The Dallas Cowboys are facing a variety of defensive issues three weeks into the 2025 season.
On Monday, Stephen Jones was asked how much of a difference Micah Parsons would have made on the team’s defense and its current record. Parsons, who was traded to Green Bay just a few days before the campaign began, is slated to make his Dallas return on Sunday.
Instead of breaking down the Parsons hypothetical, Jones opted to focus on the players currently on Dallas’ roster.
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“I’m worried about the guys here on this football team and we’ve got to figure out how to execute, play winning defense and make it happen each week with the guys we have,” the Cowboys chief operating officer and co-owner told 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM). “I mean, every team has challenges with injuries, with different things and that’s no excuse. We’ve got to go out. We’ve got to execute the defense and I believe in Coach [Brian] Schottenheimer and Coach [Matt] Eberflus. He’s been successful in this league for many, many years. I believe they’ll get the job done.”
Jones also brought up the fact that Dallas should get some pass rushing help for its meeting with the Packers. According to Jones, Jadeveon Clowney should be ready to make his Cowboys debut in Week 4.
“[We] fully expect him to be ready to come in and help,” Jones said. “We’re going to obviously be looking at this film very closely and seeing exactly where our shortfalls are, and seeing where we can do some things differently to have success.”
What else did Jones have to say during his latest appearance on The Fan? Here’s a look at other highlights from Monday:
What is it about Matt Eberflus’ track record that made you believe he was the right guy for this defense?
Jones: “Yeah, I mean, obviously he went on to Indy, was named coordinator from his time here in Dallas. He did a lot of great things here under [Rod] Marinelli. He had top of the line defenses at Indy to a point where, this league seems to go with offensive coordinators as head coaches, but he made an impact in Indy as a coordinator there. Had all top defenses. He didn’t call the defense his first year in Chicago, but once he started calling the defense again, they had really good defenses in Chicago. So track record is very good.
“We’re very comfortable with Coach Eberflus and how he coaches, and what he brings to the table. [We] certainly understand everybody’s going to look hard at anything that’s not having success right now, and we’re certainly struggling on that side of the ball.”
Jerry Jones said he believes this is still a playoff team. What are your feelings on what he said?
Jones: “That’s [what] we’re in the business for, to get in the tournament. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We certainly understand that. We think we’ve got a lot of good things that are going for this team, and we do think we should only get better as the season progresses. One of the guys in the locker room said, ‘Hey, this is a 17-round fight, and we’re only in the third round.’ We’ve obviously got a lot of work to do, but we feel that with this coaching staff and with this group of players that we’ll do the things that we have to do to be successful.”
Mazi Smith was active for the first time this season against Chicago. Was there a particular thing he had done that necessitated him being activated?
Jones: “Coach Schottenheimer stresses that we compete every day. When he wasn’t active the first two weeks, he’s really been practicing hard. We just felt like he deserved the chance to go out there and play, that he had practiced really well. I think he’ll continue that. I think the competition is good in there with the tackles we have, and I think they’ll continue to work at it.”
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