Over 2,000 miles separate the Dallas Cowboys from the Seattle Seahawks. Truth be told, it feels like there’s a larger gap between their two defenses — one of which finished first in the NFL in terms of Expected Points Added (EPA) per play, while the other finished with the worst EPA per play allowed in the NFL since 2020.
Seattle’s rise to being the league’s best defense happened quickly, however, begging the question: If the Seahawks could improve so fast, could the Cowboys pull themselves out of the defensive dungeon in a hurry, as well?
A decision that happens soon could be the catalyst.
The Cowboys are in the second phase of their interviews to replace defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said earlier this offseason that he threw a party when they hired Eberflus. A year later, Eberflus was fired after directing the defense that allowed the most points in franchise history.
Cowboys
The Cowboys have completed in-person interviews with two candidates so far: Minnesota defensive passing game coordinator Daronte Jones and former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, who was the defensive coordinator in Philadelphia before his three seasons in Arizona. Jones has become a popular name across a league that features many defensive coordinator openings. He’s expected to interview with the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers after also interviewing with the New York Jets.
The Cowboys are also expected to interview Philadelphia defensive passing game coordinator Christian Parker on Wednesday. In addition, don’t be surprised if the Cowboys try to interview Denver defensive passing game coordinator Jim Leonhard after the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.
As of now, the Cowboys appear to be sticking to a process that they want to perform at their own pace.
“I’ve done it with consensus since the first day I walked through the door here,” Jones said about the hiring process. “We’ll do it the same way we hired [Eberflus]. We’ll do it together and come up with as good as we can.”
As the Seahawks have shown, it can get pretty good with the right defensive play-caller.
Mike Macdonald was a rising young defensive coordinator before the Seahawks hired him to be their head coach in 2024. For good reason. In his final season as the Ravens defensive coordinator, for example, Baltimore became the first team in NFL history to lead in scoring defense, takeaways and sacks.
Seattle Seahawks head cosec Mike MacDonald coaches against the San Francisco 49ers in an NFL football game, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Lewis)
AP
Macdonald became the head coach in Seattle but retained his defensive play-calling duties. The Seahawks had the 30th-ranked defense in 2023, the year before Macdonald arrived, in terms of EPA allowed per play. In 2024 they jumped to 10th. This year, they ended the regular season with the top-ranked defense.
There’s often a discussion about whether players make the scheme or the scheme makes the players. Macdonald has given an argument for the latter — because he cares about the former.
“We’ve talked about how we’re always going to be designing our game plans and calling games based off what we feel like our guys do well,” Macdonald said in a news conference earlier this season.
“… really that has to be the lens of how you build it. I think that kind of paints you a picture.”
So does the fact that the personnel for the Seahawks, from 2023 to 2025, didn’t drastically change. Seven of the team’s 11 current defensive starters were on the team at the end of the 2023 season. The other additions weren’t exceptionally cost-heavy, either. Sure, they used a first-round pick on Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II and signed former Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence to a big deal this offseason, but they also hit on a trade for linebacker Ernest Jones IV and on affordable corner Josh Jobe, who was originally a practice squad signing in 2024.
Lawrence, in particular, has proven to be a key addition — a final piece on a potential Super Bowl defense. He believed as much when he signed with Seattle this offseason.
“Dallas is my home. I made my home there, my family lives there, I’m forever going to be there … I know for sure I’m not going to win a Super Bowl there,” Lawrence told Hawk Blogger after he signed.
The Cowboys still have a lot of work to do before they could get to a similar level. It’s probably a longer to-do list than Seattle had.
They have a foundation in their interior defensive line, headlined by the trade deadline addition of Quinnen Williams, but they could use help at pretty much every other position. They have two first-round draft picks, and barring a CeeDee Lamb-type of offensive player being available, they’ll probably use both picks on defense, Cowboys co-owner Stephen Jones has insinuated. They’ll have plenty of cap space this offseason after restructures, opening up the possibility that they can use free agency to fortify their defense — depending on how much money they have left after deals for George Pickens and Javonte Williams on offense.
That sounds like a lot of needs. As Seattle has shown, however, successfully hitting on an impactful defensive coordinator is probably the most important step.
Twitter/X: @JoeJHoyt
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