The Dallas Cowboys are close to an agreement to hire Philadelphia passing game coordinator Christian Parker as their defensive coordinator, two people with knowledge of the plan said Thursday.
Parker interviewed in person on Wednesday. The sides were finalizing the contract a day later, the people told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal wasn’t official.
The 34-year-old Parker just finished his second season in his current role with the Eagles, who were NFC East champions both times and won the Super Bowl last season. Philadelphia is the first repeat winner in the division in 21 years.
The Eagles were among the NFL’s best overall and against the pass on defense the past two seasons, including leading the league in pass defense in 2024.
Parker’s arrival in Philadelphia coincided with that of cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, who both made All-Pro in just their second seasons. Mitchell was a 2024 first-round pick, and DeJean went in the second round.
“Mannnn,” DeJean wrote on X with a sullen-faced emoji. “They got a great one — wouldn’t be the player I am without CP.”
Parker worked under longtime defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and now will be the first to have that job in Dallas without head coaching experience since Monte Kiffin 13 years ago. The Cowboys had five consecutive defensive coordinators who previously had been head coaches.
Dallas fired Matt Eberflus after just one season as defensive coordinator. Eberflus was less than a year removed from getting fired midseason as coach of the Chicago Bears.
The Cowboys gave up 500 points (511) for the first time in franchise history and finished at or near the bottom in points allowed, total yards and passing yards allowed and takeaways. Dallas (7-9-1) missed the postseason for the second consecutive year since Dan Quinn was in charge of the defense on three straight 12-win playoff teams.
The Dallas defense was marred by blown assignments in the secondary and poor tackling, and the Cowboys wasted one of quarterback Dak Prescott’s best seasons. Dallas missed the playoffs with a healthy Prescott for the first time since 2019.
Parker also was with Fangio at Denver in 2021, when he was the defensive backs coach. He stayed in that role two more years before joining Fangio in Philadelphia.
Parker played at Richmond and started his coaching career in the college ranks, including a year apiece as a defensive analyst at Texas A&M and Notre Dame. His first NFL job was with Green Bay in 2019.
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