Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Brian Schottenheimer
Offensive Coordinator: Klayton Adams
Defensive Coordinator: Christian Parker
Special Teams Coordinator: Nick Sorensen
2025 Summary (W-L Record: 7-9-1)
In 2024, the Cowboys defense finished 28th in total yards allowed, 29th in yards per play, and 31st in points allowed. So entering last season, the general sentiment was that there was nowhere to go but up.
Somehow, the defense defied those expectations and found a way to keep getting worse. They finished 30th in total yards allowed, 31st in yards per play, and dead last in points allowed.
It’s a shame because the Cowboys had one of the best offenses in the league last year. On that side of the ball alone, they were capable of competing with anyone.
Perhaps the biggest reason for their success was that they recommitted to the run. That comes as no surprise considering the last name of their head coach is Schottenheimer.
In his first year as head coach, Brian Schottenheimer helped turn the run game from a bottom-5 unit the year before to a top-10 rushing attack. The Cowboys also took advantage of their new-found run game by using play-action at the 8th-highest frequency in the NFL. They had a ton of success doing so, finishing the year 1st in completion percentage off of play-action, 6th in yards per attempt, and 6th in EPA per play:
Running the ball more frequently didn’t stop Dallas from spreading it out and utilizing one of the most dynamic receiving duos in the league (CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens). The Cowboys used 11 personnel (3 wide receivers) at the 5th-highest rate in the NFL. They finished the season 9th in completions of 20 yards or more and were the #2 passing game in the league.
Still, none of it was enough to overcome arguably the worst defense in the NFL. They finished 7-9-1 and missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
Key Additions
WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling
OT Drew Shelton (4th Rd, 112th Overall)
DL Otito Ogbonnia
DL Jonathan Bullard
EDGE Rashan Gary
EDGE Malachi Lawrence (1st Rd, 23rd Overall)
LB Jaishawn Barham (3rd Rd, 92nd Overall)
LB Dee Winters
CB Cobie Durant
CB Devin Moore (4th Rd, 114th Overall)
S Caleb Downs (1st Rd, 11th Overall)
S Jalen Thompson
S P.J. Locke
Key Losses
WR Jalen Tolbert
C Brock Hoffman
DL Osa Odighizuwa
DL Solomon Thomas
EDGE Jadeveon Clowney
EDGE Dante Fowler
LB Kenneth Murray
LB Jack Sanborn
CB Kaiir Elam
CB Trevon Diggs
S Donovan Wilson
S Juanyeh Thomas
Biggest Questions Entering 2026
There’s no way the defense can get worse, right?
We all said the same thing last year, but luckily for the Cowboys, there truly is nowhere to go but up this season. You can’t finish 33rd in the league in points allowed (although I guess you could always give up more total points).
In defense of their 2025 DC Matt Eberflus, it’s not easy to do your job when you unexpectedly lose Micah Parsons right before the start of the season. While I don’t think that Eberflus gave the Cowboys much of a scheme advantage each week, I also know that he didn’t enter very many games with a personnel advantage.
The good news for Dallas is that this side of the ball will look a lot different than it did at the start of last season.
After adding Kenny Clark as a part of the Micah Parsons trade, Dallas traded for Quinnen Williams last November. Williams is still one of the best interior defensive linemen in the game:
Then they flooded the zone with defensive talent this offseason. They traded for edge rusher Rashan Gary, traded for linebacker Dee Winters, and then used 4 picks in the top 114 of the NFL Draft on defensive players: Caleb Downs (S), Malachi Lawrence (EDGE), Jaishawn Barham (LB), and Devin Moore (LB).
They added versatility and athleticism up and down their defense. From a talent standpoint, they are substantially better than a year ago.
What will Christian Parker’s defense look like?
The Cowboys have had two straight years of one-and-done defensive coordinators since Dan Quinn left.
