3 Cowboys on Thin Ice With Matt Eberflus as Defensive Coordinator

The Dallas Cowboys will have a new defensive coordinator calling the shots in 2025. Former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus is taking over for Mike Zimmer, who returned to the NFL ranks this past season.

Eberflus had a mediocre three-year tenure as a head coach and is returning to the DC role, which he held for four years with the Indianapolis Colts. The former Bears head coach is taking over a disappointing Cowboys’ defense plagued by injury.

This season, the Cowboys were ranked 28th in yards per offensive play (5.8), 17th in passing defense (218.1 yards per game), 29th in rushing defense (137.1 yards per game), and 31st in scoring defense (27.5 points per game).

Simply put, Dallas’ defense underperformed under Zimmer and will look to bounce back next year with Eberflus. With Eberflus taking over, a few players could be on thin ice due to their play in 2024 or lack of scheme fit.

Below, we’ll highlight those players and look back at their performance in 2024. These players might not necessarily get released or traded, but they will be under the microscope heading into next season.

1. Mazi Smith, DT

The former first-round pick has yet to take off after the Cowboys took him with the 26th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Smith appeared in all 17 games during his rookie season but only started in three and played 28 percent of defensive snaps. The former University of Michigan defender recorded 13 combined tackles, three quarterback hits, three tackles for loss, three QB pressures, and a sack in Dan Quinn’s scheme.

With Quinn becoming the head coach in Washington, there was a thought that maybe Smith would be more productive under Zimmer. Smith had slightly better stats this season than as a rookie, posting 41 combined tackles, four tackles, three quarterback hits, three QB pressures, and a sack.

However, when you look at Smith’s advanced stats, he struggled in Zimmer’s scheme despite being a full-time starter. According to PFF, the second-year defensive lineman had a terrible 49.6 pass-rush grade (ranked 209th among 219 qualified defensive linemen) and a 35.9 run-defense grade (ranked 201st among 219 DLs).

Since Smith is not much of a pass rusher, he needs to make his noise in run defense, which he could not do. The Cowboys’ defense was one of the worst against the run, allowing 4.8 yards per carry.

In 2022, Dallas’ defense under Quinn only gave up 112.4 rushing yards per game and 4.2 yards per carry. Therefore, it will be Eberflus’ job to revamp that run defense, which puts Smith in the spotlight.

Heading into his third year, Smith needs to step up and live up to his first-round billing or Dallas will find a way to replace him.