Plenty of things ended up going wrong for the Dallas Cowboys in 2025. The team finished the season with a 7-9-1 record, not far off what many expected. Although they had some bright spots under first-time head coach Brian Schottenheimer, the team’s major flaws ultimately were too much to overcome.
Namely, an extremely poor defense came back to haunt them. Practically everyone knew that side of the ball would be the team’s Achilles heel, especially once owner Jerry Jones decided to trade away All-Pro Micah Parsons right before the season. Having let DeMarcus Lawrence walk in the offseason, the team was left with zero impact pass-rushers and little talent at every other defensive position. That wasn’t reason enough to keep around defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, though, as Jones fired him shortly after the end of the season.
Everyone saw that move coming, since Jones was critical of Eberflus almost weekly during his local radio appearances. Seemingly every week, Jones had a new coach or player to point the finger at. It all began with Parsons, then led to Eberflus, and even included George Pickens and Kavontae Turpin, among others. Now, he’s turning his attention to DaRon Bland.
Jerry Jones concerned about DaRon Bland’s constant foot injuries
The 26-year-old cornerback had an up-and-down season, ranking as the 46th-best cornerback in the league (out of 114) according to Pro Football Focus. But he missed five games with multiple foot injuries that ultimately required season-ending surgery. The foot injury is a concern because he missed the first 10 games of the 2024 season due a stress fracture in his left foot. Jones was asked about Bland this week and once again spoke openly and critically about one of his players.
It doesn’t seem like Jones ever has many positive or optimistic things to say about his coaches or players; at least not lately. Perhaps that negativity is translating to the on-field product.
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