The Dallas Cowboys have been exhausting at work in constructing the teaching employees beneath Brian Schottenheimer. Only a day after formally hiring Matt Eberflus to be the defensive coordinator, they employed three assistants beneath him. Right here’s all the things you could learn about these new coaches.
Cross recreation coordinator Andre Curtis
Andre Curtis has a historical past with each Schottenheimer and Eberflus. The 48-year previous coach performed linebacker at Virginia Army Institute, overlapping with then line of defense coach Dan Quinn for a 12 months, earlier than starting his teaching profession at his alma mater.
Curtis broke into the NFL in 2006 as a top quality management coach with the Giants, the place he first met present Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Curtis gained a Tremendous Bowl with the Giants, a season through which Spagnuolo’s protection was among the best within the league.
When Spagnuolo bought employed because the Rams head coach, he introduced Curtis with him as his defensive backs coach. After three seasons, Spagnuolo was fired and joined the Saints as defensive coordinator, as soon as once more bringing Curtis with him to help within the secondary.
Spagnuolo left after only one 12 months, however Curtis was retained beneath new coordinator Rob Ryan, who had simply left Dallas. After two seasons working beneath Ryan, Curtis left to educate safeties for the Seahawks. The place opened up after Kris Richard was promoted to defensive coordinator to interchange Quinn.
Two seasons later, Curtis was promoted to full time defensive backs coach, and new Cowboys particular groups coordinator Nick Sorensen was reassigned from aiding with the Seahawks particular groups to aiding Curtis. A 12 months later, Richard was fired (precipitating his transfer to Dallas) and Curtis was named the defensive move recreation coordinator, a task he held up till the 2021 season.
He then joined the Bears on Eberflus’ inaugural teaching employees, working with the safeties. Whereas there, Curtis oversaw the event of each Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker into high safeties. When Eberflus took over defensive play-calling through the 2023 season, Curtis started aiding with the third-down defensive methods; for what it’s value, Chicago completed that season twenty ninth in third-down protection, however rebounded to thirteenth in 2024.
Total, Curtis makes numerous sense right here. He overlapped with Schottenheimer in Seattle and holds three esteemed defensive minds – Spagnuolo, Pete Carroll, and Eberflus – as the principle influences on him. Curtis has additionally overseen the fast progress of a number of younger gamers, which makes him a robust addition in Dallas.
DL coach Aaron Whitecotton
The addition of Aaron Whitecotton introduced some fanfare, and for good purpose. The brand new line of defense coach continues to be pretty younger, as he began his teaching profession in 2013 as a defensive high quality management coach with the Jaguars. As a part of the inaugural employees of head coach Gus Bradley, previously the primary defensive coordinator of the Pete Carroll period in Seattle, Whitecotton was studying from an esteemed thoughts.
After three years with the Jaguars, Whitecotton was promoted to assistant line of defense coach. Nonetheless, Bradley was fired midseason, and Whitecotton was pressured to discover a new residence. He joined the Payments on Sean McDermott’s inaugural employees, reuniting with former Jaguars defensive coordinator Bob Babich and aiding with the line of defense.
After three seasons, he took the identical place with the 49ers beneath defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who had coached linebackers in Jacksonville beneath Bradley and Babich. Saleh left to be the Jets head coach one 12 months later, and he introduced Whitecotton as his line of defense coach, the primary time Whitecotton had led a place group.
Over the subsequent 4 years, Whitecotton was instrumental within the fast improvement of a number of star defensive linemen, together with Bryce Huff, John Franklin-Myers, Will McDonald IV, Jermaine Johnson, and Quinnen Williams. Whitecotton additionally spent three of these seasons working with Carl Lawson, at the moment a pending free agent for the Cowboys who has already expressed a need to return.
Schematically, Whitecotton has quite a bit in widespread with Eberflus. He comes from the varsity of Pete Carroll, whose personal defensive scheme, like Eberflus, is derived from Monte Kiffin; of word, Kiffin really served as a senior defensive assistant for one season in Jacksonville whereas Whitecotton was there.
In Whitecotton’s last three years with the Jets, his line of defense ranked within the high 10 in each stress charge and sacks every season. Given how Eberflus prefers to win with simply 4 move rushers, including a coach like Whitecotton is a significant coup.
LB coach Dave Borgonzi
Dave Borgonzi all the time appeared like a lock to affix the Cowboys as soon as Eberflus was made official; the 2 have coached collectively for 10 of the final 14 seasons. Borgonzi, whose brother was simply named the overall supervisor of the Titans, performed linebacker at Amherst Faculty earlier than working at Syracuse and Harvard, first as a graduate assistant after which as a defensive backs coach.
Not lengthy after Eberflus was employed in Dallas again in 2011 because the linebackers coach, following Rob Ryan from Cleveland, the staff added Borgonzi as a defensive assistant specializing within the linebackers. In 2013, he was moved to the offensive aspect, however then left for the Buccaneers.
In 4 seasons with the Buccaneers, Borgonzi served as a defensive assistant on Lovie Smith’s employees, one other disciple of the Monte Kiffin college of protection. When Eberflus turned the coordinator for the Colts in 2018, he reunited with Borgonzi, having him coach the linebackers. Borgonzi adopted Eberflus to Chicago in the identical position.
In breaking down Eberflus’ defensive scheme, the linebackers had been famous as a place of maximum significance, which is why Eberflus – himself a linebackers coach by commerce – has been so eager on retaining Borgonzi all over the place he goes.
Borgonzi has been considered as a rising star, fielding a number of interviews for coordinator positions all through his time working beneath Eberflus, however he’s remained by his mentor’s aspect. Anticipate him to play a key position in putting in the brand new scheme and getting the linebacker corps – which can or could not characteristic breakout star DeMarvion Overshown in 2025 – up to the mark.
