Matt Eberflus: Play Better as a Team | Dallas Cowboys 2025

How are we all doing? Good. Good to see everybody. So, uh, you know, in terms of, uh, you know, going back to Chicago, um, and playing, uh, with our fellas there and all the guys, you know, we’re keeping the process, uh, and our preparation the same as we always do. And, um, you know, it’s I’m always grateful, you know, and have much gratitude for my whole coaching career, you know. So, um you always look back at everything how you can learn, how you can grow, um and get better and improve and uh that’s the biggest part of experience and uh that’s what we’re doing there. And then in terms of uh last week, you know, we got to play better team defense. You know, we all got to be on the on the same page. You know, we got to do a good job of alignment, assignment, key technique, you know, and playing clean football. There was uh some definite spots in there in terms of how we executed last week where we did some really good things, you know, in the run game. Um you know, obviously the big interception at the end making some adjustments and um really proud of the guys how they gritted it out and hung together um in there, you know, in some spots that was, you know, kind of a, you know, a back and forth day, you know. So I know exciting win for the Cowboys and excited that we, you know, pulled it out at the end. Donno had that wonderful interception. Um, and we made some nice stops there in overtime. So, um, with that, I’ll open up to questions. Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News. Uh, what did you learn from your time in Chicago? Yeah, when you become a head coach, um, it’s a different job, right? You know, so you learn a lot of things, you know, so a lot of things that you didn’t do as an assistant, uh, you know, as a coordinator. Um but uh you know again I’ll just say that the experiences there is is certainly you know I cherish all those like there’s always something going on up there whether it’s people questioning game management assistant coaches leaving there’s always something going on. How did you kind of manage those things? Yeah again that’s part of being a head coach. You know that’s that’s that’s what it is. You know you’re always going to get questioned on on certain decisions and and you got to put your best foot forward there. Matt Todd archer with ESPN. As you look back, do you dread this week because you know this is coming with all these questions and stuff? No, no. I I look at it as one one opportunity for us to be able to go out there and and uh you know, really execute and uh it’s game three and it’s important that we need to improve. Um and everybody needs to improve, you know, throughout the league. Everybody has has issue here and there early in the season that they got to improve on and uh that’s what we’re looking to do. And then from the time off, what did you do? Did you get away from football? Did you go somewhere? Did you How did you clean your mind? In the time off, you know, obviously, you know, the with my girls being home there, you know, I told the told the ladies it’s the first time your dad had uh December off in 34 years of coaching. I said, “So, two things are going to happen.” I said, “We’re going to get closer together and we’re getting closer to the Lord.” And uh to me, uh we accomplished those two two things. And uh it was it was a good time with the family. So, and was there a time where you just wanted to not get back into it right away? Like Dan Quinn talked and McCarthy both talked about taking that year off really kind of benefited them. Did you? Yeah, I think you reflect you reflect and see what you want to do and it didn’t take long for me to figure out I want to get back in and uh that’s that’s an important thing and uh I love coaching the players. I love working with the players and um that’s something that that I’ve always loved to do and I wanted to get back in. John Mishon with the athletic. Uh what did you think of your time with Caleb Williams and then what have you seen from him on the two games this year? Yeah, like I said, you know, I just I really cherish the whole time that I was there and my whole coaching experience. Um, you know, and then, you know, for Caleb, you know, really it’s just, uh, working through the process process of his second year, you know, working through the timing and and the rhythm of that offense. And, uh, you can see that, um, you know, going forward, game one, game two, game three, and, uh, that’s where it is. And then when we talked to Brian, he talked about on some of those explosive plays, how they’re not major things that needed to be cleaned up, that there’s there’s small things here or there. I guess for people when you watch it, you might think that it’s a major problem because there were so many. Is it is it minor things and how do you get it fixed? Yeah, I mean I think when it’s uh when you give up big plays, I don’t think they’re minor. Those are those are major things and we have to do a better job of uh all 11 of all 11 players including the coaches executing on a certain play, this play, that play, whatever it might be. But uh you have to execute and again that’s coaches and players. Joe Hoy, Dallas Morning News. You talked about the reflection period. How did you reflect? Did you pray? Hey, did you meditate? Did you do anything like that? And um what was the moment that really kind of sold you said, “Hey, I do I do want to get back into this right away?” Yeah, I mean, uh prayer and meditation is is big