SAN FRANCISCO — Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said he was impressed with new defensive coordinator Christian Parker’s ability to teach and the flexibility of the defensive scheme.
Jones made his first comments about Parker during a wide-ranging conversation with a small group of reporters Thursday night before the NFL Honors show.
When it comes to Parker, the youngest defensive coordinator in franchise history at 34, Jones said his communication skills were also important.
“I like his focus on being a teacher, educating and his emphasis on that mental aspect of football,” Jones said. “He obviously got a lot of physical emphasis, too. In general, I’m excited about the makeup of our entire defensive group. They’re younger to my knowledge right now, unless it was a high school level, I don’t think we have a head coach in the group. There may be before we totally finalize. I’m very much aware that whatever we did before in our decision-making, we’re going a different way.”
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Jones discussed the previous communication problems on defense. He also said he reviewed who was hired as defensive coordinator and other positions on the unit over the past few years.
The biggest thing is having a diverse scheme.
The Cowboys finished the 2025 season allowing a franchise record 511 points and 6,409 yards, the third most in the NFL.
Several players complained about the scheme once the season started and the inability of defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus to make adjustments more quickly.
In the latter half of the season, Eberflus called the defensive plays from the coach’s box instead of from the sideline, which he’d never done before in the NFL.
“I know the time they spent making sure they were on the same page, whether it be scheme, whether it be technique, they went out of their way to bond on that,” Jones said of the new defensive staff that’s almost finalized.
“Don’t sell that short at all. One of the things I’m looking forward to is multiple schemes in what we’re going to run. There needs to be flexibility and buy-in from everybody.”
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