The Dallas Cowboys have been one of the worst defensive teams during the 2025 NFL season. This is one of the main reasons why they have already been eliminated from playoff contention. They are now being urged to fire defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus and make a big move for an All-Pro defender to address one of their biggest issues this year.
Cowboys Urged To Make Bold Defensive Changes
The Cowboys feature one of the best offenses in the NFL by many different measures, but their defense has let them down this season. This has sparked former general manager Mike Tannenbaum to suggest a major overhaul on that side of the ball. He detailed his proposed plan during a recent “Get Up” episode.
“I have a list here of what they need to do, but it starts by hiring Rex Ryan … He will bring in stature, he will bring in credibility and moxie … Go get Trey Hendrickson, don’t screw around.
“First day of free agency, get the deal done. The guy is massively productive, he’ss make Donovan Ezeiruaku a lot better … Invest that money in the defense. Take this offense, that has championship underpinnings, tweak it a little bit and bring in Rex, he is the perfect compliment for what they need,” stated Tannenbaum.
Dallas’ defense ranks last of all 32 teams in PFSN’s Impact Rankings for this season, further demonstrating their massive failures. Tannenbaum believes that their best solution is to fire Eberflus and replace him with Rex Ryan, a former head coach and respected defensive coordinator.
He also suggested that they should make signing Trey Hendrickson during the free agency period in the 2026 NFL offseason a top priority. He is a former All-Pro, but the star edge rusher is on an expiring contract with the Cincinnati Bengals. He is making $30 million this season, so he is likely to be expensive if he does hit free agency, but adding an established pass rusher seems to make sense for the Cowboys.
The Cowboys infamously traded Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers before the start of the 2025 season and have yet to replace him with an established edge rusher. They did add Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams to the interior of their defensive line, but Hendrickson could theoretically be the finishing piece that their defense is currently missing. The Cowboys have just a 7-8-1 record this year, so a bold move like this is certainly possible.
