MOBILE, Ala. – The offseason is in full force, and the Cowboys have a lot of crucial decisions ahead of them in free agency and the draft.
They've already made one of their crucial decisions: Finding a new defensive coordinator, as they hired former Eagles DBs coach and pass game coordinator Christian Parker last Thursday.
Speaking at the Senior Bowl, Cowboys COO/co-owner Stephen Jones discussed what made Parker stand out, the latest on George Pickens' future, and more. Let's dive in:
What stood out about Christian Parker?
The Cowboys' search process for their new defensive coordinator was much more extensive than it's been in the past, interviewing a total of nine candidates for the position. In a pool of candidates that Jones said were all qualified, what made Parker stand out from the rest?
"Start with coach Schottenheimer has a vision for the type of defense he wanted to have that compliments what we do on offense," Jones said. "At the end of the day, it was Christian's vision. Not only for the type of defense he wants to play in terms of the personality it's going to have and the type of culture he wants to create over on that side of the ball, but also the wrinkles that he could bring that really would fit the pieces that we have in place."
The next step for Parker and the Cowboys is filling out the rest of his defensive staff. They've already interviewed several candidates virtually, and will begin in-person interviews likely tomorrow, per Jones. The goal is to have the full defensive staff finalized by the weekend if they can, but it could linger.
The latest on George Pickens' future
Arguably the biggest upcoming unrestricted free agent the Cowboys have on their roster is WR George Pickens, who had a career-best year with 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns. Jones hasn't dived into specifics with the negotiations, and didn't again Wednesday, but reiterated the goal is to keep Pickens with the Cowboys.
"We won't get into any details right now," Jones said. "Certainly, we want George to be back here in Dallas, and we'll certainly go from there."
Jones mentioned that in the past, the NFL's scouting combine in Indianapolis has been a good place in the past for those conversations between teams, players and their representation to occur on contract extensions. This year's combine takes place from February 23 to March 2.
Nick Sorensen to be retained as special teams coordinator
With plenty of staff turnover in the last week for the Cowboys, one area where there won't be any is on special teams, as Jones announced special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen will be retained for a second season in 2026.
Still, Jones made clear that the team is looking to see lots of improvement in the third phase of the game.
"We certainly want to be better there," Jones said. "We've got some good pieces with our returner, our punter, our kicker and our snapper. But usually when you get some good defensive players, those turn into pretty good special teams players too."
Cowboys have visited with Javonte Williams' representation
While Jones wasn't as open about the team's contract talks with George Pickens, he discussed a bit more regarding RB Javonte Williams, who rushed for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2025.
"We've certainly visited with Javonte…" Jones said. "We're always visiting with representative about our players."
Things continue to trend towards Williams likely returning to the Cowboys in 2026, and possibly beyond. At the team's year-end press conference earlier in the month, Jones said Williams "is at the top of our list to go out and sign" and the team would like to get him signed to a multi-year deal.
What's the Cowboys' plan for free agency?
With free agency quickly approaching, the Cowboys are emphasizing trying to keep some of their key players from a season ago like Pickens, Williams and Jadeveon Clowney.
While they're always looking to add depth on both sides of the ball, Jones discussed the defensive side of the ball as one of the big areas they need improvement in, and they feel they have the assets at their disposal to do so.
"Obviously, we've got work to do on the defensive side of the ball. So between free agency, between the draft, there's a lot of resources there that we can use to make our defense better."
