The perception when the Cowboys hired defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus last year was that it was team owner Jerry Jones’ choice rather than one that head coach Brian Schottenheimer made for himself.
Eberflus was fired this week after the Cowboys allowed more than 30 points a game while going 7-9-1 and Jones was asked at a Wednesday press conference about who will be making the ultimate decision about Eberflus’ replacement. Jones’ answer opened with a quip about current events that underlines his role as the chief decision-maker in Dallas before saying that he, Schottenheimer and Stephen Jones were all involved in last year’s process. Jones said he expects this year’s process to unfold the same way.
“Trump just said it: ‘I’m running Venezuela,’” Jones said. “Seriously, Schotty had everything to do with hiring Matt Eberflus last time. And that’s not done as a negative — no way in the world he’s here if Schotty didn’t want him here. No way in the world if Stephen didn’t want him here. But I, particularly, had a party to have him come in and I was excited about the uniqueness of his staff. . . . I’ve done it with consensus since the first day I walked through the door here. We’ll do it the same way we hired Flus. We’ll do it together and come up with as good as we can.”
The team has not started the process of requesting interviews with potential replacements, but Jones said that previous head coaching experience is not a requirement for the job and that he’s open to a first-time coordinator.
With six vacancies (other than the Ravens) and seven teams calling former Ravens coach John Harbaugh after his dismissal on Tuesday, at least one team without a vacancy made the call.
So which team(s) called? (It’s possible that more than one team without an opening called, if at least one of the teams currently looking for a coach did not.)
Here’s a look at the possibilities. And don’t blame us for doing it; Harbaugh’s agent lit the fuse by disclosing that seven teams called.
Jets: By all appearances, first-year coach Aaron Glenn lost the locker room. The final five games, with a minus-137 point differential (27.4 per game), was arguably the worst stretch ever for a franchise with plenty of rough spots. Still, owner Woody Johnson has shown no inclination to fire Glenn — and to owe him more than $40 million to not coach the team.
Dolphins: Michigan man Stephen Ross once pursued Michigan man Jim Harbaugh while the Dolphins still had a coach under contract. Why wouldn’t Ross make the call about Harbaugh’s brother, given the currently tenuous status of Mike McDaniel?
Bills: What if the Bills lose this weekend? Is it crazy to think the Bills would consider making a change? That said, swapping out one coach who failed to get to the Super Bowl during the prime years of a generational talent for another coach who failed to get to the Super Bowl during the prime years of a generational talent seems odd.
Steelers: If the team thinks Mike Tomlin, who seems to have a TV offer in his back pocket, could be leaving after the playoff run ends, it needs to be thinking about the next coach. Why not Harbaugh?
Bengals: There’s no way Mike Brown will finance Zac Taylor’s buyout and pay whatever it would take to get Harbaugh.
Colts: Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon has said Shane Steichen will be back. Could she view Harbaugh as an upgrade who may not be available if a change is made in 2027?
Chiefs: Andy Reid will be back for 2026. The phone call (if it happened) may have been as simple as, “Keep us in mind if you’re thinking about taking a year off and returning in 2027.”
Cowboys: See the Chiefs.
Commanders: Dan Quinn’s team badly regressed in 2025. Why wouldn’t owner Josh Harris at least consider the possibility of an upgrade to Harbaugh?
Packers: New team president Ed Policy made it clear in June that it’s an up-or-out year for coach Matt LaFleur and G.M. Brian Gutekunst. Could Policy have wanted to let Harlan (the son of former Packers CEO Bob Harlan) know that there may be a reason to let the wild-card round play out before making any decisions?
Buccaneers: There’s a vague sense still lingering that ownership could make a coaching change. Harbaugh’s availability could be the thing that pushes the Bucs off the fence.
At least one of those teams made the call. Maybe more than one. And if one of those teams fires its head coach in the coming days, it could be the first step toward hiring John Harbaugh.
Mike McCarthy faced the Giants many times when he was the head coach of the Packers and the Cowboys, and he’s now set to meet with the NFC East team about their head coaching vacancy.
According to multiple reports, the Giants have arranged an interview with McCarthy for their vacancy next week. Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports the interview is scheduled for Tuesday.
McCarthy was 49-35 over five seasons in Dallas before parting ways with the team after the 2024 season. He was 125-77-2 as the Packers’ head coach and won Super Bowl XLV, but also lost an NFC Championship Game at home to the Giants after the 2007 season.
The Giants are also expected to speak with former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski and Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. They are also one of the teams believed to have interest in former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.
The Titans’ job search will include the coach who guided the early years of Dak Prescott’s career.
As reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, former Cowboys coach Jason Garrett will interview for the head-coaching vacancy in Tennessee on Friday.
Garrett, who was part of three Super Bowl-winning teams with the Cowboys in the 1990s, coached the Cowboys from 2011 through 2019, after becoming the interim head coach during the 2010 season.
He had a regular-season record of 85-67 in the regular season, with three playoff appearances. His postseason record was 2-3.
Garrett won the NFL’s coach of the year award in 2016, the year that started with veteran quarterback Tony Romo being unavailable due to a back injury, opening the door for Prescott, a fourth-round rookie, to lead the team to a 13-3 record.
Garrett then worked as offensive coordinator for the Giants in 2020 and 2021. He joined NBC Sports in 2022, where he’s stuck sitting next to me every Sunday during football season.
Which would explain his desire to find a new job.
Personally, I’d hate to see Garrett go. I’ve learned a lot from him over the past four years. But coaches coach, and his work with Prescott speaks for itself. The Titans need someone to help get the most out of Cam Ward, the first overall pick in the 2025 draft.
The Cowboys have made it official: They’ve fired defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.
Technically, they “released” him. Which is an unusual choice of words. But it’s fitting. The players (who are “released”) are the pieces of a large football machine that inevitably be replaced. The coaches are, too.
“Having known Matt Eberflus for decades now, we have tremendous respect and appreciation for him as a coach and a person,” owner and G.M. Jerry Jones said in a press release. “After reviewing and discussing the results of our defensive performance this season, though, it was clear that change is needed. This is the first step in that process and we will continue that review as it applies to reaching our much higher expectations.”
The team’s higher on-field expectations haven’t been met, for 30 years. The expectations regarding profit, however, are always met — year after year after year.
The next question becomes how much of that profit will be devoted to the next defensive coordinator. Rex Ryan claims that Mike Zimmer was hired as defensive coordinator instead of Ryan in 2024 because the Cowboys didn’t offer enough Ryan money.
Whether it’s Ryan or Brian Flores or someone else, the Cowboys are now looking for the next defensive coordinator who quite possibly will be “released” in a future early-January statement.
