R1 According to reports, Dallas has requested permission to interview Christian Parker of the Philadelphia Eagles for their defensive coordinator vacancy, signaling a serious shift in offseason strategy.

The Dallas Cowboys know they need to find the right defensive coordinator moving forward. They’re now even willing to look at the staffs of NFC East rivals.

According to a report by Jordan Schultz, the Cowboys have requested permission to interview Christian Parker for their open defensive coordinator job. Parker is currently the defensive backs coach and pass-game coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles under Vic Fangio.

A 34-year-old native of New Jersey, Parker began coaching in 2013 at Virginia State. He’d make his way up the college game, with stops at Norfolk State, Notre Dame, and Texas A&M. After his time as a defensive analyst at college under then-defensive coordinator Mike Elko, Parker was able to make the jump to the NFL.

Parker had stops with the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos in the NFL. In 2021, he was on Vic Fangio’s final staff with the Denver Broncos, acting as the team’s defensive backs coach at the time. He would stay on staff once Fangio was fired, but paired up with him again in 2024 when Fangio became the defensive coordinator for the Eagles. Together, they’d contribute to the franchise’s second Super Bowl win.

While with the Eagles, Parker is credited with developing several key players. That includes Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell, who were first-team All-Pro selections.

The Dallas Cowboys, meanwhile, missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, winning just seven games, for an overall record of 14-19-1 during that time. Each of those two seasons the Cowboys had different head coaches in place and different defensive coordinators, in turn.

The 2024 Cowboys team was led by Mike Zimmer on the defensive side of the ball. Then, in 2025, he was replaced by Matt Eberflus. Both of those defensive coordinators had a couple of things in common. That’s that they were former head coaches who couldn’t get the Dallas defense to play at the level they were expected to.

In 2025, the Cowboys finished 30th in total defense, giving up 6,409 yards, or 377 yards per game. Dallas fell all the way to 32nd in points allowed, giving up 511 total, or 30.06 points per game. Meanwhile, their 12 turnovers forced were 30th in the league. All of that would consistently become too much for their offense to overcome.

For now, the Cowboys simply requested permission to interview Christian Parker, with the Eagles’ season coming to an end in the Wild Card round. While teams can deny interviews, it’s unlikely that they ever do so.