in everybody’s life. Uh you know, so I think that’s important, of course. Uh but I do think that you do have time to reflect and reflect on, you know, what you could do better, what what what did you learn from the experience? And I’ve done that everywhere I went. if I was a defensive coordinator, you know, at the Colts or or the head coach of the Bears, um you reflect on those things how you can improve. You learn and you grow and you get better from the experience. Was there a moment where you said, “Hey, this idea want to go back.” Oh, yeah. Yeah. It wasn’t wasn’t long. It was about a couple weeks, you know, a couple weeks, you know, I took a couple weeks and and it was like, “Yeah, I want to get back in.” Nick Harris for Star Telegram. Uh Brian’s talked a lot about the communication piece in the secondary. uh what have y’all been able to work on this week, whether it be through walkthrough or during practices, that really help kind of emphasize that communication? Yeah, just uh you know, when you’re at home, it’s loud. Um it was our first time, you know, playing together in there, so I think it’s important that we do a great job with subtle hand signals and and uh a good way to communicate um so everybody’s on the same page. And Jaylen Johnson’s not playing, but what can you appreciate about the Chicago secondary and the pieces that they still have there? Yeah, the guys in the secondary, you know, Kyler Gordon is is a, you know, a definite playmaker and he does a really good job and they got some good pieces back there and uh always look love working with the players there and they bought into the system and they played some good balls.com. When it comes to fixing communication on the back end of defense, is it is it as easy as it sounds or what goes into that process? Is it overcommunication? Is it meeting room things? Is it walkthroughs? What what what goes into that? Yeah, I mean, you answered it, right? It’s it’s everything cuz I think when you look at when you look at players over the years, everybody learns a different way. You know, some guys learn you show them the diagrams, oh, I got it right. And then some guys have to do it on the field. So, but the biggest thing for us is the walkthroughs in the practice because that’s functional intelligence, you know, functional exe execution. Um, and I think that’s the most important thing. That’s the feedback for the coaches, um, to really see that, hey, these guys can execute this call. Um, these guys are good with this and they feel comfortable and confident in it. Garrett Odell, CBS Sports. Matt, Trayvon Diggs snap count basically doubled from week one to week two and Brian said on Monday essentially has no restrictions. What have you seen from his play through two games this year? Yeah. So, he’s just getting back into it, you know, and and the and the thing about Trayvon is he hasn’t, you know, uh was didn’t go through training camp, you know, so this is basically his his period where he’s learning the defense and again, it comes down to the the functional ability to be able to execute on the field and it’s time on task, you know, so we’re working with him extra in the mornings to get him up to speed. um getting as many reps as we can during practice and then coaching them up in between when the offense is up there. Um but it’s all the above. And real quick, uh Kaire, there’s a stat like pass yards attributed to someone who’s given him up in coverage and Kaire has given up the most according to NFL Pro. What do you think of that stat and is that valid for that attribution? Yeah, I don’t look at that. Ker has played uh well. Um he’s tackled well. He’s done a good job. He’s going to continue to improve. Um, I like where Ker is at. Hey, f Patrick Dallas.com. Um, this is our first time speaking to you since Javian Clowny officially signed on to the team. So, two-part question. The first part is, and I see your smile creeping up thinking about Clowny. Just talk about through your eyes, why Javian Clowny, right? Why right now? Yeah. Anytime you can add pass rushers, I’m all in. So, if you say the say those two words, pass rusher, I say yes. You know, so um to me, it’s about adding another piece, uh we’re going to need everybody on our roster uh during the course of the year. You know, we’re going to have some, you know, injuries here and there that are going to creep up and we got to have guys step in. That is a fine at a team meeting. Um but yeah, so just adding him is is really good. and then you know he’s uh been a joy to work with the last you know few days and you know he’s buying into Shotti’s you know culture and and uh it’s going to be exciting. Second part of that is uh Jade Devian said one of the key drivers of his interest was when you guys acquired Kenny Clark and he had nothing but praise for just that rotation with OSA Si and and Kenny Clark. What does it mean to you to have a veteran coming in with his ability and his mentorship but still be so excited that he sees that acquisition and then gets on the phone with his agent and says, “Figure out how to get me to Dallas.” Yeah, he is excited. He really is. He’s excited about getting going, you know, on the field and um obviously having Kenny Clark in there and Sally and Osa and all those experienced guys at the Dline really helps us and uh those guys are going to learn and grow like like the rest of our unit as we go forward. But adding to him has been great. at Edward WFAA. Hey, how you doing? Good. How are you? Um, Shotti said that, you know, you have unique knowledge