FRISCO, Texas -- Any football fan knows that when a coach or coordinator is moved up to the booth, it's the start of a performance improvement plan that typically does not end well.
Jerry Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan that Christian Parker would move upstairs for Week 6. Parker himself pushed back on that notion on Thursday, saying he will "most likely" remain down on the sideline.
"There's advantages of both for sure, but I've always been a guy that's usually been down on the field," Parker said.
Parker also received the dreaded vote of confidence from Brian Schottenheimer amid his struggling defense's performance in the Cowboys' 2-3 start to the 2026 season. That came in the wake of Dallas hiring former Cleveland Browns coach Mike Pettine as a senior assistant. Pettine actually gave Parker his first job in the NFL when he was Green Bay's defensive coordinator in 2019.
"Christian Parker is our defensive coordinator and everything, all decisions, will run through him," Schottenheimer said Wednesday. "We're supporting him. I support him. I believe so strongly in the guy. I do. I think the guy's an incredible football coach. We have to coach better. We got to play better. I think our players will be the first ones to say there's things that they need to do better. There's things I need to do better. And so no one is sitting here pointing fingers at Christian Parker. But as the head coach, you have to make decisions that you think helps you win games. That's not just adding a Mike Pettine, it's some of the personnel adjustments that I know you guys are dying to know about that are being worked on behind the scenes and communicated to the players."
Dallas knows that being the league's 31st-ranked total defense (395.4 total yards per game allowed), last-place run defense (168.4 rushing yards per game allowed) and worst third-down defense (52.6% third-down conversion rate allowed) won't cut it.
How fixable are the issues?
"Very fixable because they're under our control," Parker said. "Very fixable."
The level of urgency Parker and his players have shown through five weeks is far from an overreaction. Matt Eberflus, Parker's predecessor in 2025, had the Dallas defense looking very similar through five weeks. The only significant difference is that Eberflus' unit was the league's worst against the pass, while Parker's is the league's worst against the run.
| Cowboys defense in Weeks 1-5, Last two seasons (NFL ranks) | 2025 (Matt Eberflus) | 2026 (Christian Parker) |
|---|---|---|
PPG allowed | 30.8 (29th) | 27.2 (25th) |
Total YPG allowed | 412.0 (Last) | 395.4 (31st) |
Yards per play allowed | 6.1 (30th) | 6.4 (Last) |
Rush YPG allowed | 127.4 (23rd) | 168.4 (Last) |
Pass YPG | 284.6 (Last) | 227.0 (21st) |
Completion percentage allowed | 72.4% (30th) | 72.1% (30th) |
| TD-INT allowed | 12-1 (29th) | 10-0 (Last) |
| Passer rating allowed | 117.2 (31st) | 120.5 (Last) |
| QB pressure rate | 36.9% (14th) | 32.7% (25th) |
| Sacks | 10.0 (T-18th) | 5.0 (30th) |
| Third down conversion rate allowed | 54.9% (Last) | 52.6% (Last) |
| Red zone TD rate allowed | 65% (24th) | 70% (24th) |
| Defensive EPA (expected points added) per play | -0.18 (Last) | -0.14 (30th) |
Personnel adjustments
One guaranteed personnel adjustment is to make new Dallas cornerback Joey Porter Jr. a full-time starter now that his stomach bug is behind him. He played in 48.1% (25 of 52) of the Cowboys' defensive snaps in their 34-30 road win over the Houston Texans. He and the team were ramping up for him to be a full-time starter after being on the roster for a week, but he was scratched shortly before kickoff in Week 5 because he couldn't stop throwing up. Losing his No. 1 corner that close to kickoff was something Parker called "not ideal." However, he and Porter Jr. are ready for him to have a "heavily increased" workload against the Green Bay Packers.
Look for rookie first-round edge rusher Malachi Lawrence to get more involved. Lawrence racked up his first career sack as well as a pass defensed in Week 5 against the Buccaneers. His quarterback pressure rate of 14.3% ranks fourth among qualified rookies, according to Pro Football Focus. He trails only David Bailey (16.4%), Sonny Styles (15%) and Cashius Howell (14.8%). Through five weeks, Lawrence co-leads the Cowboys in sacks with 1.0 despite playing significantly fewer pass rush snaps than some of Dallas' other edge rushers and defensive linemen.
"Played very well," Schottenheimer said. "I think he's starting to show the flash and the acceleration and the ability to rush the passer that we knew we were getting when we drafted him. And I thought he had a very, very good game against Tampa Bay and you'll see him get more opps [opportunities]."
| Cowboys pass rush snap leaders this season | Defensive snaps as pass rusher | Sacks | QB pressure rate |
|---|---|---|---|
DT Quinnen Williams | 121 | 1.0 | 10.7% |
DT Kenny Clark | 111 | 0.0 | 6.3% |
106 | 0.5 | 9.4% | |
OLB Rashan Gary | 101 | 1.0 | 14.9% |
57 | 0.0 | 7% | |
OLB Malachi Lawrence | 49 | 1.0 | 14.3% |
| DT LT Overton | 39 | 0.0 | 5.1% |
| OLB Von Miller | 36 | 0.0 | 16.7% |
| DT Jonathan Bullard | 21 | 0.5 | 9.5% |
| LB Jaishawn Barham | 11 | 0.0 | 27.3% |
They'll need Lawrence to beat Packers left tackle Jordan Morgan with regularity to have any hope of slowing down Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love and his top two speedy receivers, Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. Dallas sees facing a high-powered Packers passing attack as an opportunity rather than a challenge.
"I see that we have a lot of opportunities to make plays on the ball, so I know we're all excited for that," Porter Jr. said. "We really have to rally to the ball and make plays when they call on us to."
