quote ties back to Eberflus' biggest failures.

It's no secret that Eberflus was a lousy teacher, but Schottenheimer's implication that Eberflus failed to show players that he cared about them on a personal level is damning to the point that the NFL should think long and hard about hiring him as a defensive coordinator again.

Schottenheimer stressed the importance of wanting a "teacher" in the Cowboys' next DC. It's no surprise that teaching is the backbone of Parker's coaching philosophy.

“I think you have to know the student first and foremost,” Parker said about what makes a great teacher. “You have to know who you’re talking to. What might hit one player’s brain is going to hit different than another."

Incredibly, Schottenheimer still had to perform some damage control on Eberflus' behalf after NFL Network's Jane Slater asked about the defense's lack of identity in 2025. is somehow still doing damage control on his behalf.

Schottenheimer admitted that after listening to players, it sounded like they felt that the defense lacked an identity, per Slater. While the Cowboys' head coach stressed that the change was more about the "identity moving forward," everyone knows why it was made.

There was no clear identity. Eberflus tried to make his players conform to his scheme instead of tailoring the system to their strengths. That approach can survive if the teaching is elite. It wasn’t, and the cracks showed up on all three levels of the defense.

That’s precisely why Schottenheimer led an exhaustive search and overhauled the rest of the staff. Every trace of Eberflus had to go.

Mission accomplished.