about this week’s opponent because of your recent experience there. He had you come in and address the offensive coaches. What of value do you think you were able to share as far as Chicago’s personnel and their strengths and weaknesses? I I think it’s important to do uh with every opponent, you know, and uh you know, because we have several coaches there that were there last year and he’s talking to everybody about it, you know, strengths, weaknesses, um you know, where we uh can gain an advantage and just gathering information, you know, about about different things. So, that to me is always important. We we do that every single week. If a guy was with a guy, a player, um we ask strengths, weaknesses, and have them talk to the offense or defense. That’s important. Hey Matt, Jeff Cole with Foxboard Dallas. Going back to last Thanksgiving, the way things ended in Chicago, you talked about your third four years in coaching and how different that was to have that time off. Was that the hardest moment of your career? Yeah, there’s there’s always been uh there’s always hard moments um you know, in coaching. You know, you always are disappointed when you lose and uh because you put so much into it. you know, the players put so much into it and you’re most disappointed for the players and it’s uh it’s and then once that settles in and you work to the next day, you know, the sun comes up and you move forward, you know, you learn, you grow and you you keep going and um that’s what true grit is, right? And uh that’s what we’re all about. And what you talked about learning from that, what did you learn? Yeah, a lot of things. I could I could list a lot of things that I learned. Um, but you know, the biggest thing is that you got to be able to communicate well and and and do a good job there with everybody that’s working. Um, have you reimagined yourself at all? Like Quinn talked about like he he went and looked at his scheme and things that he had to change because he felt Seattle and Atlanta, you know, he kind of, hey, this is already known for this and he came back a little bit different. Have you done that as well? Yeah. Yeah, I do that every year. You have to. um you know, you come up with uh different aspects of your scheme that you need to improve, but it also comes down to the players you have available to you. You know, I think that’s important that you got to really move your scheme to the players that you have uh that particular week. Um so we got to do that and do that better. And uh so that’s what we’re always doing, but I always do that every single year. You you take a hard evaluation, you do your self scout, and then you look to move forward what concepts you’re going to put in and uh how you’re going to be better next year. What do you think the reaction is going to be Sunday for you? I haven’t thought about it. Calvin, um, play zone about I guess we 95% of the time. Any thought of maybe we should play man a little bit more? Yeah, you you know, again, it’s it’s about player availability and it’s about really about what we, you know, about the opponent, you know, what you think is going to work against the opponent and uh certainly we have those concepts in and and uh we’re going to use concepts that we like um that fit the players and what we can execute. Well, a guy like Clowny, obviously someone else might reduce snaps. How do you kind of manage some of those types of things? It’s a rotational deal, right? You know, you guys can see how we’re rotating at Dline. Some guy’s got 40 plays, 42 plays, some guy’s got 20 plays, some guys got 16. So, it’s a management thing. And we’ll see where his conditioning level is and see where he goes. Yeah. Uh, experience taught you lessons from your time in Chicago, but it also gives you lessons you can share. I’m assuming Brian Shaver being a first- time head coach. What was your biggest lesson coming from your experience as a first- time head coach for Brian? I would just say that uh you know when you look back at everything in your life that you should have gratitude right and you should be grateful for the experience um because um if it’s a great experience you know a lot of times people don’t learn much from that you know u you you learn some things but when you have adversity I think you that’s when you learn so um and I do that in every aspect of my life finish up with Nick uh James Houston has the highest pressure rate on this team and he does limit hell of a week last week right what, 16 plays and and a sack and a couple pressures. Yeah. I’m just curious of your overall evaluation on James Houston, you know, adding a defensive end. Yeah, I love his energy. I love where he is in terms of his the mental aspect of the game and he’s a worker and I’m excited about where he’s going to go in the future. And then with with Donovan Wilson in previous years, uh we haven’t necessarily seen him as a one high type guy. Um on that fourth and four play, he was that one high that was uh um toward the field safety. what what do you uh appreciate him as a one high type guy and what was kind of the communication with him and being able to Yeah, Donovan’s been great for us, you know, and Donovan can play he can play down, he can play back, you know, he’s just got to, you know, really do a good job with uh you know, the whole uh space and then understanding space and he’s doing a good job with that and uh we’re excited about Donald. He’s our captain. Um he’s one of our leaders and he’s a hell of a pro. Thank you. Thank you. And I thank you. Yes.

