Cowboys news: Brian Schottenheimer speaks on Trevon Diggs release

Schottenheimer emphasizes accountability while explaining Cowboys' Trevon  Diggs decision

This rocky situation finally came to an end.

FRISCO, Texas – As the new year comes around, the Cowboys will enter 2026 without Trevon Diggs on their roster after waiving the sixth-year CB on Tuesday.

In his weekly Wednesday press conference, head coach Brian Schottenheimer explained the team’s decision to move on from the former All-Pro.

“It was a culmination of multiple factors,” Schottenheimer said. “Performance, other elements. He’s been an incredible player for this organization, and I really do, I truly do like Trevon a lot, I wish him nothing but the best and I’m excited to see where he lands and watch him continue his career.”

One of those factors came to light after Diggs was waived on Tuesday, as reports surfaced that Diggs did not take the team’s flight back to Dallas from Washington after the Cowboys’ 30-23 win over the Commanders on Christmas, and instead elected to remain in Washington with his family.

“It was one of many factors, it was not the only factor,” Schottenheimer said. “I’m not the Grinch that stole Christmas. I love Christmas, I love my family. But at the end of the day, we have a protocol that we go through and the process was not followed.”

Schottenheimer explained that his protocol is unless there is “a family emergency or something specific,” the team travels together both to and from games. He added that Diggs did not tell him he would be staying behind until the team was in the locker room following the game.

“First time I heard about it, Trevon grabbed me after the game,” Schottenheimer said. “I’m celebrating a big win, and I explained to him the protocol, which has always been the protocol, we go up as a team, we come back as a team. And he decided to make a decision. I’ll say this: It was not the only reason that this decision was made.”

Not playing linebacker Logan Wilson in Week 17 could be the final nail for Matt Eberflus in Dallas.

It’s extremely difficult to lose a trade when all you give up to acquire a solid veteran linebacker is a seventh-round draft pick, but lo and behold, the Dallas Cowboys have managed to pull it off.

The linebacker in question, of course, is Logan Wilson, whom Dallas acquired from the Cincinnati Bengals just ahead of the trade deadline in early November. And here we are in late December, and the 29-year-old has already fallen out of favor with Dallas defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, so much so that he took exactly zero snaps in the Cowboys’ Christmas Day victory over the Washington Commanders.

Now, has Wilson made a huge impact since coming over from the Bengals. No, he hasn’t. But he also hasn’t been given much of an opportunity, as he’s only taken more than 30 snaps once while wearing a Cowboys uniform, and that was in his first game with the team in Week 11 against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Kenneth Murray Jr., meanwhile, whose 40.1 overall PFF grade ranks 82nd among 87 eligible linebackers, continues to get 40-plus snaps per game and literally took every single defensive snap against the Commanders.

Cowboys executive vice president and CEO Stephen Jones attempted to chalk Wilson’s lack of playing time up to “confusion,” but he clearly wasn’t thrilled with what transpired.

“That was unfortunate with Logan,” Jones told 105.3 The Fan. “They didn’t have many snaps throughout the game, much less obviously in the first half. I will say it was, I wouldn’t call it a mistake, but some confusion in terms of how that rotation was supposed to go with [LBs coach Dave] Borgonzi. It certainly wasn’t the intent for him not to play a snap, but sometimes the game with not many snaps on one particular side of the ball, things can not go according to plan. I’m sure Schotty will address that as well.”

The hope train for Brian Flores is in full force.

With Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus being on the hot seat, a large portion of the fanbase has become obsessed with one man who could bring one of the most fun defensive schemes to town: Minnesota Vikings DC Brian Flores.

Flores—who is on an expiring deal in Minnesota—is expected to be a hot asset this offseason and a head coaching candidate. And while a “lateral” move from a coordinator position to another is uncommon, Flores inadvertently fueled Cowboys Nation’s hopes during a press conference on Monday.

Flores sounds very non-commital to the Vikings

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Flores addressed reports about his “talks” with the Vikings before the imminent end of his deal. The Vikings DC was very non-committal about his future in Minnesota, while acknowledging there’s a business side to his situation.

“I said this many times, I’ve loved my time here in Minnesota,” Flores said. “My family loves it, the state of Minnesota has been tremendous to me, (HC Kevin O’Connell) mentioned there’s been great dialogue, and there has. Now we’ll just let the club and my representation handle the rest.”

Asked if he wanted to “come back” to Minnesota, Flores again said he loves Minnesota but noted things have to line up.

“If everything lines up and it fits—from a football standpoint, it fits,” Flores said. “I think there’s always a businness part of this. The football all lines up. We’ll just see where it all goes.”

That doesn’t sound just like a coach who is only seeking a head coaching opportunity but rather a coach who is open to anything, even being a defensive coordinator elsewhere.

Changes certainly have to be made to fix a putrid Cowboys defense.

This season has seen the Dallas Cowboys field one of the worst defenses that they have ever had in franchise history. At some points they were able to stop the bleeding, but for the most part it has been an absolute disaster.

Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus has been the target of many for criticism and blame, and it stands to reason that he will be held accountable by team leadership when it comes time to assess what happened.

Jerry Jones appeared on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday morning and noted that Eberflus is certainly responsible, although not all on his own, and that changes are to be expected “pronto” following the season’s end.

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