FRISCO, Texas – As the Cowboys look to rebuild their defense going into 2026, a free agent signing that is promising to bring swagger to their secondary is CB Cobie Durant.
Durant, who signed with Dallas on March 13, was drawn to come and help the defense turn things around because of the new defensive coaching staff led by defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
"The guys on defense, on both sides of the ball, all phases. Coaching staff, coach Schotty as a head coach reminds me a lot of Sean McCay," Durant said. "Corners coaches, [Parker] as DC, [Derrick Ansley] as corners coach and [Ryan Smith], I felt like it was a great situation I was coming into to help me thrive and allow me to come in and be my best self to help this team win games."
The process to getting to this point was a long one for Durant, who spent the last four seasons with McVay and the Los Angeles Rams.
"It was actually more stressful than the draft in my opinion…" Durant said of his first time being a free agent. "I looked at the [Cowboys'] coaching staff and I remembered some of the coaches in the secondary and the DC, just talking to them in previous times early in my years of playing. It wasn't even a hard decision for real, I just want to be where I could contribute the best and help the team win."
When meeting with Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer, Durant was reminded of his former head coach McVay, which was another selling point in coming to Dallas.
"Cool vibes, players coach, overall cool guy," Durant said of Schottenheimer. "You can feel his energy. He's built around family."
In his four-year NFL career, Durant has seven career interceptions in the regular season and added an NFL-leading three in the 2025 postseason. Taking the ball away is something he says has been a specialty since he played little league football.
"I just thrive at taking the ball away. It's just something I really enjoy doing, it's see ball, get ball," Durant said. "There's nothing like getting the ball back to the offense. Defense wins championships, offense sells tickets. Just get the ball back to Dak Prescott is my new motive."
Getting the ball back to Prescott was a theme of Durant's first interview with DallasCowboys.com after signing with the Cowboy. He's only played against Prescott once in his career back in 2023, but Durant has always thought highly of Dallas' veteran QB.
"Smart, can get out the pocket and extend plays, strong arm, a leader," Durant said of Prescott. "I've been in the league [five] years and I've been watching Dak for a long time… he's just an overall great quarterback."
Heading into his fifth season, the goal for Durant along with continuing to rack up takeaways is to get stronger and remain on the field along with his new teammates.
"Building that armor for my body. Staying healthy, that's really the main thing. Just staying healthy and being available." Durant said.
