4 Things To Expect With Cowboys New Defensive Coordinator Christian Parker

The Dallas Cowboys have a new defensive coordinator. After interviewing several candidates, the team hired former Philadelphia Eagles defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator, Christian Parker. The 34-year-old coach is rising up the ranks as his preparation and intellect have many people talking about him. The Cowboys are hoping he can be the answer to fixing their defensive problems, but what types of changes should we expect? Here are four things to expect with the hiring of Parker.

Maximizing potential

The young defensive coach has a well-known reputation for developing young defensive backs everywhere he has gone. Many know about the bigger names like Jaire Alexander, Patrick Surtain II, Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean. All four of those corners turned into All-Pros in their second season under Parker.

But the list extends beyond those guys. In Green Bay, he also got career-best seasons out of other defensive backs Darnell Savage Jr., Adrian Amos, and Kevin King. In Denver, Justin Simmons turned in All-Pro seasons in all three years Parker was with the Broncos. And during their Super Bowl-winning season in Philadelphia, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Reed Blankenship combined for 10 interceptions on the year. Whether they had a high draft pedigree or were undrafted free agents, the young defensive back coach managed to get the most out of his players.

The Cowboys are hoping Parker can work similar magic with the young defensive backs they have on the roster. DaRon Bland, Shavon Revel Jr., Caelen Carson, Josh Butler, Alijah Clark, Zion Childress, and Twikweze Bridges are all in a perfect position to develop their skills and maximize their potential. Some of these guys won’t turn into anything at all, but others might, and if there’s untapped talent lurking with these young players, there’s a good chance Parker will find it.

Performance over traits

When it comes to acquiring talent, the Cowboys’ player personnel department has been known to stubbornly have a type. For example, tall, lengthy defensive backs have been their preference for years, which has led to a long list of draft picks like Revel Jr., Eric Scott Jr., Nahshon Wright, and Israel Mukuamu. The team’s player personnel department has a prototype they look for.

But for Parker he’s not as concerned about the body type of his defensive backs. Other factors play a more important role. How they communicate, where their eyes are, how disciplined they stay, and even what they are doing in meetings all matter immensely. The cerebral part of their game hugely affects the performance on the field, and that is ultimately what matters to Parker. These elements are evaluated daily, and constant feedback is given so players understand where they need to improve.

Parker is an effective teacher. The schemes he’s employed are not as simple as they require a lot of processing from his players, but his ability to convey what is needed in a manner that they more easily understand is why his guys deliver stronger performances. This will be a stark contrast to the confusing nature of what the defense had with Matt Eberflus.

Fangio adjacent

While Parker has worked with some good defensive minds in his career, his biggest influence is long-time defensive guru Vic Fangio. He worked under Fangio both in Denver and Philadelphia, and the expectations are that he’ll bring many of the same concepts from the Fangio-adjacent philosophy. What will that entail exactly?

Fangio’s defense is all about mystery. They will consistently give you a two-high safety look, making things look the same before the ball is snapped, and hiding the real coverage until the very last second. Once the ball is snapped, defenders will rotate. It may be Cover 2, Cover 4, or a hybrid of the two in Cover 6/8 that mixes up their coverages on each half of the field. This offers a great deal of variety, but all of which isn’t revealed until after the ball is snapped. Adjustments happen on the fly as defenders will pattern match and switch to man if a receiver enters their zone. This eliminates the dead zones where defenders are just picking daisies in an unoccupied area of the field, something the Cowboys fell victim to many unders under Matt Eberflus’ zone coverage.

In the trenches, Fangio relies on a four-man front to create pressure. Without additional pass rushers, they’ll use edge-tackle stunts to have interior rushers attack outside while edge rushers loop inside. They also like to simulate pressure with different arrangements, sometimes rushing a linebacker or defensive back while an edge rusher drops back into coverage. He also employs a Penny Front that uses five defensive linemen to clog running lanes with just a single linebacker without reducing their resources in coverage. With the Cowboys’ talent at defensive tackle, we should expect to see this quite a bit.

The goal is to be cautious by not getting bit by the deep pass, but to selectively be aggressive in other aspects. It relies on strong communication and player versatility to play his scheme effectively, so how well Parker can transfer those skills will determine how good this defense can be. Adding more talent will be necessary.

A new menu

To prepare a more delectable defense, Parker will need some new groceries. As the Cowboys have done in years past, whenever they get a new defensive coordinator, they seem to be a little more willing to supply them with the type of players they need. They loaded up for Mike Nolan with free agent signings Gerald McCoy, Dontari Poe, Aldon Smith, Everson Griffen, and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. When Dan Quinn showed up, they added free agents Keanu Neal, Malik Hooker, Jayron Kearse, and Damontae Kazee. None of them were big-time players, but Neal and Kazee did play for him in Atlanta. The big find for Quinn was the draft selection of Micah Parsons.

Mike Zimmer didn’t get too much help, but the team’s biggest free agent purchases were two of his former players, Eric Kendricks and Linval Joseph. Last season, the team loaded up with several new free agents for Eberflus, like Dante Fowler, Jadeveon Clowney, Solomon Thomas, James Houston, Jack Sanborn, and Payton Turner. They also traded for Kenneth Murray, Kenny Clark, Quinnen Williams, and Logan Wilson; however, they lost their biggest defensive talent by trading away Parsons.

Expect the team to oblige by giving Parker the players he needs. The Cowboys have two top 20 draft picks, so that will help a lot, but we should see them add some pieces in free agency. Look for the team to target defenders who are disciplined players who communicate well and can process quickly. For the changes in the scheme to work, Parker will need smart players who can execute their assignments.