When you review the 2025 Cowboys defense, a lot of their problems stemmed from their play at linebacker. Kenneth Murray was predominantly the primary linebacker on the field on all three downs. What we saw from Murray was him out of position, out of his proper gap, and more times than you'd like to see, unable to make tackles. To say he was one of the worst linebackers in the NFL last season isn't entirely hyperbole.
When I watch Caleb Downs, I'm not trying to project traits or guess at upside. I am evaluating what's already there, and what is there looks like an NFL safety who just happens to still be playing college football. Downs isn't flashy for the sake of it. I see efficiency, decisiveness, and a player who is always around the football. That is the kinda guy who lasts in the NFL, and players who defensive coordinators trust.
Orr, 33, succeeded Mike Macdonald as the Ravens' defensive coordinator in 2024. The unit regressed at the beginning of his debut season, but moving Kyle Hamilton back to a traditional safety role and inserting Ar'Darius Washington into the starting lineup stabilized the secondary. This past season, Baltimore's defense had another rough start with an especially weak pass rush. Another round of midseason adjustments - including trades for Alohi Gilman and Dre'Mont Jones - yielded some results, but they did not last through the end of the season.
Booker's first season in Dallas looks very much like the start of a long-term answer at guard after the departure of Zack Martin. Drafted 12th overall and dropped straight into the starting lineup, he finished his rookie year as the Cowboys' clear Rookie of the Year and one of the few unquestioned wins on a team that struggled for consistency. Across the season he handled a huge workload in protection and the most of any rookie interior lineman, yet he allowed only three sacks
The Browns made an out-of-left-field hire in 2023 when they brought Banda over from Utah State to coach safeties. Before joining Cleveland, Banda had no NFL experience, so there were questions about whether he would be a good fit. Banda has quickly become one of the better position coaches the Browns have. Grant Delpit has leveled up his game into an all-around safety under Banda's leadership - and really one of the more underrated safeties in the game.
If it seems like nearly every decision made by the Dallas Cowboys' front office this century has been wrong, that would be because that is precisely the case. From draft picks to free agency moves and trades to coaching changes. When viewed in retrospect, they all have one thing in common. Most of the time, the Cowboys made the wrong choice.
First year head coach Brian Schottenheimer did manage to invigorate the Cowboys' offense in 2025. Dak Prescott had perhaps his best season yet. Dallas had a pair of thousand-yard receivers in CeeDee Lamb and a 1,000-yard rusher in Javonte Williams. The Cowboys scored 471 points for the season, the fourth highest in the team's 66 seasons in the NFL. The offense wasn't the issue.
It's no secret that the linebacker spot was one of the Dallas Cowboys' weakest position groups last season. In the offseason, Dallas brought in a pair of veterans, Kenneth Murray and Jack Sanborn, hoping a change of scenery could bring out the best in the two veterans. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, both acquisitions ended up not helping the team at all.
With the dismissal of defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, the reconstruction of the Dallas Cowboys is officially underway. As the playoffs begin this weekend, the Cowboys have their eyes elsewhere and look to fix what was a flawed roster that led to a disappointing losing season. Decisions on high-priced veterans will be made, and contracts will either be restructured or terminated altogether.
Poor play from the players, especially on defense, is the easy problem to recognize. But any analysis of the 2025 season has to go deeper. Did Jerry Jones tank the season from the beginning when he traded Micah Parsons just a week before the season began? Or was the hiring of Matt Eberflus the real start of the downfall? Even
Booker went the distance at right guard against the Giants, logging all 55 offensive snaps in the 34-17 loss at MetLife Stadium, and this was one of the few weeks where the rookie's pass protection visibly wobbled. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer referenced in the breakdown after the game that Cooper Beebe allowed four pressures and Booker two, which he called one of the highest totals Booker has had all year, a clear sign this wasn't his cleanest outing in protection.
This is Witten's first foray into the collegiate coaching ranks, but he has a Texas state championship under his belt at the high school level so he has succeeded where he has been so far, and it stands to reason that will continue. It goes without saying that Witten and Murray being on the same team once again is cool and tugs at our nostalgia, sorry if you are an Oklahoma State or University of Texas fan, though.
The National Football League Alumni Association (NFL Alumni) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Cancer Prevention and Control have expanded the "GEAR UP Against Cancer" campaign to Dallas and several other markets across the country. The initiative aims to increase public awareness of lung cancer's impact, emphasize the importance of regular screenings for adults at high risk for developing lung cancer, and create a deeper understanding of the unique needs of cancer survivors.
Blue saw action in all four games Dallas played in October. In the months of September, November, and December he was inactive. No real reason was given for his inactivity other than he "had to get better" in practice. In his four-game stint in October, Blue had 22 carries for 65 yards and one catch for five yards and hadn't score a touchdown.
Dan Quinn left following the 2023 season to become the head coach of the Washington Commanders and then the Cowboys hired Mike Zimmer to round out Mike McCarthy's staff in the final year of his deal. When the team changed head coaches to Brian Schottenheimer they needed a new coordinator and Matt Eberflus was hired before being dismissed after a season's worth of work.
So let me rephrase: Offense is the name of the game in the NFL as long as you have a somewhat competent defense. Dallas led the league in most offensive stats, but unfortunately, were near the bottom of the league in nearly every defensive stat. It was a defensive failure of epic proportions, but it did not stop the Cowboys from putting together one of the most prolific offensive performances in the NFL.
The NFL coaching cycle is rocking and rolling and Tuesday evening saw it take an even more eventful turn as the Baltimore Ravens fired John Harbaugh. Pretty wild stuff. Way back in the middle of the season, the Tennessee Titans became the first team to be in the market for a head coach this cycle as they fired Brian Callahan.
The Dallas Cowboys held a press conference to close the 2025 season on Wednesday, something that we hope we never have to speak of again. The future is all anyone cares about right now and there is a lot of work to be done in that regard. We all know that the Cowboys are not a team who believes a ton in free agency, obviously that is always subject to change, but there are a lot of spots on the roster that are going to need to work and improvement.
"Bottom line, we need an identity on the defensive side of the ball," Jones said on The Fan. "I don't think we established that this year. Whether it's coach Eberflus or whoever it is, we have to create an identity. I think everybody would say that coach Schottenheimer has a ton of energy, he's very authentic and has an identity. We've got to play to that in all three phases. I think we did in one phase this year. I don't know that we established that in the other two phases."
