5 Cowboys who should not return in 2026

The Dallas Cowboys’ offseason needs are already a hot topic, and this team has plenty of them. However, in addition to adding more talent, key personnel changes are also needed to remove certain players and coaches from their current roles. If this team wants to improve next season, here are five individuals who should no longer be part of it.

OT Terence Steele

That Dallas got six seasons and 91 starts (assuming he starts Sunday) out of an undrafted player is a success story, but it’s time to get real about our right tackle. Steele has never really reached the “riches” end of this “rags” story, at least in terms of what he’s brought to the Cowboys. He is indeed a very capable run blocker, at times among the better ones in the league. But we’re two decades removed from the time when that could excuse being a consistent liability in pass protection.

Steele turns 29 in June and is on his third offensive line coach, so the pass pro woes aren’t going to get any better. If anything, as athleticism starts to decline, he’s only going to become more vulnerable. And if the Cowboys are going to give Tyler Guyton more time, as they should, they can’t afford to keep ignoring this evergreen error on the other side of the line.

Financially, it’s an easy move. Steele is set to count over $18 million against the 2026 salary cap and has only $9 million left in dead money on the contract. They can outright cut him for an immediate $8.75 million in cap savings, usable as soon as the free agent market opens in March, or do a June-1st cut for $14 million in relief that can be used further down the calendar.

Of course, you have to then use some resources to replace him. Worst-case scenario: Guyton and Nathan Thomas are your starting tackles next year. Much better case; have Thomas as your swing and find a better pass protector to start. Maybe you spend a high pick on a Day 1 starter, or you go get a different veteran. But for an offense that likes balance, you need a starting tackle with a more balanced skill set. At least Guyton offers you some flexibility, with the viable option of moving him to the right side.

And no, we don’t want that new left tackle to be Tyler Smith. Keep your All-Pro guard at guard, strengthening the guys around him, and work out something else on the edges.

DC Matt Eberflus

Was Eberflus’ return to Dallas sabotaged by the Micah Parsons trade? Yes, at least partially. But that doesn’t explain why things completely broke down with Trevon Diggs, or why the former linebackers coach’s linebackers were the worst unit on the field. This was an epically bad performance across the board, and a season of almost nothing but fireable offenses.

When he was first hired, Eberflus said the right things about adjusting his scheme to the players. But we saw anything but that, and instead it seemed like our best talent suddenly forgot how to play. Everyone took a step backward, and that’s just far too damning for Eberflus to get a shot at redemption.

It should be a fairly clean sweep across the defensive coaching staff, who are mostly Eberflus guys. You definitely need to send LB coach Dave Borgonzi and DB coach David Overstreet packing, who both came over with Eberflus from Chicago. One guy you might hang on to is DL coach Aaron Whitecotton, who is from the Robert Saleh/Gus Bradley coaching tree. It could be worthwhile seeing how his group performs in a better scheme.

Whatever else happens on the staff, you just can’t bring Eberflus back and expect anyone to take you seriously as a team trying to win. The biggest reason you lost games was this defense, and the biggest reason this defense stunk was the guy running it.

LB Kenneth Murray

While having never played for Eberflus before Dallas, Murray seemed to become a pet guy for the defensive coordinator. It was somewhat out of necessity; Jack Sanborn struggled early and then got injured, Marist Liufau didn’t develop, and Logan Wilson didn’t show up until November. But Murray was a disaster as a starter, reading plays like a post-pandemic Jaylon Smith and lacking any explosive athletic traits. The results were obvious, and yet Eberflus never seemed willing to adapt or lessen Murray’s role.

Murray will be a free agent in 2026 and shouldn’t be considered for a new deal. All we saw this year was why this former first-round pick flamed out with the Chargers, and why Tennessee was willing to let him go for just a 7th-round pick last March. Dallas should just eat the minimal loss of that pick, enjoy the $7.4 million his departure clears on the salary cap, and give the next DC some better linebacker talent to work with.

STC Nick Sorensen

Replacing John Fassel as a special teams coordinator is a tough ask for anyone. He’s a legend, a bona fide guru at this niche role in the coaching world. But Sorensen, after failing as a defensive coordinator in San Francisco, did not impress in the return to the role he started with in the coaching ranks. He’s a Brian Schottenheimer guy, the two working together in Jacksonville and Seattle from 2018-2021. But if Schotty wants to make his second season better than this one, he probably should cut this friend loose.

While Brandon Aubrey, Bryan Anger, and Trent Sieg maintained their usual levels of performance, everything about the return games and coverage went down under Sorensen. KaVontae Turpin became a non-factor as a returner, and Dallas’ special teams was consistently giving up more yards than it was generating. For an already tortured defense, great field position for opponents when they started drives didn’t help.

It’d be interesting to see if C.J. Goodwin, the Cowboys’ longtime specialist, could move into the coaching ranks. He turns 36 in February, so you have to imagine the playing days are nearly done. He wouldn’t be ready to take on coordinator duties, but an assistant role under a new primary could be the beginning of his next chapter. Goodwin already runs summer football camps in his home state of West Virginia.

S Donovan Wilson/Malik Hooker

Another needed change on this defense is more talent in the secondary. We had hopes for the safety position when Eberflus arrived, especially given some history with Malik Hooker from their Colts days. But it was just as disappointing as any other unit, so it’s likely time to shake things up.

Donovan Wilson’s contract is up this spring anyway, so that may be one organic cause for change. He turns 29 in March and remains what he’s always been: an occasional playmaker with too many warts in fundamental pass defense. He’s a linebacker in a safety’s body, not big enough to play a hybrid role like Jayron Kearse used to. As such, given his age, it’s probably time to move on.

Hooker still has one year left on his deal, counting $9 million against next year’s cap. Dallas can save $7 million on release and just may go that route, having Juanyeh Thomas as a cheaper option to replace him. Thomas will be a restricted free agent and can probably be retained for the projected $3.4 million first refusal tender, if not cheaper on a multi-year deal.

Still, the duo of Thomas and Bell may not be as much of a talent infusion as you want. The Cowboys have to exhaust every avenue of making this defense better, and just promoting Thomas, Bell, or both to starting roles may feel more like the status quo. But either way, sticking with Wilson and Hooker as your starting duo feels like the wrong move regardless of who the next DC is. Maybe you only part with one of them, but then you’d better be sure the other starter is upping the ante in the defensive backfield.