After hiring more established and experience coaches to man the position over the last two seasons, Jerrah went in a new direction this year. His new DC Christian Parker has never been a defensive coordinator at any level.
His approach will be a bit of a mystery until we get to see the Cowboys in action. Everyone’s presumption, including mine, is that he’ll be heavily influenced by Vic Fangio since he spent the last two seasons on his staff in Philadelphia (he also coached with him in Denver back in 2021). At a high level, that would indicate lots of 2-shell/quarters coverage, etc.
That said, as I pointed out in my Eagles profile yesterday, Philly played a ton of man coverage (1st in the NFL) and single-high (3rd in the NFL) last year under Fangio. So maybe he’ll lean more in that direction.
Regardless of how exactly he plays it, he’ll have a versatile chess piece in safety Caleb Downs who he can build his defense around.
Many thought Downs was the best overall player in this year’s draft. He can do it all. He can play in the slot, cover wide receivers, blitz, drop into coverage, and contribute in the run. He’s capable of making this defense an absolute pain to deal with:
Will the pass rush actually be better this season?
All of the Cowboys’ defensive issues last year started with their pass rush. While they strangely finished 1st in pressure percentage according to Pro-Football-Reference, they were just 25th in sack percentage. That’ll happen when you lose one of the best closers in the game in Parsons.
There were just two players on the roster who had more than 3.5 sacks, and the effects of not getting to the quarterback could be felt everywhere. Dallas was dead last against the pass, dead last on 3rd down, and 30th in takeaways.
Even with the moves they made this offseason, they still don’t appear to have any pass rushers who are close to Parsons’ class. However, they do have an assortment of players (both on the interior and off the edge) who can still make an impact. The improvement is more likely to come in the form of multiple pass rushers getting 5-10 sacks than any one player getting 15, for instance, or being a league leader.
It’s clear they are better across the D-line this season. Are they top-10-unit-in-the-league better? That’s the big question.
Can they get more explosive plays in the run game?
The Cowboys’ run game improved dramatically last season. But it was more of an efficient and consistent run game than an explosive one. Dallas ranked 9th in rushing yards per game, 9th in yards per play, and 10th in percentage of runs gaining 4 yards or more. They also had the 2nd-lowest percentage of negative runs.
This was a rushing attack that leaned on steady running between the tackles (2nd-highest frequency in the NFL) and taking advantage of defenses that played with light boxes against them (10th-highest frequency according to NFL Next Gen Stats). They also leaned on a good balance of zone and gap compared to the rest of the NFL.
Dallas didn’t rack up a ton of big plays on the ground, however, ranking just 20th in runs of 10 yards or more. The hope is that 2nd-year running back Jaydon Blue can provide that element if he can earn more snaps.
A running back who could make house calls to go along with that passing game would make the Cowboys extremely dangerous:
Can Dak Prescott stay healthy?
Prescott’s career has followed a strange pattern going back to 2019. In odd years (2019, ‘21, ‘23, ‘25), he’s played extremely well. Those are the only 4 seasons of his career where he’s thrown 30 TD passes or more, and he played himself into the MVP discussion in a couple of those seasons.
In even years, however, he’s faced some kind of major injury that’s either led to him missing significant time or playing while somewhat compromised.
This year is, unfortunately, an even year. And while that actually has nothing to do with anything, the pattern is a reminder that keeping Prescott healthy and upright needs to be a major priority. Prescott rarely gets credit for it, but he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the game. Dallas needs to do everything it can to ensure he stays on the field.
Continuing to lean on the run game and play-action can go a long way in that effort. 3rd-year left tackle Tyler Guyton also will need to step up his performance (and stay on the field).
2026 Outlook
The Cowboys have got just about everything they need on the offensive side of the ball to be successful. Their defense is the big question, from their scheme to how their new talent will perform.
If they can get their act together and just play at a league-average level, not only would it be a major improvement, but it would also give the Cowboys a legitimate shot of winning the division and actually doing something in the playoffs.