Cowboys' Dak Prescott bluntly underscored why Matt Eberflus had to go

The Landry Hat · Jul 21, 2026 10:00 · 3 min read

Cowboys' Dak Prescott bluntly underscored why Matt Eberflus had to go — Former Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Dak Prescott didn't say Matt Eberflus' name out loud, but he couldn't have sent a clearer message to the former Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator.

Dak Prescott always stopped short of throwing Matt Eberflus under the bus last season. He knows when to light a fire under teammates, but piling on Eberflus wouldn't have done any good.

Even though it's early in the Christian Parker era, you get the sense that Prescott will be more complimentary of the Cowboys' defense this year. Granted, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone with a bad word to say about Parker, but you'd be equally troubled to find a soundbite of Prescott speaking glowingly about Matt Eberflus.

Prescott caught up with reporters at his Faith Fight Finish Foundation gala over the weekend and was asked whether the Cowboys' Super Bowl aspirations are realistic. His answer sent a clear message about Dallas' former DC (h/t Joseph Hoyt, Dallas Morning News).

“Each year, you think that. But when you have last year as we did, the offense that we did and making changes and we’ve got a great defensive coordinator,” Prescott said.

“We’ve got young guys, old guys, a great mix of vets with talent. [We understand] what needs to be done. … It is a process. It’s not going to happen in Week 1 of training camp, but we’ve got to make sure we get better.”

Dak Prescott sounds thrilled that Christian Parker replaced Matt Eberflus as Cowboys DC

Intentional or ot Prescott's comments draw a stark contrast to the Eberflus era. This level of confidence in the defense simply wasn't there publicly. While it's premature to call Parker a great defensive coordinator, it's clear QB1 feels that Dallas scored a substantial upgrade.

Every time Prescott was asked about the Cowboys' historically bad defense, he pointed the finger at himself and the offense, conceding that they could have done more to help the team win. Everyone who watched Dallas lose shootout after shootout knew it was nonsense.

By the end of the year, though, Prescott was clearly fed up.

"One of the first seasons … I can’t necessarily correlate my play to the wins or losses," Prescott said after the Week 18 finale.

That was not a case of Prescott ducking accountability. Could the offense have been more efficient in the red zone? No doubt, but Prescott and Co. had to play perfect football every single week to even sniff wins. Every possession that didn't produce points felt like a gut punch because Eberflus' group turned every offense into the Greatest Show on Turf.

The Cowboys are typically a playoff team when Prescott stays healthy. Last year was a completely different story. Despite a late-season push that included impressive wins over the Eagles and Chiefs, Dallas was eliminated from playoff contention with three games left to play.

It was the first time in Prescott's career that he finished with a losing record in a season that he started and finished healthy.

The front office responded by investing nearly every resource it spent this offseason into the defense, headlined by the hiring of Parker. The hope is that the 34-year-old's scheming and attention to detail will elevate the defense across the board. If that happens, even modest improvements could be enough to put Dallas back in the playoff picture.

Even with all of the personnel changes the Cowboys made -- including drafting Caleb Downs -- the 2026 season would be dead on arrival if Eberflus kept his job.