Does the Cowboys’ track record make the defensive coordinator job unattractive?

The Dallas Cowboys are continuing their in-person interviews with potential defensive coordinator candidates and their list thus far has been impressive.

Rather than just speaking with former head coaches with decades of experience, the Cowboys are interviewing some of the brightest young minds in the NFL. As encouraging as this is, it also means they’ll have plenty of competition for the best candidates.

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Not only will they have to contend with other teams, but the Cowboys might have to overcome their own track record. As Ed Werder reminds us, the Cowboys will be on their fourth defensive coordinator in as many years. That could lead to questions about job security for anyone that Brian Schottenheimer wants to hire.

It seems that Brian Schottenheimer has targeted some of the most popular young DC candidates in the league. But the Packers, Niners, Steelers and Giants are their competition. With four DC in four years, Jerry Jones will have to convince them of job security - and that means…
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL) January 20, 2026

As Werder points out, Jerry Jones could always sweeten the pot with a higher salary, but it could be hard to convince him to do so with an unproven candidate.

Jones is, after all, the one who typically wants years of experience before considering someone for the job. We saw that in the hires before Schottenheimer took over with Rod Marinelli, Mike Nolan, Dan Quinn, and Mike Zimmer. Even the Matt Eberflus hire had Jerry’s fingerprints all over it.

Turnover rate for DC job feels overblown

Former Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

While it’s true that Nolan, Zimmer, and Eberflus were all in Dallas for just one season, the idea that the Cowboys don’t retain defensive coordinators isn’t accurate.

Nolan was hired by Mike McCarthy in 2020 when he became the head coach and orchestrated one of the worst defenses Dallas has ever seen. Moving on from him was essential, and the Cowboys stuck with Dan Quinn for three years.

MORE: Is Sean McDermott a possible Cowboys defensive coordinator candidate?

The only reason Quinn moved on was that he took a head coaching position. Zimmer was selected as his replacement, but wasn’t retained by Schottenheimer after McCarthy left.

Instead, the new head coach went in a different direction and much like Nolan, it was a disaster. Should the Cowboys find the right coach, as they did with Quinn, there’s no reason to believe they won’t be around for many years. That is, unless they get an opportunity the way Quinn did.

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