INDIANAPOLIS – At the NFL Combine, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer and his staff, with a brand-new defensive coaching staff led by defensive coordinator Christian Parker, have a lot of work to do.
A lot of the emphasis has gone to the defensive side of the ball, after Dallas finished last in the NFL in points allowed per game in 2025 with 30.1.
Let's dive into some key takeaways from Schottenheimer on what's to come for the Cowboys' defense:
What Parker's 3-4 defense will look like, players changing positions
While Christian Parker said his defense in Dallas will base out of a 3-4 look, Schottenheimer clarified that this defense won't be similar to what the textbook definition of a 3-4 scheme has been in years past.
"This 3-4 defense is not the old two-gap where you sit there and you're reading blocks. We will be getting vertical, and we will be using our hands and shedding…" Schottenheimer said.
"Why do you love the 3-4 as an offensive coach? Because you're forcing the offense's hand in a pass protection world, you're making them 5-0 things and block one-on-one, and if you give us those one-on-one opportunities, it's usually gonna be pretty good for us with the talent that we have inside."
That talent inside consists of Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark and Osa Odighizuwa. Schottenheimer said all three of the defensive tackles will move around, but pointed out that Clark has had the most experience in the middle at nose tackle, and Williams at the three-technique position.
On the outside, Schottenheimer announced Marist Liufau will be making the move to outside linebacker along with Ezeiruaku. He's one of several young linebackers that Schottenheimer pointed out at linebacker in general, along with DeMarvion Overshown and Shemar James.
In the secondary, Schottenheimer said the Cowboys are "looking at that" when it comes to acquiring young cornerbacks, but had high praise for some of the players on the roster already like DaRon Bland, who Schottenheimer said is "not a finished product," and Shavon Revel, who he believes is "going to take a big step this year."
"We've got talented guys that need to be developed, that's part of our job," Schottenheimer said. "We're not just in this business of 'Okay, we're gonna go draft players.' We're gonna have a very specific improvement plan with a plan of action for all those guys, where there's three things that each guy, we want to get them better at these three spots, and then not just that, but how we're gonna do that, what are the steps to do that."
What are the Cowboys looking for from a personnel standpoint on defense?
It's no secret that things will look different for Dallas from a personnel standpoint next season defensively. With that in mind, what are the general traits that Schottenheimer and Parker are looking for in their players?
"Guys who can learn, guys with great football intelligence," Schottenheimer said. "We want to be multiple. We've got the 3-4, we're going to play a bunch of nickel, we're going to play a lot of shell defenses. You guys have all seen the [Vic] Fangio shell system where it all comes out and you need guys that can run to the ball and can tackle. You need guys that are great communicators, because when you're gonna be multiple and have the rules and the scheme flexibility that we have, you need guys that can adjust on the run."
Schottenheimer emphasized that the Cowboys are going to draft and sign younger players that are going to play early for them, and feels they have the defensive staff to be able to develop them. Specifically, Schottenheimer complimented how clear Parker has been in communicating what he's looking for in his players.
"To hear him communicate with his staff and to have them have those conversations, disagreements, getting on the same page," Schottenheimer said. "Whether it's height, weight, speed, whether it's characteristics, toughness, ability to track a ball, the lower body explosiveness for a corner that we're looking for. It's been a really cool dialogue for me to sit in there and listen to those guys, and it's been fun."
In his second year, Schottenheimer said he's much more involved with the defense in this draft cycle because of the way he feels about offensive coordinator Klayton Adams and the offensive staff. Schottenheimer spends the mornings at the combine with the offense, and the afternoons with the defense.
Two positions that have been emphasized since Parker's hire have been the nickel cornerback spot and outside linebacker. Parker, who has a history in the secondary, called the nickel corner position "very important" in his defense, and Schottenheimer knows they need to find one that can handle all the responsibilities the position requires.
"I think it's an important position in pro football, so of course we're going to be looking for it," Schottenheimer said. "And there's a lot of ways to do that, there's a lot of ways to address the nickel position, but when you listen to Christian's vision and Derrick Ansley and guys like that, you hear them talk about what's so hard about playing nickel in this league, is you have to cover like a corner, tackle like a linebacker and blitz like a safety. And that's real, and that's why I think those guys are of such great value."
Similarly, the Cowboys are looking for outside linebackers that are versatile in the things they can do. Schottenheimer said he sees the outside linebacker room being built with a mixture of some veterans and young players like Donovan Ezeiruaku.
"I feel really good about [Ezeiruaku] and what he's capable of," Schottenheimer said. "You actually saw him do those things that we see. Remember, these outside linebackers for us, the first thing that they're gonna do is number one, set the edge of the running game. Number two, they're gonna affect the damn quarterback, and then occasionally, they'll drop…"
"What you want to see with guys like that, which we saw this year with Donovan, was when they drop, are they comfortable? Do they have movement skills? You see them, they look like a fish out of water? And all those answers for him are very, very positive."
Finishing touches on the defensive staff
The Cowboys finalized their defensive staff last week, with a mixture of coaches that are first-timers in the NFL and others that have NFL experience, similar to how Schottenheimer constructed his offensive staff when he was hired as the head coach.
This week, Schotteneheimer's gotten a front row seat to watching how the defensive coaches are blending together, and is pleased with the results thus far.
"It's been great for me this week to sit here in the mornings with those guys and listen to those guys talk about scheme and start to get the language right," Schottenheimer said. "They've really become really close, fast, and I think that's why we know we got the right group of guys."
One other additional move that the Cowboys made on their defensive staff was adding BT Jordan as a pass rush specialist consultant. He was previously with the Broncos in a similar role, and Schottenheimer was encouraged by how his players reacted to the addition of Jordan, who has worked with some of them in the past.
"A ton of experience, what he helped those guys do in Denver in terms of rushing the passer," Schottenheimer said. "When we started talking about BT, it was really interesting because Kenny Clark hit me up. Osa hit me up. All these guys start hitting me up about, 'hey, we thinking about maybe adding BT on as a consultant?' And they were thrilled. So really excited to get him in here, and he's obviously got great insight into the guys he's training."
