The Dallas Cowboys spent most of last season looking like a team that just didn’t have it. The offense was fine. Dak Prescott was fine. But the defense? It kept letting games slip. You can’t win in January when your defense is the reason you’re chasing points every week.
So the Cowboys did what any team with a short window would do. They went out and made some changes. A lot of them actually.
The biggest one? Hiring Christian Parker as defensive coordinator. Parker spent the last few years as the secondary coach for the Philadelphia Eagles under Vic Fangio. The Eagles had one of the best secondaries in the league during that stretch, and Parker got a lot of the credit for that. Now he’s in Dallas with a chance to turn things around on that side of the ball.
Sports Illustrated’s Connor Orr is buying the hire. He recently listed the Cowboys as one of 14 teams that could realistically win the Super Bowl this season. That’s not nothing. Fourteen teams is a pretty wide net, but getting on that list at all means someone with a platform thinks you’re legit.
“Dallas took a big swing at a great under-the-radar coach in Christian Parker to be its next defensive coordinator, on top of adding a ton of defensive help via free agency and the draft,” Orr wrote.
And he’s not wrong about the roster moves. The Cowboys drafted Ohio State defensive back Caleb Downs with the 11th pick. He’s expected to contribute right away. They also added cornerback Cobie Durant and safety Jalen Thompson in free agency. Then they traded for linebacker Dee Winters from the 49ers. That’s a lot of new faces on one side of the ball.
There’s also the matter of Quinnen Williams. This will be his first full season in Dallas after arriving last year. And Rashan Gary is out there trying to bounce back from a 2025 season that didn’t go the way anyone expected. If both of those guys play the way they’re capable of, the Cowboys front seven looks a lot different than it did a year ago.
The offense is already there. Prescott knows the system. The receivers are good. The line is solid. If the defense just becomes average, the Cowboys are probably a playoff team. If it becomes good, they’re a legit threat.
Nobody’s handing them a trophy yet. But the pieces are starting to add up in a way that makes you pay attention.
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