The Dallas Cowboys did not waste any time making changes to their coaching staff following their Week 18 loss to the New York Giants.
On Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Cowboys have fired defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. No one in the Cowboys' world is surprised by this decision, as it was only a matter of time before owner Jerry Jones kicked the former Chicago Bears head coach to the curb.
The Cowboys were hoping that Eberflus could improve this unit after they struggled under Mike Zimmer in 2024. Well, that never came to fruition as Dallas was one of the worst defenses in the league and got constantly picked on throughout the season.
The Cowboys allowed the most points in the NFL (30.1 points per game), passing yards (251.5 per game), and 10th-most rushing yards (125.5 per game). Simply put, it was a masterclass on how not to play competent defense at the NFL level.
With Eberflus out of the picture, the Cowboys will now be looking for their fourth coordinator in four years. However, Eberflus wasn’t the only problem that plagued the defense. There were a few players on that side of the ball who didn’t play well and should be packing their bags, too.
Below, we’ll discuss three Cowboys defenders who are now on thin ice with Eberflus out of the door in the Lone Star State.
1. Jack Sanborn
The Sanborn experience was an unmitigated disaster this season. The 25-year-old linebacker followed Eberflus to Dallas, signing a one-year, $1.5 million deal in free agency.
During Eberflus’s time in Chicago, Sanborn played defense and special teams, making a name for himself as an undrafted free agent. He also started in 19 games in his first three years in the league.
When Sanborn got to Dallas, Eberflus allowed him to start, which wasn’t surprising, given that DeMarvion Overshown was still rehabbing, and there was no more Eric Kendricks.
However, fans quickly realized that Sanborn was not the answer and were hoping that someone else would see the field over him. In six games this season (five starts), Sanborn recorded 34 combined tackles, a tackle for loss, and a pass deflection.
He played a career-high 55% of defensive snaps, which was a problem. Teams took advantage of Sanborn in pass coverage, as he had a 111.3 passer rating when targeted and gave up 12.1 receiving yards per reception allowed.
Sanborn’s PFF grades support this notion, as he produced a 58.6 coverage grade, a 54.7 run defense grade, and a 55.0 pass rush grade.
Sanborn’s time in the starting lineup started to dwindle as he played 16 defensive snaps in Week 5 and then zero in Week 7. The Cowboys placed him on injured reserve with a groin injury at the beginning of November, and that was the last we saw of Sanborn.
Cowboys fans will hope that their new defensive coordinator will find an upgrade over Sanborn, whether that be in the draft/free agency or by figuring out what to do with Marist Liufau.
2. Kenneth Murray Jr.
Sanborn wasn’t the only starting linebacker who drew the ire of Cowboys fans during the course of this season. Kenneth Murray Jr. was just as bad as Sanborn, but they continued to play him, despite having a so-called better option in Logan Wilson, whom they acquired ahead of the trade deadline earlier this season.
The Murray experience was one to forget, as he did everything you aren’t supposed to do on the field. He wasn’t great at stopping the run, and he was a turnstile in pass coverage, which was great for opposing offenses.
The 27-year-old linebacker is set to become a free agent in the coming months after Dallas acquired him in a trade from the Tennessee Titans. In 17 games (16 starts), Murray racked up 81 combined tackles, four tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, two pass deflections, and a sack.
However, Murray was terrible in pass coverage. He allowed 383 receiving yards (second-most in his career), two receiving touchdowns, and a 116.9 passer rating. According to Pro Football Focus, the veteran defender had a 48.1 coverage grade and a disastrous 31.9 run defense grade.
Do you know how bad you have to be in one aspect to garner that type of grade? Dallas learned the hard way about going cheap at linebacker in 2025. Cowboys fans hope Jerry and Co. learned their lesson because they can’t do this again in 2026.
3. Donovan Wilson
Last, but not least, on the chopping block is none other than Donovan Wilson. Wilson is also set to become a free agent this offseason, and it's possible that he might not be back in Dallas.
The veteran defensive back has spent his entire seven-year career with the Cowboys after they selected him in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL draft. As a Day 3 selection, Wilson exceeded expectations by becoming a starter in his second year and an established defender in Dallas’ secondary.
This season, Wilson only missed two games due to injury, making 15 starts. The veteran safety had 71 combined tackles, five pass deflections, three tackles for loss, two interceptions, and a forced fumble.
On paper, most fans say that those are solid numbers for a starting safety. But he wasn’t good in pass coverage at all, and Dallas would be smart to get younger and find a better option.
Opposing quarterbacks went right at Wilson, who had an ugly 121.3 passer rating allowed when targeted and gave up seven receiving touchdowns (career-high). In 2024, the veteran defender gave up six touchdowns and had a 130.0 passer rating.
According to Pro Football Focus, Wilson had a terrible coverage grade (38.8) this season, but was actually good in stopping the run (73.9). However, he had 14 missed tackles, which was a career-high.
That cannot happen for a defense to succeed. Now, he wasn’t the only issue in Dallas, but his play didn’t fix the Cowboys’ warts. It will be interesting to see what the Cowboys do in the secondary as they also have questions at cornerback.