"As the 2025 season progressed, Jones returned to the hiring processes of defensive coordinators Matt Eberflus, Mike Zimmer and Dan Quinn - former head coaches with years of experience calling defenses - to find out what went wrong during the season. All the reflection points led to the Cowboys hiring 34-year-old Christian Parker as their new defensive coordinator. Parker is the youngest defensive coordinator in franchise history. He's never called defensive plays before. He has seven years of NFL coaching experience."
""I spent a lot of time looking at the past, when I look at the coaching situation, a lot of times," Jones said. "I do that on everything, frankly, that I can get my hands on. I'm not trying to be philosophical, but I did less of whatever I've been doing [in the past] and a lot more of what I am doing in this process.""
"Jones said the hiring process is what needed to change. A handful of coaches were interviewed each time the Cowboys hired their previous three defensive coordinators. After head coach Brian Schottenheimer was hired last January, Eberflus was picked 24 hours later. Jones said his comfort level was high with hiring former head coaches and coordinators. But 2025 made him change that thinking. Jones interviewed more coaches. He relied heavily on Schottenheimer."
Jerry Jones reevaluated the defensive coordinator hiring approach after the 2025 season and expanded the candidate search beyond former head coaches. The Cowboys hired 34-year-old Christian Parker as defensive coordinator, making him the youngest in franchise history; Parker has seven years of NFL coaching experience and has never called defensive plays. Jones said the hiring process needed to change, interviewed more coaches, and relied heavily on head coach Brian Schottenheimer's judgment and staffing methods. The team had previously moved quickly to hire former head coaches such as Matt Eberflus. Separately, a potential quick resolution could be signing Pickens to a long-term extension valued at $30.6 million per year, which would total $122.4 million over four years.
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