The long nightmare is over for Cowboys fans. At least they hope it is.
After enduring a season where Dallas ranked last in third down, red zone and passing defense, the team cut ties with defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus on Tuesday.
The former Chicago Bears' head coach faced obstacles, namely the preseason trade of All-Pro Micah Parsons, but after just a year, Jerry Jones will be going in a new direction.
The Cowboys will now search for their fourth defensive playcaller in four years. Dan Quinn, Mike Zimmer and Eberflus have each taken a turn at the helm.
Dallas now faces immense pressure to find a good candidate, ideally one that will stick around for longer than a calendar year.
Luckily, there's a good pool of candidates to choose from.
Brian Flores
In the minutes that followed Eberflus being fired, NFL insider Dianna Russini immediately took to social media to highlight a candidate for the job.
"One name to watch for the Cowboys’ new vacancy? Brian Flores," Russini wrote on X.
Flores has an impressive resume as a former head coach in Miami and a Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator with the Patriots in 2018. He's been the defensive coordinator for the Vikings since 2023.
Most importantly, he would bring the exact opposite style of Eberflus. Flores favors blitzes and pressure in his scheme, something that Eberflus shied away from, especially early this season.
Flores is expected to be a hot candidate in the head coaching market, so it might not be easy to coax him to be a coordinator in Dallas. But where there's smoke, there's fire, and Russini mentioning him early could be a sign that he's the frontrunner for the job.
Jonathan Gannon
After three years as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, Gannon was fired on Monday, but as one door closed, another one opened.
Gannon is familiar with the NFC East from his days as a defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. He led a top-five defense to a Super Bowl appearance in 2023, where the Eagles fell to the Kansas City Chiefs.
MORE: Packers' Micah Parsons posts update after ACL surgery
His best path back to a head coaching opportunity likely lies in returning to his roots as a DC. Gannon also has strong ties to Dallas. He worked with offensive coordinator Klayton Adams in Arizona and also worked under former defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.
Knew the Jonathan Gannon era wasn’t going to work out as soon as this dropped pic.twitter.com/NDJsBMthXP
— NFL Memes (@NFLHateMemes) January 5, 2026
Jerry Jones has always favored candidates with ties to the team. A prime example is Eberflus, who coached for the Cowboys long before being hired in 2025 to lead the defense.
If he has trustworthy voices vouching for him, Gannon could be the perfect fit to rebuild the Dallas defense.
Al Harris
This would be a welcome reunion for Cowboys' fans.
Al Harris was the defensive backs coach for Dallas from 2020 to 2024. A former Pro Bowl defensive back himself, Harris made a name for himself as a coach by mentoring ballhawks like Trevon Diggs and Daron Bland. Diggs tied a franchise record of 11 interceptions in 2021. Bland set the NFL record for most pick-sixes in a season with five in 2023.
He's now the passing game coordinator in Chicago, where the Bears led the NFL in takeaways (33) this season. Where Harris goes, it seems the ball will follow.
It's a trait the Cowboys' defense desperately needs as they've struggled forcing turnovers since Dan Quinn left.
Harris is another candidate with strong ties to Dallas, which could put him above other more seasoned coaches.
On this note: NFL teams should be running to hire Al Harris as DC next year.
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) December 29, 2025
The 15-year NFL vet has thrived this year as Bears DBs coach and passing game coordinator. Thrived previously as assistant head coach & DBs coach with Cowboys. Https://t.co/zXqtnBT8mX
Quinn, Zimmer and Eberflus were all former head coaches. Would Jerry Jones and the front office go the opposite direction, hiring someone like Harris with no experience leading a team?
With the recent track record of the defense, anything is on the table.
The Cowboys' offense is in win-now mode with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb both under contract and George Pickens on deck to be resigned.
The real focus this offseason is improving one of the worst defenses in the league, and it starts with finding the right leader for that unit.
With the wide variety of candidates, Dallas has no excuse not to find the best fit for the job.
If they can't, it could be another long season for a talented roster.
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