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 worked under longtime defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and now will be the first to hold that job with Dallas coordinator without head coaching experience since Monte Kiffin 13 years ago.
The Cowboys 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.
Dallas 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. The Cowboys (7-9-1) missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season since Dan Quinn was in charge of the defense on three straight 12-win playoff teams.
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Schuyler Dixon, The Associated Press
