ARLINGTON, Texas — It's a good thing there are always extinguishers nearby during NFL games, because if Damone Clark keeps playing like his hair is on fire, one might eventually come in handy. And after being one of the brightest spots of an otherwise mostly forgettable preseason outing between the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Ravens, all signs point to Clark passing out plenty of smoke in 2025.
The latest change in defensive coaches, marking the third coordinator for Clark in his four-year career, saw former Cowboys' linebackers' coach Matt Eberflus return to Dallas to lead the defense — revamping his side of the coaching staff by bringing in others he feels can excel in teaching what amounts to a fairly young, albeit talent, group of players.
Dave Borgonzi, the team's newest linebackers' coach is one such individual, spent time with Eberflus in both Indianapolis and Chicago, where that latter was defensive coordinator and head coach, respectively.
Clark struggled to see the field under the one-year reign of Mike Zimmer in 2024, the two never being on the same page, and a bounceback is desperately needed and, quite apparently, already in the works.
It bears mentioning that it's no coincidence Clark is now wearing No. 18, the same number he was chosen to wear for LSU by the coaching staff in 2021 (after changing from No. 35) when he went on to have a First-team All-SEC season that included a team-high 78 tackles, 5.5 sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery.
The duo of Eberflus and Borgonzi is making for a potent mix for Clark and others, e.g.,, Marist Liufau, and the former had plenty to say about the early impact of the one-two defensive coaching punch that has him playing at what might be his highest level to date in the NFL.
On his chemistry with the Borgonzi and Eberflus:
"I mean, first I got to give God all the glory. Without God, I wouldn't be where I'm at today. This is going on Year 4 for me. I just gotta keep telling myself, 'Don't get too high. Don't get too low. Stay right in the middle.'
"But you gotta give credit to God, give credit to my teammates and Coach Gonzo and Coach Flus. Those guys play a pivotal role in our success. So in the meetings, ask questions. They've got our back, they know the effort. They're like, 'What did you see on this play?'
"All that plays a big role when you've got coaches that have your back."
On his level of confidence following his exceptional camp:
"I'm confident. Like I say, credit to the coaches, and credit to myself for just putting in the extra time. If you want something, you gotta put the extra time in. So that's something that I've been harping on myself about doing. Just like I said, it's [my] fourth year man.
"Make some plays today, but I left some plays out there. I've gotta correct the things that I need to correct, and just take this momentum going into the season — going into the next preseason game first, next week [against the Falcons] — and then into the season. The main thing I'm telling myself, 'Don't get too high. Don't get too low. Stay right in the middle.'"
On the teachings of Eberflus:
"Oh man. Coach Flus, that's a linebacker guru. You can look at the guys he coached: Sean Lee, Shaq Leonard, and he had Tremaine Edmunds last year. Just look at the different guys he coached. He has his standards and he's not going to alter his standard, You either rock with it or hit the road.
"Honestly, like I said, he never 'MF' us. It is all about, 'What did you see?' He's all about getting us a step closer to the ball — footwork, small things like that. And that's things that I've worked on and I harped on in the offseason before we went to training camp: film study, footwork, which I can still be better with a lot of it; and I will be better.
"I just give credit to Coach Flus and coach Gonzo. They just keep working with me. Really it starts with yourself. If you don't believe in yourself, you can't expect nobody else to believe in you. And that's something that I've been telling myself as well. Granted, this is all part of the game. That's why I just tell myself, 'Don't get too high, Don't get too low.'
"The Bible says, 'At the right time, The Lord will make it happen.' So just got to keep trusting."
On his view of the linebacker competition in 2025:
"This year? Man, I think we're nine to ten deep. We've got guys on our team. That's the fun part.
"We're going to go on up, keep competing and let the front office stuff take care of the front office thing. The only thing we can do is control how we go out there and play. It's part of the league. It's 31 other teams out there. It's not just the Dallas Cowboys.
"I know we all want to be here, but we know the reality of it is that it doesn't work like that. So we all just harp on just going out there playing fast. We're the quarterbacks of the defense. It doesn't matter if you're the MIKE, the WILL or the SAM — it doesn't matter. We are all the quarterbacks of the defense, and this defense and the team will go off of how we go. So it's important that we go out there and put our best foot forward.
"Just, again, credit to the coaches, man. From the time they got in [Dallas] it's been about getting to the ball, running to the ball. And, hey, if you don't want to do it, you don't want to be here. That's it."
