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Fired Bears Coach Matt Eberflus 'Prime Candidate' to Become Cowboys' DC

Is Brian Schottenheimer on the verge of his first hire?

Tom Dierberger

Matt Eberflus went 14–32 as head coach of the Chicago Bears.
Matt Eberflus went 14–32 as head coach of the Chicago Bears. / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
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Brian Schottenheimer, the new head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, reportedly has a name in mind to slide into the vacant defensive coordinator role on his staff.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Friday, citing sources, that former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus is a "prime candidate" to be hired as the Cowboys' next defensive coordinator.

Over three years as the Bears' head coach, Eberflus tallied a 14–32 record with his best campaign being a seven-win season in 2023. He kept his job in '24, hoping to lead the Bears back to the playoffs with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams under center. But the Bears erased a promising 4–2 start with a 10-game losing streak, and Eberflus was fired by the Bears shortly after an infamous end-of-game clock management debacle in their 23–20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, which marked their ninth straight loss. Chicago finished a disappointing 5–12, and Eberflus began the search for his next role.

If he's hired by Dallas, Eberflus will inherit a talented Cowboys defense looking for a bounce-back 2025 campaign. Led by four-time Pro Bowl pass rusher Micah Parsons, Dallas allowed the second-most points per game (27.5) and fifth-most total yards (6,039).

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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