After a six-year playing career in the NFL, including his last four seasons with Dallas, Darian Thompson joined the Cowboys coaching staff in 2023 as an assistant linebackers/quality control coach.
With new head coach Brian Schottenheimer taking over the reigns in 2025, Thompson is now headed to the defensive backfield as Dallas' secondary/nickels coach.
In 2024 Thompson assisted a young linebackers room that featured a breakout season from DeMarvion Overshown. Despite missing the final four games due to injury, Overshown tied for second on the team with 5.0 sacks, the second-most sacks by a Cowboys player in his first 13 career games with the club. He also finished with 95 tackles and became the only player in franchise history with at least 90 tackles, 5.0 sacks, one fumble recovery and a pick-six in the same season. Thompson also helped Eric Kendricks lead the team with 145 tackles, his ninth consecutive 100-tackle season, the second-longest active streak with 100-plus tackles in the NFL, only behind Bobby Wagner (10 seasons).
During his first season in the coaching ranks, Thompson was tasked with developing a young linebackers unit that featured second-year player Damone Clark, who led the team with 115 tackles, and Markquese Bell, who switched to linebacker from safety after Leighton Vander Esch suffered a season-ending injury in Week 5. Thompson helped Bell learn a new position on the defense, and Bell's 102 tackles ranked second on the Cowboys behind Clark. Thompson also oversaw the position flexibility of three-time Pro Bowler Micah Parsons, who tallied a career-best 14.0 sacks in 2023.
Thompson began the second phase of his football career in coaching after playing safety for six seasons in the NFL - two with the N.Y Giants (2016-17) and four with Dallas (2018-21). He was originally drafted in the third round (71st overall) by the N.Y. Giants out of Boise State. Thompson appeared in 18 games with 17 starts in his two seasons with the Giants.
After Dallas plucked him off the Cardinals practice squad in 2018, he was a key special teams contributor for the Cowboys before earning the starting safety job in 2020, a position he held until Donovan Wilson took over in Week 8. Thompson finished 2020 with 51 tackles and an interception.
In five years at Boise State, including his redshirt season as a freshman, Thompson was a two-time All-Mountain West first-team selection (2014-15) who played in 51 games with 44 starts. He finished his career with 242 tackles and a Mountain West Conference record 19 interceptions.
Thompson and his wife, Chelsey, have three daughters, Novah, Nya and Naomi, and two sons, Ty and Trace.
