CeeDee Lamb replaces Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the Pro Bowl roster.
George Pickens is going to have some familiar company in the Bay Area.
Fellow Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb will join Pickens at the Pro Bowl after he was added to the roster Wednesday. Lamb is replacing Rockwall product Jaxon Smith-Njigba who will not play as he prepares to play in Super Bowl LX with the Seahawks.
Pickens and Lamb are now the first Cowboys wide receiver duo to make the Pro Bowl in the same year.
Lamb earned his fifth consecutive Pro gBowl selection after a 2025 season with 75 receptions for 1,077 receiving yards and three touchdowns. It is his fifth straight 1,000-yard season with at least 75 catches.
Here’s what’s separated Christian Parker the other eight candidates.
MOBILE, Ala. – It’s been six days since the Cowboys hired former Eagles DBs coach/pass game coordinator Christian Parker as their new defensive coordinator.
Parker, 34, was one of nine candidates that interviewed for the position. He’d spent just seven years in the NFL before taking his first coordinator job, becoming the youngest defensive coordinator in Dallas’ franchise history.
So, how did Parker impress the Cowboys’ decision makers to earn the job?
“Number one, everybody you talk to, nobody said anything negative about him,” Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay said of Parker. “When we got the chance to meet and talk to him, he’s wise beyond his years number one, but the way that the puts things together, the way he talks about the defense, his awareness of the front and the back end, excited to work with him and the staff that he’s going to put together because I think there’s some exciting things that we can do… He’s going to put us up front on the defensive side.”
For Cowboys COO/co-owner Stephen Jones, one of the biggest boxes that Parker checked was his ability as a teacher, as his explanations of complex ideas and concepts were understandable for everyone in the interview process.
“Very, very smart,” Jones said of Parker. “Great communicator, which at the end of the day, one of our top priorities is to be a great teacher. These defenses are very complicated… he was really good at explaining it not only to coach Schottenheimer and to Will, but to Jerry and myself that you want to make complicated things seem easy… he was just outstanding.”
It wasn’t just Parker’s plan for the secondary that made the Cowboys convinced he was the guy for the job. It had to do with his entire plan for the defense, including marrying his vision for what the front seven will look like to help compliment the back end of the unit.
The coordinator Parker has spent the most time with is Eagles DC Vic Fangio, someone the Cowboys organization holds in high regard and has interviewed for positions on their staff in the past. Another selling point that worked for Parker was his plan for incorporating some elements of the Fangio defense, while also putting his own spin on things.
“Christian walked through some things that if it were his to do, he’d do a little different. And we really liked some of those wrinkles he’ll bring as well,” Jones said. “Obviously Vic’s one of the great defensive minds in this league, nothing but respect, but [Parker’s] learned a lot from him, learned a lot from other coordinators that he’s worked under, and just feel like he’s going to do a great job for us.”
According to Jones, Parker’s vision for what he wanted Dallas’ defense to look like equaled what head coach Brian Schottenheimer was searching for to compliment the offense and the team as a whole.
The efforts by the Cowboys to improve their defensive coaching staff continue.
As the Dallas Cowboys continue to put their defensive staff together under new coordinator Christian Parker, they are scheduled to interview former Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr and Cardinals cornerbacks coach Ryan Smith, according to multiple sources.
Orr, who also interviewed for the defensive coordinator job in Dallas before the team hired Parker, has experience coaching alongside head coach Brian Schottenheimer in 2021 with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is also a native of DeSoto and a graduate of North Texas. He has since interviewed for the Chargers defensive coordinator job, as he continues to search for his new home after being relieved of his duties in Baltimore after two seasons.
As the Cardinals continue their search for a new head coach, Smith has been granted the freedom to interview with other teams. The Cowboys will bring him in as a result. Arizona has been Smith’s first NFL coaching job after he was hired in 2023 following nine seasons in the college ranks. During his time at the collegiate level, he spent three seasons (2017-2019) as an assistant under current Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti who is fresh off an undefeated national championship campaign.
The days for tight ends coach Lunda Wells in Dallas appear to be numbered.
As the Dallas Cowboys work to revamp their defensive coaching staff, the offensive side of it may be about to suffer a significant loss. It was to be expected considering the Brian Schottenheimer-led staff produced a Top 5 scoring offense in his first year as head coach of the team.
With the latest coaching update from around the league, losing an important coach is looking increasingly likely for the Cowboys. Let’s dive in.
Cowboys TE coach Lunda Wells is on fire
Make that three offensive coordinator interviews for Cowboys TE coach Lunda Wells. The latest team to be interested in him is the New York Jets, who are already overhauling their staff in Aaron Glenn’s second year as head coach.
Wells’ interview with the Jets is happening on Wednesday, per DallasCowboys.com’s Patrik Walker.
Wells is also interviewing for the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator opening, where he could reunite with former Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy. Wells also interviewed for the Washington Commanders’ earlier in the month, though that opening has been filled already.
Wells is clearly a hot candidate for OC around the league, and that’s largely because of his in-depth knowledge of offense. He has coached tight ends since 2020 but before that, he coached offensive line for the New York Giants, meaning he has experience manning two of the highest-IQ positions in football.
Now granted, Wells leaving isn’t a guarantee. But if either of those two interviews turns into an offer, it would make plenty of sense for Wells.
Matthew Lenix
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