Cowboys owner Jerry Jones shares honest take on defensive struggles as fans call to fire Matt Eberflus

Jerry Jones is seeing his Dallas Cowboys continue to be mediocre, but one particular sore point is the defense. And he has a blunt assessment about it.

The team's weakness on that side of the ball has been cited as a major factor in their non-wins, especially losses at the notorious organizational disasters that are the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers. They are among the bottom four in most statistical categories, including dead-last in yards allowed because of defensive penalties.

It represents a massive downgrade from when former coordinator Dan Quinn led them to three straight seasons (2021-23) leading the league in turnovers forced. It has also led to calls for the ouster of his successor Matt Eberflus, who arguably hurt his case by admitting that the Cowboys were still lacking some sort of defensive identity during media availability on Thursday:

"We got to do a really good job of building that throughout the whole defense ...so it's important that we just keep working, keep finding solutions (for) what works best for the guys that we have."

During an appearance on 105.3 The Fan on Friday, Jones acknowledged the need to improve the defense:

“You can tweak defenses and make a dramatic difference. …We’ve had three different coordinators over the last three years. That’s my fault.”

However, he also assured that Eberflus would be staying for a while, confident that the coach would eventually find his way:

“He will get there. He’s trying to eliminate those explosive plays. … We know Eberflus.”

Jon Machota

@jonmachota

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on @1053thefan talking about Dallas’ struggling defense: “It’s going to get work. It has room for improvement. You can tweak defenses and make dramatic difference. … We’ve had three different coordinators over the last three years. That’s my fault. … I

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Jerry Jones hints at Cowboys making midseason trade to improve defense

Speaking of improving the defense, there is one way Jerry Jones can do it - the trade market.

In the same radio show appearance, he teased a major midseason move that could bolster the unit around linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, who is nearing a return from a gruesome knee injury that cut his 2024 league debut (he missed his rookie season in 2023 because of a similar injury) short:

“We will have something else by the time that we get there, and I hope that (Overshown’s return is) sooner than 4-5 weeks.”

Tommy Yarrish

@tommy_yarrish

Jerry Jones on @1053thefan when asked if he feels the #Cowboys defense can be competitive enough to make LB DeMarvion Overshown's return count: "We will have something else by the time that we get there, and I hope that [Overshown's return is] sooner than 4-5 weeks."

The trade deadline is on November 4.