Jerry Jones says new Cowboys DC Christian Parker’s teaching, flexible scheme stood out – Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News
Christian Parker has impressed Jerry Jones immensely.
SAN FRANCISCO — Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said he was impressed with new defensive coordinator Christian Parker’s ability to teach
and the flexibility of the defensive scheme.
Jones made his first comments about Parker during a wide-ranging conversation with a small group of reporters Thursday night before the NFL Honors show.
When it comes to Parker, the youngest defensive coordinator in franchise history at 34, Jones said his communication skills were also important.
“I like his focus on being a teacher, educating and his emphasis on that mental aspect of football,” Jones said. “He obviously got a lot of physical emphasis, too. In general, I’m excited about the makeup of our entire defensive group. They’re younger to my knowledge right now, unless it was a high school level, I don’t think we have a head coach in the group. There may be before we totally finalize. I’m very much aware that whatever we did before in our decision-making, we’re going a different way.”
Darren Woodson: Hall of Fame snub ‘not gonna break me’ – Nick Eatman, DallasCowboys.com
The three-time Super Bowl champion will have to wait at least one more year.
SAN FRANCISCO – Just because something has happened four years in a row, doesn’t make it any easier.
That’s feeling Darren Woodson can speak to as he was once again left of the ballot for the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.
A finalist for the fourth straight year, Woodson is now getting used to coming this close to the doorstep of the football immortality, but not getting his name called … again.
But if you think it’s going to change his attitude about the process, or maybe force him to change his strategy in how he promotes himself or doesn’t … think again.
Basically, Woodson says his 12-year career, the Super Bowls, the Pro Bowls and all the tackles in between, should speak for itself. It just hasn’t yet to the voters.
“You can look back and look at what I did,” Woodson said of his career. “I’m not going to campaign and do these little things to bring attention to me. I’ve never been that way and I’m not going to do that. So when it doesn’t happen … I’ve been built all my entire life that the birds are going to chirp the next day and I’m going to run my businesses the next day. Life is going to go on. Do I want it? Yeah, of course, but it’s not going to break me.”
While Woodson’s biggest supporters seem upset with the voting process, Woodson doesn’t ever allow himself to go there.
“You know, I don’t take shots at the voting process… I just don’t,” Woodson said. “There’s just a code of the process at hand. Like, you get a call and they tell you, you made it or didn’t make it. You basically just adhere to that code. Whoever does get int, they should be honored. It should be there. Its not about the guys going it. If you don’t get in, it sucks. But you still honor the guys who did make it. We should be celebrating those guys.”
Christian Parker’s arrival is a huge boost for Shavon Revel Jr. – Mike Poland, Blogging The Boys
The former third-round pick could flourish under new defensive leadership.
Christian Parker’s arrival is a direct force multiplier for Shavon Revel Jr. because Parker’s calling card isn’t just scheme, it’s year-over-year, detail-driven defensive back development. Dallas’ own decision-makers have already framed the hire in exactly those terms. They wanted a teacher, and Revel was one of the first young defensive backs names highlighted internally which matters because it tells fans how the building views Revel’s ceiling and why Parker was targeted to get him there.
The most concrete evidence point is what Parker’s secondaries produced in Philadelphia. In 2024, the Eagles finished best in the league with an elite pass-defense allowing 2,961 passing yards on 62.2% completions, along with 22 passing touchdowns allowed, and an 82.5 opponent passer rating. Then in 2025, the Eagles followed that up finishing top-10 with 3,226 opponent passing yards, a 56.8% opponent completion rate, and most notably just 14 opponent passing touchdowns allowed with a 75.4 opponent passer rating, all best in the league. Put simply, Parker’s track record says corners don’t just look better on tape, the unit measurably suppresses completions, explosive throws, and red-zone passing results.
For Revel specifically, Parker’s fit is good because Revel’s 2026 improvement path is mostly about technique, timing, and confidence. The exact areas that tend to jump on a defensive backs second offseason. Revel’s ACL timeline is a key part of why 2026 is a big year, he returned to action in 2025 after a torn ACL and only debuted midseason, which almost always means players in this situation are playing catch-up on lower-body confidence.
Jerry Jones Offers Optimistic Update on George Pickens Extension – Randy Gurzi, Cowboys On SI
George Pickens staying with the Cowboys seems like a foregone conclusion.
Losing Micah Parsons was a big blow for the Dallas Cowboys defense last year, but Jerry Jones continues to spin the trade as a positive.
Jones used some of the draft capital gained in the Parsons trade to acquire defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. He still has a first round pick to use from that trade as well, which is expected to be used on a defensive player.
In addition to these moves, Jones also has more room under the salary cap. Dallas already extended DaRon Bland and Tyler Smith, but they’re not done yet. According to Jones, they have the freedom to do whatever they need to now, including working out an extension with George Pickens.
Jones was asked if he believed the Cowboys could sign Pickens, even though fellow receiver CeeDee Lamb is already making an average of $34 million per season.
“Absolutely. A lot of the reasons I did some of things that I did last year was to retain some players that if it would have gone in different directions I couldn’t have done it,” Jones said.
Pickens is scheduled for free agency and while the Cowboys can use the franchise tag, an extension would be preferable. Not only would that keep Pickens happy, but his contract could be spread out over the next several years rather than taking an estimated $28.1 million hit in 2026.
