Three weeks after he was hired, the Dallas Cowboys trotted out new defensive coordinator Christian Parker for an introductory press conference and he said he wants to do things “the right way,” which is nice.
He doesn’t have to clear a high bar to make the team better, though that was true for a new Cowboys defensive coordinator last year and that went so poorly they introduced another one Wednesday.
Presumably, there will be a house cleaning of underperforming defensive players, and a writer from ESPN has a suggestion on where Dallas should start. Meanwhile, their staff is filling out in the week leading up to the NFL Combine that begins Feb. 23.
Dallas Cowboys Christian Parker
Dallas’ new defensive coordinator had one thing going for him when he was hired last month: he isn’t Matt Eberflus.
For the most part, his first three weeks on the job have gone smoothly, and his introductory press conference was on Wednesday. Obviously, the No. 1 question was how he was going to fix the mess he inherited and how long it would take.
Cowboys fans wouldn’t mind hearing, “by tomorrow,” but Parker gave a more nuanced take.
“Yeah, I don’t think we want to put any expectations on it in that regard,” Parker said at his introductory news conference Wednesday. “I think we just want to kind of take it day by day and do it the right way. So we’re kind of just taking that approach. We’ll get our head out of the sand at some point, but right now we got tunnel vision on doing things the right way.”
While he is Dallas’ youngest-ever coordinator at age 34, he has tutored under Vic Fangio with the Eagles and Denver Broncos and started in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers under Mike Pettine as a quality control coach in 2019. He feels he is ready.
“I think confidence comes from preparation and I think that I’ve been able to learn from the right people,” Parker said. “So I think when you’ve been involved with different people along my journey that I’ve learned under as head coaches and defensive coordinators, No. 1, and then the diversity in scheme that I’ve been involved with, you kind of become accustomed to what you’re comfortable with and your own ideas. You like certain things, you don’t like certain things. What will work, what won’t work.
“I think as you kind of get involved with different people you kind of form your own identity, so when you have that opportunity, you know what you’re going to do, and I’ve gone through that process internally for a great deal of my career. So I’ve prepared as much as I possibly can for this moment.”
Dallas Cowboys cuts
ESPN has put a list of players from each team who could be salary cap casualties, or just otherwise be expendable.
For those who think the name proffered for the Cowboys will be someone on that awful defense who will get pushed out the door, they are correct. EPPN’s Aaron Schatz picks edge rusher Sam Williams, and if anyone says, “Who?,” well, that’s the point.
Schatz writes: “Williams had 8.5 combined sacks in his first two seasons without starting any games. However, he missed the entire 2024 campaign with a torn left ACL. Last season, he started five games and had one sack and 37 total tackles. By the end of 2025, Williams was playing about only 30% of the defensive snaps in each game. Williams probably could use a fresh start to help him reach the potential he showed as a second-round pick out of Ole Miss in 2022. He’ll be a free agent this offseason.”
Kyle Fuller Cowboys
Dallas announced last week that 31-year-old Kyle Fuller is the new offensive line coach and quality control coach. One of only two offensive coaching changes so far this offseason for the Cowboys, he comes to Dallas from the Las Vegas Raiders.
In an NFL playing career from 2017-23, he played offensive line for six NFL teams, mostly in a practice squad capacity, and started with the Houston Texans in 2017.
Ryan Smith
News also broke last week that Ryan Smith is set to be hired as secondary coach for the Cowboys and he will take over the most up-in-the-air position. Smith held that position with the Arizona Cardinals and was given permission to leave when the team changed coaches.
The most amazing part about his hire is this line from the Dallas Cowboys website: “In 2025, the Cardinals allowed the fewest passing touchdowns in the entire NFL (10) and the defense, as a whole, allowed the fewest total touchdowns in the league (20).”
Yes, the 3-14 Cardinals had a great defense, go figure. Smith joined the Cardinals in 2024 after nine years in college, beginning with a stint at UTSA in 2014.
George Pickens wallpaper
People googling “George Pickens wallpaper” would do well to add Dallas to the search, as most of the top hits otherwise are of him in Steelers gear.
Adequate Cowboys collections of Pickens can be found from Wallpaper Cave, Pinterest and more generally Cowboys wallpaper is available on the team’s mother ship at DallasCowboys.com.
Where is the Dallas Cowboys Stadium?
AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, is located in the Fort Worth suburb of Arlington. It opened in 2009 and seats 80,000 for football (expandable to 100,000). It was built by HKS, Inc. and cost $1.3 billion.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Dallas Cowboys news today: Dallas rolls out new DC Christian Parker
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
