The Dallas Cowboys entered the 2026 offseason knowing that several changes would need to be made, with the biggest one being at defensive coordinator as the Matt Eberflus experiment proved to be an abject disaster in his lone season with the franchise.
While there is still plenty of work left to do in terms of building a roster that will help push Dallas back into the postseason, Brian Schottenheimer and the front office have done a nice job of making the necessary adjustments to the coaching staff, beyond simply replacing Eberflus with Christian Parker, to help put their players in the best position to be successful this coming year.
Parker wasn't the only addition, though. The Cowboys also reworked a large chunk of the defensive coaching staff by hiring Ryan Smith away from the Arizona Cardinals as a cornerbacks coach, prying Derrick Ansley away from the Green Bay Packers to be the pass game coordinator, and also pulling former player Marcus Dixon away from the Minnesota Vikings to coach the defensive line.
Those hires from the professional ranks were joined by Chidera Uzo-Diribe, who joins the staff as an outside linebackers coach after climbing the collegiate ranks and helping build the Georgia Bulldogs' championship defense.
While it has been a productive offseason in Dallas thus far, Jerry Jones and Co. aren't done with their work quite yet. With that being the case, the Cowboys have earned a B- grade thus far this offseason.
Cowboys Enjoying Solid Offseason Start But Can't Get Complacent Now
With an owner like Jones, America's Team is always going to be under the microscope as pundits have made careers out of simply offering strong opinions on what Dallas elects to do, or not do, with its roster. The hires made, especially on the defensive side of the ball, show that the issues that were on full display during the 2025 campaign are being taken seriously. Now, Jones has to do the work to put the best 53-man roster together so those coaches have the necessary talent to work with.
The best thing Dallas has going for it right now is a pair of first-round picks in this April's draft. The Cowboys are slotted to pick at No. 12 and No. 20, with their second pick coming via the Green Bay Packers as part of the Micah Parsons trade. Having two swings at landing impact players in the first round should only help Dallas right the ship and get back on the path of winning that fans have been desperately missing. If the Cowboys can hit on these picks, their outlook only gets brighter.
Free agency is where things will likely get trickier for Dallas, as the Cowboys are projected to be $31.4 million over the 2026 salary cap with key players like George Pickens, Javonte Williams, and Brandon Aubrey up for new deals. Retaining those key pieces from last season's standout offense will be high on the team's to-do list this offseason, but depending on the cost, re-signing both could hinder what the Cowboys can do elsewhere, namely in the secondary.
One avenue to opening up cap space could be releasing veteran DT Kenny Clark, as that would free up as much as $21.5 million in space alone, but there would have to be other moves made, such as restructuring deals from some of their higher-paid players.
If Jones and the rest of the braintrust can maneuver their way through the next few months and improve the outlook of this team moving forward, their offseason grade will only go way, way up from the B- it currently stands at.