Cowboys Could Hire Another Eagles' Defensive Assistant

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PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles could be losing more than one defensive assistant to their NFC East rival, the Dallas Cowboys.
Earlier this week, the Cowboys hired Philadelphia’s well-regarded secondary coach Christian Parker to be the team’s new defensive coordinator.
That was a sharp contrast to Dallas’ usual history, which typically demands much more experience from the DC. Parker, who is just 34, is the first defensive coordinator for the Cowboys without head-coaching experience since 2013.
Now comes word that Parker potentially won’t be leaving for North Texas without some company.
COMPANY IS NICE

The Cowboys are interviewing the Eagles’ assistant linebackers/defensive quality control coach Ronell Williams, for a role on Parker’s staff, according to ESPN.
The Cowboys are interviewing Eagles assistant LB coach Ronell Williams, who was the team’s nickel cornerback coach in 2023, per source. Obviously has a background with new DC Christian Parker.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) January 24, 2026
In theory, Williams could help anywhere on the back seven because he’s got a history working with the slot cornerbacks in Philadelphia before shifting to his current role for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
In his first year with the Eagles pre-Cooper DeJean, Williams helped navigate an injury that sidelined starter Avonte Maddox for 13 games, which resulted in Philadelphia using eight different bodies inside.
Before joining the Eagles’ defensive staff, Williams spent four years (2019-22) working as a defensive quality control coach for the Chicago Bears. The fact that he bridged the one-year Sean Desai/Matt Patricia era to the current Vic Fangio-led defense for Philadelphia speaks highly of what the organization thinks of Williams' future.
A local product and native of Chester, PA, Williams played collegiately at West Chester University as a linebacker, where he led the Golden Rams in tackles from 2011-13. He also obtained a graduate degree in higher education from Temple in 2018.
Williams’ coaching career also started locally, first as the linebackers coach at Widener in 2016 before moving on to Temple for two seasons as a graduate assistant/defensive analyst.
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John McMullen is a veteran reporter who has covered the NFL for over two decades. The current NFL insider for JAKIB Media, John is the former NFL Editor for The Sports Network where his syndicated column was featured in over 200 outlets including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Miami Herald. He was also the national NFL columnist for Today's Pigskin as well as FanRag Sports. McMullen has covered the Eagles on a daily basis since 2016, first for ESPN South Jersey and now for Eagles Today on SI.com's FanNation. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey and part of 6ABC.com's live postgame show after every Eagles game. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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