Last year, when the Dallas Cowboys were conducting their head coaching search, many household names were floated as possibilities. Bill Belichick, Kellen Moore, Robert Saleh. Then, an out-of-nowhere name surfaced
and became the team’s tenth head coach—Brian Schottenheimer.
As the Cowboys venture into finding their fourth defensive coordinator in four seasons after moving on from Matt Eberflus, could they go with an out-of-the-box choice no one is focusing on? Albert Breer at Sports Illustrated could be on to something.
On Tuesday, when the Cowboys fired Eberflus, Breer discussed the team’s opening and how it didn’t sound like things would be a drawn-out process.
I’d expect the Cowboys to move fast in looking at defensive coordinator candidates with Matt Eberflus officially out. And looking at Brian Schottenheimer’s background, it’d be easy to look at guys who’ve worked with Dan Quinn as fits—Schottenheimer and Quinn forged a strong relationship on Mike McCarthy’s staff, to the point where Quinn tried to bring Schottenheimer to Washington with him.
Along those lines, Ulbrich and Morris are available, with the idea of a run at Flores or Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia also floating out there.
Some of the usual suspects among beat writers covering the team have mentioned Jeff Ulbrich, Raheem Morris, and Brian Flores. Nonchalantly, Breer throws in Matt Patricia as a potential candidate for the job. Then, in Wednesday’s mailbag article, Breer doubled down on the Patricia front.
From Mike (@CoachMikeB23): What names have you heard are in the mix for the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator job? Who do you think is most likely to get that job? What is the candidate profile the Cowboys are looking for?
Mike, I think they kick tires on Brian Flores and maybe Matt Patricia. Brian Schottenheimer’s dealt with the Patriot family of defenses plenty over the years. The availability of Raheem Morris and Jeff Ulbrich is intriguing as well, considering their ties to Dan Quinn.
Now, Patricia is probably not a popular name floating around among coordinator openings, given how his time away from the New England Patriots will be remembered. Patricia left Belichick’s side in 2018 to become the head coach of the Detroit Lions. His tenure lasted just two and a half seasons, finishing with a record of 13-29-1. After that, Patricia ran home to the Patriots for a few years before moving on to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023.
He was hired as a defensive assistant and famously took over play-calling duties that December when Sean Dessi was relieved of play-calling duties. The Eagles continued their collapse down the stretch that season and finished with one of the worst defenses. After that, Patricia took a year off, then returned to coaching this year as defensive coordinator at Ohio State, where he regained some of his luster as a coach.
The Buckeyes’ defense finished first in scoring defense, tenth in allowed third-down conversion rate, first in red-zone defense, seventh in rush defense, and first in total defense. Many of the top defensive prospects coming out in the draft will be from Ohio State’s defense. If the Cowboys wanted to take players like safety Caleb Downs or linebacker Sonny Styles, pairing them with their former defensive coordinator could help ease the transition to the NFL.
At the end-of-season press conference, head coach Brian Schottenheimer was asked what he would be looking for in the team’s next defensive coordinator. He said the team will be looking for someone who is a great teacher and communicator for his players. Here is Styles talking about the influence Patricia has had on him and the defense at Ohio State this season.
The first thing Styles talks about—“I think he’s [Patricia] is a wonderful teacher of the game.” It’s not a lock that the Cowboys’ front office even looks at someone like Patricia, who could be just as happy being a college coach after spending the majority of his career in the NFL. However, if Dallas wanted to fall back into its old habit of going with a coach with head-coaching experience, Patricia would check that box. Not to mention his three Super Bowl rings would be something Jerry Jones would love to bring up during his first press conference.
