In 17 games last year, the Dallas Cowboys committed a total of 133 penalties, the most in the NFL. Not all of those were on the defense, of course, but there was a significant portion of those calls that stemmed from the D–Dallas was whistled for eight defensive offsides, second-most in the NFL, for example. That’s emblematic of a unit was that undisciplined and lacked an attention to detail.
The number that showed just how undisciplined was 511. That was the total points the Cowboys allowed last season. No. 32 out of 32 in the league and the most in franchise history.
It has been Job 1 for the Cowboys this offseason to improve on their defensive production. It started with the hiring of defensive coordinator Christian Parker in January, with the 34-year-old Parker bringing the Vic Fangio defense from Philadelphia, along with his own wrinkles. The Cowboys have since sought to upgrade their personnel, too, with the signing and drafting of anywhere between five and seven new starters.
Kenny Clark: ‘Huge on the Details’
But now that the roster is mostly set and the Cowboys have their staff in place, the goal is to install the new defense while also getting players to have a different standard of focus and attention to details.
For Kenny Clark, the Cowboys’ returning defensive lineman the big change that is already noticeable from Matt Eberflus last year to Parker this year is those very details.
Said Clark: “Attention to detail. This defense is going to be huge on the details and huge on pre-snap and all that kind of stuff. So, all that stuff is going to be really good for us. We got a lot of smart players on all three levels of the defense and I think that’ll be great for us.”
Kenny Clark Getting His First Cowboys Training Camp
The Cowboys are still very early in the offseason process, with the first grouping of OTAs finished and another coming this week. There will be a mandatory minicamp from June 16-18 that will wrap up Dallas’s workout program until they head to Oxnard for training camp.
On a personal level, that’s been a welcome change for Clark, who was traded to Dallas in the Micah Parsons deal in late August 2025. He has not had an offseason with the Cowboys until now.
He said: “It’s huge. This is my first one. That’s what I said at the end of last year, I can’t wait to get in with the guys, establish that culture, show them how I work every day. We got a lot of guys that we brought in that’s all about the right stuff. Just showing we are working the right way and being intentional about everything, and that is trickling down to everything.”
Cowboys Were 32nd in Points Allowed
The hope for the Cowboys is that it all trickles down to getting the defense at least up to league average. Considering the depths where the D found itself last season, it’s a safe bet that a significant improvement is ahead. It’s only a matter of how much improvement.
Said Clark: “We was, what, like, 32nd in the league? Yeah. We want to get that taste out of our mouth. But it’s a new year, we got to keep going and keep being intentional every day.”
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