Brian Schottenheimer’s first year as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys brought a mix of hope and hard lessons. The offense showed flashes of what could be, but the defense?
That was the Achilles’ heel. With even a league-average defense, Dallas likely adds four more wins to its total-and we’re talking about a playoff team.
Instead, the Cowboys fell short, and that’s why Matt Eberflus didn’t make it past his first season as defensive coordinator.
Now, all eyes are on Schottenheimer as he begins his search for a new voice on defense. And if he doesn’t get this hire right, the pressure’s going to mount-quickly.
That’s just how the NFL works. There’s no patience for repeated missteps, especially when the window to contend is wide open.
Two names have emerged as frontrunners in the Cowboys’ search: Jim Leonhard and Jonathan Gannon. Leonhard, a former Wisconsin standout and rising coaching mind, has drawn comparisons to what Brian Flores brought to Minnesota-a defense-first identity with an aggressive edge. He’d be a bold, forward-thinking hire.
Then there’s Gannon. And that’s where things get complicated.
Let’s walk through the Jonathan Gannon file. Just 43 years old, Gannon’s coaching résumé has moved at warp speed.
A former safety at Louisville, his playing career ended early due to injury, but he quickly pivoted to coaching. When Bobby Petrino jumped to the NFL to coach the Falcons, he brought Gannon along as a quality control coach.
That staff also included defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer-one of the league’s most respected defensive minds.
But when Petrino abruptly left the Falcons midseason to return to college, Zimmer didn’t mince words about his former boss. Gannon, meanwhile, moved on, spending time in low-level roles with the Titans before reuniting with Zimmer in Minnesota as assistant defensive backs coach. After four seasons there, Gannon was hired by the Colts as DBs coach under-yep, Matt Eberflus.
That’s where the red flags start to pop up.
Gannon has made it clear how much he’s taken from Eberflus’ philosophy. That includes the now-familiar “HITS” mantra-Hustle, Intensity, Takeaways, Smart-which Eberflus brought from Indianapolis to Chicago and eventually to Dallas. Gannon adopted the same acronym when he became defensive coordinator for the Eagles under Nick Sirianni.
So here’s the question: If the Cowboys just moved on from Eberflus, why would they turn around and hire someone who models so much of his approach after him?
Even setting that aside, Gannon’s track record as a defensive coordinator is a mixed bag at best. In his first year with the Eagles, the defense ranked 17th in EPA per play-a middling result.
The following season, they jumped up to fourth, but that number doesn’t tell the whole story. Philadelphia was 23rd against the run and 18th in fourth quarter and overtime situations.
Not exactly the kind of situational dominance you want from a playoff contender.
The Eagles' defense often struggled to adjust late in games. In fact, they were outscored in the fourth quarter in half their regular-season matchups that year-including all three of their losses.
That trend continued in the Super Bowl, where the Eagles held a 24-14 halftime lead over Kansas City before surrendering 24 second-half points. Two of those touchdowns came on nearly identical plays that left Chiefs receivers wide open in the end zone.
Gannon never adapted.
That lack of in-game adjustment followed him to Arizona, where he took over as head coach. His first season with the Cardinals ended 4-13, but with Kyler Murray missing most of the year, Gannon got something of a pass.
The next season started better-Arizona opened 6-4 with tight losses to the Bills and Lions-but things unraveled fast. The Cardinals dropped five of their last seven games to finish 8-9, barely avoiding a seven-game skid thanks to wins over a struggling Patriots team and a 49ers squad decimated by injuries.
Then came this past season. Arizona opened 2-0 before falling off a cliff, finishing 3-14 and closing the year on a nine-game losing streak-the worst season in franchise history.
Reports suggest ownership still wanted to keep Gannon, but only if he agreed to part ways with offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. Gannon refused, and that was that.
That kind of stubbornness sounds familiar to Cowboys fans. It’s the same issue that plagued Eberflus in Dallas-an unwillingness to tailor schemes to the strengths of his personnel.
Eberflus stuck with zone coverage and a passive approach, even with players who thrived in man and press looks. Gannon, for his part, has shown a bit more schematic variety-he’s used five-man fronts and disguised coverages, a page out of Zimmer’s playbook-but the overarching theme remains: he’s committed to doing things his way, even when the results say otherwise.
And the results haven’t been kind.
Though Gannon didn’t call plays as head coach in Arizona, his defenses consistently ranked near the bottom of the league. In 2024, they finished 16th in EPA/play-that was the high point. In his other two seasons, they were among the league’s worst, and over his three-year tenure, the Cardinals ranked 28th in defensive EPA/play.
Then there’s the off-field baggage.
Gannon’s hiring in Arizona was mired in controversy due to a tampering investigation. The fallout?
The Cardinals were docked 28 spots in the draft. More recently, Gannon was fined $100,000 by the team after a sideline incident in which he struck a player following a costly fumble.
That kind of behavior raises serious questions about leadership and temperament-especially for a team like Dallas, where Schottenheimer has emphasized teaching and accountability.
Bottom line: hiring Gannon would feel like more of the same. He’s closely tied to the same defensive philosophy the Cowboys just moved on from, and his track record-both on the field and off-doesn’t inspire confidence that he’s the guy to fix what’s broken.
If Schottenheimer wants to change the culture on defense and build something sustainable, it’s going to take more than just a new face. It’s going to take a new direction. And based on everything we’ve seen from Gannon, he’s not that.