Defensive Coordinator Matt Eberflus met with the media to talk about his upcoming return to Chicago to face his former team, the key to playing better defense as a unit and more.

#DallasCowboys #CowboysNation #NFL

Subscribe to the Dallas Cowboys YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/2L07gMO
For more Cowboys content: https://www.dallascowboys.com/
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dallascowboys/
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dallascowboys?lang=en
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dallascowboys
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DallasCowboys/
Get the App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dallas-cowboys/id548528027

49 comments

  9. Such poor phrasing of questions by the media. They collectively won’t be straightforward in asking the tough questions. Is it so hard to ask:

    1. Your defense just gave up 450 yards passing to a quarterback, one many people think at this point of his career is closer to a backup than a starter. The head coach and you say it’s primarily a communication issue. How can communication be such a problem in week two of the season?

    2. If you’re gonna play zone defense, why are you starting safeties who are better known for run support then pass coverage?

    3. If you see there are problems getting pressure on the quarterback, why don’t you take more chances with blitzing in order to give the quarterback less time to sit back and throw 40+ yard passes?

    The journalists are all smart enough to know these questions. But instead of being direct, they ask softball questions which allow the defensive coordinator to give evasive and non-illuminating answers.

    Thanks for nothing. Literally.

  13. Matt , cowboys fan for thirty years you got to get these defense on track to win , you know what we need in i defense to win not happing get after quarter back too much time to throw ball let's go stop wasting time , either you have it to win or not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  14. This dude answered some questions like a politician; he said a bunch of nothing. He made a word salad in response to Watson's questions when asked what he learned as a head coach.

  24. Zone can be effective and deigned to stop the big play down field. However not sure it is working well as designed… Play more schemes and switch it up. O. Corrdinators are having they way with us down field and exploring hole in middle of field. Bland out isn't helping either.

  33. This is going to be the Rod Maraneli scheme all over again. No legitimate pass rusher, and a middle of the pact defense. The “Bend don’t break defense” is not what we want!

  37. This Nepotism sh*t has to stop. Stop recycling these subpar coaches who become Head Coaches, they get fired and then bring there a** back. This guy hasn’t learned Sh*t and still sucks…

  39. Had to check out Flus’s pregame thoughts after the bears unleashed a whoopin on him… can’t help but laugh at how he says absolutely nothing beneficial on some of these answers

  41. Let hooker be hooker. You are using an axe a hammer right now. Let Wilson blitz and spy. Your line backers are not nickle corners. , give deron bland the #1 spot. Diggs will learn to love it. And can I see man coverage at least once? One time? Just once?

  43. We don’t have the personnel to have a good defense. It’s not a Micah issue as we had similar issues last year when Micah was playing. Linebackers are weak and secondary is weak. Upfront we have some talent but nothing creates any issues for opposing offenses. The offense is coming along but so far nothing for teams to be afraid of. And remember we got Dak. The guy that runs up stats at the end of games. No way he will lead this team to be a serious contender.

Leave a Reply