Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-18 · by Schuyler Dixon The Associated Press
Christian Parker faced criticism after his debut as the new defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys in their 28-20 loss to the New York Giants in Week 1 of the NFL season. The defense struggled significantly, allowing long drives in the second half and failing to improve upon last year's poor performance. Despite a heated sideline incident involving rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham, head coach Brian Schottenheimer maintained confidence in Parker’s abilities and expects improvement in Week 2 against Washington.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Christian Parker, the new defensive coordinator of the Cowboys, faced criticism after his first game as play caller ended in a 28-20 loss to the New York Giants on September 17, 2023. The Cowboys’ defense performed poorly throughout the game but was especially ineffective in the second half when the Giants scored touchdowns on their first three drives. Parker’s tense sideline interaction with rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham, who stormed off after arguing with him, was captured and shared widely on social media. Prior to this season, the Cowboys had fired former defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus due to one of the worst defenses in NFL history during his sole season with the team. Despite initial optimism surrounding Parker’s appointment, the lackluster performance raised concerns about the effectiveness of the new defensive strategy and leadership.
Written for “Cowboys New Coordinator Struggles” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
New Dallas defensive coordinator Christian Parker didn’t have to wait long for a tense sideline exchange to end up on social media, or for the duty to try to explain a poor performance that has become all too familiar for fans of the Cowboys.
asserted
that → have → Cowboys
Parker got his first chance to call defensive plays as a 34-year-old because the Cowboys fired Matt Eberflus after his only season when he oversaw one of the worst defenses in the NFL, and in franchise history.
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he → get → history
Following an offseason and training camp filled with optimism over a young coach and a revamped roster, the Cowboys looked frighteningly similar to 2025 in a 28-20 loss to the New York Giants in the opener.
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Cowboys → follow → opener
The defense wasn’t very good in the first half, and even worse in the second, when the Giants scored touchdowns on eight-minute drives on their first two possessions and ran out the clock on the third.
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Giants → score → third
Dallas scored TDs the only two times it got the ball after the break.
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it → score → break
Somewhere amid all that, Parker was caught on camera in a sideline exchange with rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham, who always has an intense look and in this case started barking back at Parker from the bench before getting up and storming off.
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who → catch → bench
It’s safe to say it was a rough debut for both — Barham as an NFL player and Parker as an NFL play-caller.
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it → ’ → caller
“He was a little frustrated with himself and frustrated with our side of the ball
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He → frustrate → ball
,” Parker said.
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Parker → say → ?
“But I don’t think anybody in our building has any doubt of what he’s going to do coming real soon.
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he → think → what
We don’t have any reservations about his mentality.
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We → have → mentality
We welcome that passion.
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We → welcome → passion
And that’s something that young players have to go through.
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players → ’ → that
It’s a natural progression.
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It → ’ → ?
We have a lot of confidence in Jaishawn.”
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We → have → Jaishawn
Coach Brian Schottenheimer, in his second season in charge after 25 years as an NFL assistant, isn’t losing confidence in Parker after one week.
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Schottenheimer → lose → week
“I have no question Christian Parker is the right guy for this job,” Schottenheimer said.
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Schottenheimer → have → job
“He will learn from this, just like our young players are going to learn from this.
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players → learn → this
We’re going to play our young players this weekend too, and they’re going to play better and Christian’s going to call a better game this week and feel better about it.”
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Christian → go → it
The Cowboys added two veteran pass rushers in Rashan Gary and Von Miller, and Barham was among the reasons for optimism when the third-round pick emerged as a potential starter during the preseason.
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pick → add → preseason
There was reason to believe the run defense could be stout anchored by defensive tackles Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark.
uncertain
defense → be → tackles
Instead, the Cowboys didn’t offer much resistance against Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo, and the secondary left huge gaps in coverage the same way Dallas did a season ago.
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Dallas → offer → coverage
Parker is aware of all those things, and was reserved and measured the first time he had to face the questions that come with such a dismal showing.
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that → measure → showing
“It’s one poor performance,” Parker said.
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Parker → ’ → ?
“It’s one loss that does not equal two.
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that → ’ → two
I think we’re not trying to make excuses for anything.
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we → think → anything
We’re not trying to act like it didn’t happen.
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it → try → ?
We got to look in the mirror, we got to be accountable for what we did wrong and what we did right, correct it and then move on to the next opponent because it can’t be a hangover and it can’t linger.”
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it → got → opponent
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