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The Dallas Cowboys introduced defensive coordinator Christian Parker on Wednesday.
For the Xs and Os crowd among Dallas Cowboys fans, the introduction of new defensive coordinator Christian Parker on Wednesday was a thing of beauty. After watching the Cowboys toil under coordinator Matt Eberflus last season–a season in which Eberflus was regimented in the style of play he wanted to employ, though it did not fit his personnel–Parker impressed not only with the “alignment” (his word) he seemed to have with coach Brian Schottenheimer, but with his willingness to be flexible in how he used his players.
The Cowboys will be a much more fluid outfit next season. They’ll be willing to put players in different positions if it means getting the most of them. The schemes will change from series to series.
Asked about what defense he will use, Parker said, “The first thing is, we’re gonna be multiple. I think that whenever you form a defensive structure it’s about the key players that you have. So, core principles, we will be a 3-4 by nature, but 4-3 spacing will be appropriate, 4-2-5 in nickel. Different front structures just behind it. But I would say being multiple is the most important thing about it.”
Christian Parker Likes Cowboys’ Defensive Front
Of course, no matter what scheme Parker uses, there’s no doubt that Cowboys will need to improve on the personnel they have on the field, a big challenge over the coming weeks–when the Cowboys will encounter trade and free-agent season, then head into a draft in which they have two first-round picks.
But Parker said he is excited about the front line, with Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark and Osa Odighizuwa.
“The game is definitely won and lost up front,” Parker said. “We have significant players in the front seven, and so I think that you start with that defensive line room, what you’re able to do controlling the pocket and stopping the run, you control what an offense is able to do, you’re dictating to them on your terms, so you’re not playing the whole playbook after you win first and second downs. So I think it starts there, that’s where the excitement starts.”
‘There Was an Aligned Vision’
As for the process of interviewing with the Cowboys, Schottenheimer noted that Parker was the final video link interview of the initial round of interviews, and he could sense immediately that Parker was their guy. Parker is just 34 years old, and has spent the last two years under Vic Fangio in Philadelphia.
But the connection with the Cowboys was reciprocated by Parker.
“When we initially started this process, you could tell there was an aligned vision for what they wanted in the position, where we wanted to go forward,” Parker said. “Obviously, a great deal of respect for, not only the organization but the players involved on the team, having been in the division and going against them at different times.
“The biggest thing was the alignment, you could feel from everybody in the building that there was a shared vision and people wanted to move forward in the right direction.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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