Cowboys hiring of Whitecotton as DL coach, Eberflus as DC affords some route for remainder of offseason

The Dallas Cowboys teaching workers beneath first 12 months head coach Brian Schottenheimer has come collectively shortly, notably on the defensive aspect of the ball. Given the actual fact Schottenheimer will name the offensive performs himself, the Cowboys had probably the most work to do defensively after only one season of Mike Zimmer. They’ve put within the work with the hiring of Matt Eberflus as DC, passing recreation coordinator Andre Curtis, LB coach Dave Borgonzi, and DL coach Aaron Whitecotton. Returning Eberflus to Dallas after a earlier stint because the Cowboys linebackers coach from 2011-17 has been famous as one of many greatest wins of the offseason thus far. The hiring of place coaches hardly ever generates the identical quantity of buzz as a coordinator, however second to Eberflus when it comes to pleasure degree has been Whitecotton.

There’s a lot to love concerning the résumé Whitecotton has constructed as a younger coach, the extra skilled coaches he’s realized underneath in earlier stints with the Jaguars, Payments, 49ers, and Jets, and most significantly among the gamers he should work with on the Cowboys roster.

The addition of Aaron Whitecotton introduced some fanfare, and for good cause. The brand new defensive position coach remains to be pretty younger, as he began his teaching profession in 2013 as a defensive high quality management coach with the Jaguars. As a part of the inaugural workers of head coach Gus Bradley, previously the primary defensive coordinator of the Pete Carroll period in Seattle, Whitecotton was studying from an esteemed thoughts.

After three years with the Jaguars, Whitecotton was promoted to assistant defensive position coach. Nonetheless, Bradley was fired midseason, and Whitecotton was compelled to discover a new house. He joined the Payments on Sean McDermott’s inaugural workers, reuniting with former Jaguars defensive coordinator Bob Babich and aiding with the defensive position.

After three seasons, he took the identical place with the 49ers underneath defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who had coached linebackers in Jacksonville underneath Bradley and Babich. Saleh left to be the Jets head coach one 12 months later, and he introduced Whitecotton as his defensive position coach, the primary time Whitecotton had led a place group.

Over the following 4 years, Whitecotton was instrumental within the fast improvement of a number of star defensive linemen, together with Bryce Huff, John Franklin-Myers, Will McDonald IV, Jermaine Johnson, and Quinnen Williams. Whitecotton additionally spent three of these seasons working with Carl Lawson, at the moment a pending free agent for the Cowboys who has already expressed a want to return.

Whereas the state of the roster as a complete will stay extremely fluid for the foreseeable future, the Cowboys forming a cohesion between Whitecotton and Eberflus to place a robust deal with their defensive entrance seven is likely one of the most total encouraging strikes of the offseason from a real soccer perspective. It’s the first signal of the Cowboys being adept sufficient to go along with the strengths and upcoming expertise on their roster. Versus hammering the significance of operating the ball on offense as they solely method they see main enchancment, regardless of nonetheless not having a longtime again underneath contract, the Cowboys are embracing what they do have and trying to maximize it.

From speaking to some people, there’s a wholesome quantity of pleasure round new Cowboys DL coach Aaron Whitecotton.

His affect paired with Eberflus ought to enable for a enjoyable complementary unit between the entrance and the secondary.

He’s been the DL coach in New York for Will…

— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) January 29, 2025

Not solely is Mike Zimmer and his specialty in teaching defensive backs gone, however so too is former secondary coach and assistant head coach Al Harris. Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland solely performed collectively in a single recreation in 2024. Rookie Caelen Carson was thrown into motion far too quickly, and nonetheless has an extended method to go in proving he’ll be prepared for an even bigger position in a brand new scheme. Jourdan Lewis was probably the most constant vivid spot on the cornerback place all 12 months, however will flip 30 simply earlier than the beginning of subsequent season and is a free agent.

The Cowboys can be silly to nonetheless be attempting to pigeonhole themselves into embracing the defensive backfield because the power of their protection shifting ahead. Not with out making some critically uncharacteristic strikes in free company that no fan needs to be holding their breath for.

The defensive entrance and linebacking corps that Eberflus and Whitecotton will get their fingers on appears way more promising, particularly when contemplating each coach’s observe data of maximizing expertise.

