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.
