To state the completely obvious, the Dallas Cowboys' defense has been atrocious for most of the 2025 season. Part of the disaster for the defense has been due to injuries, and frankly, part of it has been on Jerry Jones for trading away Micah Parsons.
But ultimately, the guy who is going to have to fall on the proverbial sword is defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. Eberflus is a former head coach whose pedigree as a defensive play-caller is what got him his head coaching gig (with the Bears) in the first place. It seems like his role with the Dallas Cowboys as defensive coordinator is going to be extremely short-lived.
If looks could "kill", then Jerry Jones might have completely buried Eberflus with one look on the in-season version of HBO's Hard Knocks.
Jerry Jones may have sealed Matt Eberflus' Cowboys fate with one look on Hard Knocks
With Mike Tirico narrating on the NBC Sunday Night Football programming, you can see the absolute fury in the face of Jerry Jones. He doesn't say a single word, and he doesn't have to.
Boy….Jerry Jones doesn’t say anything here, but he looks furious after the Vikings crushed any hope left for a postseason berth.
— Brandon Loree (@Brandoniswrite) December 17, 2025
No wonder why he was so forthright on the radio today about his disappointment in the defense 😬 pic.twitter.com/O2jC4faKrH
This clip comes on the heels of a number of other signs pointing to Eberflus getting let go after the conclusion of the season. Eberflus was called out directly, even though not specifically, after the Cowboys' crushing loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night last week.
Jones talked about his frustration with JJ McCarthy having a "big day" on the Cowboys' defense, citing a lack of pressure. This part of his postgame quote, however, was the most telling of all:
"It seems like we’re always saying that about these (opposing) quarterbacks. Some of them hadn’t played as well, but when they play us, they play better. I think that’s telling, too."
- Jerry Jones
It's fair to say that Jones has actually been effusive in his praise for Eberflus over the last year, up until lately. He once stated that Eberflus was someone he'd want to be in a "foxhole" with. The Cowboys obviously thought highly enough of Eberflus to bring him in as the pairing with head coach Brian Schottenheimer, when they could have probably gone after a number of other candidates.
Ultimately, it's difficult not to be overly critical of Eberflus. He hasn't exactly earned the benefit of the doubt, even with the Parsons trade before the start of the season. The results simply haven't been good enough, and we're likely looking at a scenario in which the Cowboys are on the hunt for a defensive coordinator yet again this offseason.