Breaking down the scheme of new Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus

The former Cowboys coach returns with a familiar scheme

As had been expected for several days, the Cowboys named Matt Eberflus as their new defensive coordinator, moving on from Mike Zimmer after one season. Eberflus coached the Cowboys linebackers for seven seasons, spending the last two with the added title of pass game coordinator.

Eberflus originally came to Dallas to follow Rob Ryan, under whom he had coached in Cleveland, but was retained when Monte Kiffin and Rod Marinelli took over the defense from Ryan. Eberflus quickly became a disciple of the legendary Tampa 2 defense, which he fully implemented as the Colts defensive coordinator when he departed Dallas following the 2017 season.

Four successful seasons running the Colts defense helped Eberflus land the head coaching gig for the Bears. That kicked off a trying tenure that saw plenty of struggles, both on and off the field, for the team. Eberflus was fired shortly after a Thanksgiving loss to Detroit this past season, a game that saw him opt not to call a timeout in a critical end-of-game moment. It was the first time in the Bears’ 104-year history they had fired a coach midseason; Eberflus finished with a 14-32 record.

Don’t let that discourage you from this hire, though. Eberflus may not have worked out as a head coach, but his defensive prowess has not disappeared. While Eberflus initially did not call the plays on defense in Chicago, he took over after two weeks in the 2023 season.

Once Eberflus resumed calling plays, his defense flourished: they finished that year ninth in EPA/play, 13th in success rate, and sixth in EPA/rush. Eberflus remained the play-caller in 2024 (until his firing, that is) and the Bears were ninth in EPA/play, 10th in success rate, and seventh in EPA/dropback under his watch.

It seems that coordinator is where Eberflus is most suited, but what’s the method behind his madness? With nearly six full seasons calling plays, Eberflus’ scheme is pretty clear by now, and there are some signature tenets of his defensive philosophy.

It starts with HITS

Throughout his coaching tenure, Eberflus has retained one simple mantra: HITS. The acronym stands for Hustle, Intensity, Takeaways, and Smart. The HITS principle is the fundamental lynchpin of the Eberflus defense.

Hustle and intensity basically go hand-in-hand. Eberflus uses the same loaf system that Marinelli utilized in Dallas (and in other stops), which essentially amounts to tracking how often a player is being lazy during a play. Eberflus often points to the final three seconds of any given play, tracking “an acceleration to and through” the play.

As for takeaways, Eberflus has frequently stressed the importance of them. In his four seasons in Indianapolis, the Colts defense finished Top 10 in takeaways all but one year. The Bears accomplished that feat each of the last two years as well. Eberflus stresses tip drill fundamentals and ball stripping techniques often in practices to encourage this.

The final tenet – smart – ultimately comes down to discipline. His Colts defenses finished each season with fewer penalties than the year before, and his Bears defenses finished in the top five in fewest penalties two of his three season; they had the fewest of any defense last year.

Execution over creativity

Recent years in the NFL has seen a proliferation of defensive coordinators who throw out a ton of chaotic concepts, including each of the Cowboys’ last two coaches on that side of the ball. Eberflus, by stark contrast, is not much of a mad scientist with his scheme.

The S in HITS could just as easily stand for simplicity, because an Eberflus defense is not one that is going to confuse quarterbacks before or after the snap. While he showed some willingness to deviate in his final year in Chicago, Eberflus is generally pretty vanilla with his defensive concepts.

This is intentional, though, as Eberflus prefers to keep things simple for his defense and instead put all the emphasis on playing fast and explosive. He doesn’t want his players thinking too much about what coverage they’re supposed to switch to or how to shift their front based on the offensive alignments, but instead to have just one assignment and go complete their task.

That will mark a drastic departure from Zimmer’s scheme, which is notoriously complex but is a nightmare for opposing offenses when it’s properly understood by the defenders. With Eberflus, the Cowboys defenders shouldn’t have much trouble picking up the playbook. Instead, Eberflus will focus more on making sure his players contribute maximum effort on the field.

Two core positions

For those who remember the Marinelli days in Dallas, Eberflus has some similar personnel requirements when it comes to his roster. He doesn’t necessarily require big bodies in the trenches or insane height in the secondary, but there are two positions of severe importance in this scheme.

The first is the 3-technique defensive tackle, which is described as the engine that makes this defense run. Eberflus demands an athletic 3-technique that can disrupt the mesh point, and he builds his entire front around this player.

Osa Odighizuwa is an ideal fit for what Eberflus needs here, but the defensive tackle’s rookie deal is set to expire this offseason. Eberflus is likely to push for Odighizwuwa’s extension, but it’s unclear what might happen there.

The linebacker spots are also crucial to the scheme. Eberflus, unlike Zimmer, uses nickel packages at an extremely high rate. As such, he really only needs a MIKE and WILL linebacker. There are two main traits he looks for in his linebackers, regardless of spot: size and range. His linebacker duo’s in Indianapolis (Shaq Leonard and Bobby Okereke) and Chicago (Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards) all measure at least 6’2” and right around the 240 pound range.

The MIKE spot requires someone with instincts in zone coverage and good downhill speed. They need to be able to reliably drop into the deep middle of the field in coverage but also trigger downhill in run support. As for the WILL, Eberflus requires a sideline-to-sideline run stuffer type. He frequently aligns the WILL behind the 3-technique to help keep them clean in run defense.

On paper, DeMarvion Overshown would seem to be an ideal MIKE, though his status for the 2025 season is obviously up in the air. Marist Liufau came on strong towards the end of his rookie year, and showed several traits that would seem destined for the WILL spot, though Eberflus may feel differently once he reviews the tape.

Bend but don’t break

In keeping with Eberflus’ prioritization of execution over scheme, his defense is also built on a bend-but-don’t-break philosophy. This leads to his defenses frequently giving up a lot of yards but faring much better in points allowed.

This also means that Eberflus is not much of an attacker as a play-caller. Up front, he rarely blitzes; an Eberflus defense has never ranked higher than 16th in blitz rate, and all but one of his defenses have ranked in the 20’s. Eberflus also makes limited use of simulated pressures with his defensive line. By contrast, both Zimmer and Dan Quinn made a living off of both concepts. When Eberflus does blitz, he has an overwhelming tendency to do so with his slot cornerback.

In coverage, Eberflus makes frequent use of two deep safeties, much like Zimmer. However, he is not one that uses much disguise in his coverages, primarily cycling between Cover 2 zone, Cover 2 man, and Cover 4 (also known as quarters). This is philosophically in line with the rise of Vic Fangio’s defensive scheme, although both coaches teach their techniques a little differently.

Still, Eberflus shares with Fangio an intent on taking away big plays and making the offense work for tiny gain after tiny gain all the way down the field, banking on his players forcing a mistake out of the offense at some point. The approach has worked wonders at two different stops in Eberflus’ career; can he have the same success in Dallas?