The praise for Christian Parker's hiring wasn't confined to Dallas. National analysts applauded the move, while those familiar with Parker's work in Philadelphia were equally bullish on what he could bring to a Cowboys defense that allowed a franchise-record 511 points last season.
So, naturally, the showing from Parker's unit in Dallas' 28-20 loss to the New York Giants has many folks smashing the panic button and ready to write off the Cowboys. It's nothing out of the ordinary, but that doesn't make it any less ridiculous.
Did it look pretty? No. Did Parker have many answers for what the Giants threw at his defense? Also no. But he's not the first first-time defensive coordinator to struggle in his debut, and he won't be the last.
Once upon a time, Mike Macdonald, now a Super Bowl-winning head coach and widely regarded as one of the NFL's premier defensive minds, had a nightmare of his own in just his second game as the Ravens' defensive coordinator.
Mike Macdonald had some stinkers in his first year as the Ravens' DC
In Week 2 of the 2022 season, Macdonald's Ravens blew a 28-7 halftime lead in a 42-38 loss to the Dolphins. Tua Tagovailoa completed 36 of 50 passes for 469 yards and six touchdowns against Macdonald's defense.
Six touchdowns. Against Mike Macdonald. Imagine that.
Tagovailoa was released by the Dolphins this offseason, leaving Miami with an NFL-record $99 million dead-cap charge. That certainly adds some perspective to Macdonald's early growing pains.
The guy Miami just paid a historic amount to move on from once threw six TDs against the coach we're now treating as the gold standard.
If Macdonald's defense could get embarrassed that badly while he was still finding his footing, Parker deserves a lot more than one game before anyone decides what he is. Anything less is allowing yourself to be a prisoner of the moment. Week 1 can do that, but Week 1 can also be a pathological liar.
Nobody is saying Parker is going to become the next Mike Macdonald. The Seahawks' head coach had the benefit of calling plays at Michigan before making the jump to the NFL. Parker is learning how to call a defense for the first time at any level. There are going to be growing pains, and Week 1 was a painful reminder of that.
Now, did we expect the Cowboys to struggle as much as they did on Sunday? Of course not. The linebackers and secondary had multiple communication lapses, and Parker had a very questionable game plan.
One game does not define Christian Parker as a defensive coordinator
The Giants had Patrick Ricard lined up at fullback for most of the game, and Parker countered with mostly light boxes. Dallas was routinely outnumbered at the point of attack, sometimes 7-to-4 before the ball was even snapped. That just isn't going to work.
Parker has to be better, but so do his players.
Did you feel Rashan Gary's presence at all? Dee Winters and DeMarvion Overshown had really poor games at linebacker. Kenny Clark could not get upfield at all against Giants rookie Francis Mauigoa. Coaches and players. It was a collective failure.
As the DC, the blame starts and ends with Parker. But one game does not define him.
Parker is regarded so highly around the league that everyone expected him to work miracles right out of the gate. We fed into that, too. In hindsight, that was silly. No first-time play-caller should be expected to have all the answers in Week 1.
Macdonald didn't push all the right buttons in his first season as a DC. Baltimore gave up at least 20 points eight times in 2022 and allowed more than 25 points four times.
Be deflated. But it's way too early to sell your Parker stock.
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