Photograph by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Pictures

Eberflus may have second-year participant Marist Liufau, Damone Clark, and at occasions Micah Parsons at his disposal at linebacker to deal with. Eric Kendricks and Nick Vigil are pending free brokers that nearly completely match the profile of the kinds of gamers Dallas would like to have again as properly. Hopefully, Eberflus will get the prospect to additionally work with the insanely promising DeMarvion Overshown sooner or later in 2025 as properly.

After teaching the likes of Will McDonald, Quinnen Williams, Bryce Huff, and Quinton Jefferson with the Jets, Whitecotton will now get to work within the trenches with Marshawn Kneeland, Mazi Smith, Sam Williams, and likewise Micah Parsons. Similar to Kendricks and Vigil, Carl Lawson is a reputation to control as a returning free agent (having performed for Whitecotton in New York) and so too in a a lot larger method is Osa Odighizuwa. Chauncey Golston had a profession 12 months benefiting from each rep alongside the defensive position, and will probably be an fascinating free agent to see the marketplace for. DeMarcus Lawrence can also be a participant the Cowboys would possible have a tough time saying no to if he needs to return on a veteran deal and never finish his profession lacking the final 13 video games of 2024.

Mazi Smith took important strides in his second season, a season that was primarily about re-learning the place and his true position after being misfit in Dan Quinn’s scheme beforehand. Sam Williams will probably be coming off a coaching camp ACL and MCL tear that robbed him of a season poised to see a a lot bigger position as a go rusher, however the alternatives ought to nonetheless be there for the previous second-round decide. That is actually nonetheless an EDGE group that might use an additional infusion of expertise, however additionally it is one of many solely spots on the present roster that feels shut sufficient to game-ready to not increase alarm bells a few obtrusive want for beginning degree expertise. Dallas gained a primetime recreation on the highway towards a playoff crew final 12 months the place Golston and pending ERFA Tyrus Wheat led them in defensive finish snaps towards the Steelers.

Defensive deal with could stay a perpetual want till the warmth loss of life of the universe in Dallas, however with the arrow pointing up for Smith and if Odighizuwa is re-signed, there may be at the very least very strong potential on the prime of the depth chart right here.

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One more reason the Whitecotton rent has generated buzz inside the fanbase is, maybe considerably sadly, the extent of understanding in direction of the Cowboys’ common dysfunction from the highest down being at an all-time excessive. This crew can discuss all they need about their burning want to be identified for championship glory once more, however till confirmed in any other case, they’re identified for almost three a long time of playoff failures whether or not they prefer it or not.

Whitecotton’s most up-to-date 4 years of teaching expertise comes with a crew mired in a lot of the very same entrance workplace dysfunction within the Jets. If the Cowboys may be pretty described as a rudderless ship, the Jets boat could not even float anymore. Nearly the one persistently good factor for the Jets in any current historical past has been their defensive position exhibiting up on a weekly foundation, wanting ready, and doing their finest to maintain the crew in video games. It shouldn’t take too lengthy to find out how a lot credit score Whitecotton deserves for this, ought to he carry over this identical talent set to the Cowboys.

In a barely totally different sense, the Cowboys might also see the identical in Eberflus embracing the chance to be a hands-on, nitty-gritty soccer coach once more. Eberflus had a ton on his plate as the pinnacle coach of a Chicago Bears crew with wild expectations in a brutally onerous division with a rookie quarterback, and was in over his head attempting to maintain the complete crew collectively till he was fired after shedding on Thanksgiving Day. With the nationwide media, native media, and followers all nonetheless fascinated by the Schottenheimer rent, the highlight ought to stay on this primary time head coach for fairly some time – hopefully lengthy sufficient to permit the assistants to focus before everything on truly teaching soccer. That is one thing Eberflus thrives at and has largely made a profession out of doing, beforehand being a fan favourite when working with the likes of Sean Lee final time in Dallas.

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We’ve got talked quite a bit right here concerning the Cowboys needing to be taught from their current failures, and discover methods to again up their discuss of what they want to be on the sphere. If one of many defining, lasting recollections of the Mike McCarthy period was the previous coach’s fixed want to get higher within the trenches and be a more durable soccer crew, the crew didn’t do properly sufficient to maintain this picture between the strains. This early within the offseason, among the indicators are at the very least in place that the Cowboys are studying how to do that defensively, each with coaches which have walked the stroll and gamers being put in one of the best place to win.

When it comes time to take a look at the make-up of the roster the Cowboys will truly take into coaching camp and the preseason, it ought to come as no shock if the entrance seven on protection is circled as the realm they should lean on probably the most for identification and a path to profitable video games, because of the inspiration already being laid by Eberflus and Whitecotton.