Dallas Cowboys defensive backs coach Christian Parker contradicted team owner Jerry Jones on Thursday over where Parker will be stationed during games, pushing back on Jones’s claim that Parker would call plays from the coaches’ booth starting in Week 6. Parker said he intends to remain on the sideline, setting up public confusion over his role just as Dallas searches for fixes to the NFL‘s worst run defense.
Jones told radio hosts earlier in the week that Parker would move upstairs for Week 6, a shift the Cowboys made with former defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus a year ago. Parker offered a different account Thursday. “There’s advantages of both for sure, but I’ve always been a guy that’s usually been down on the field,” Parker said. “I will most likely remain on the sideline.”
The Main Development: Conflicting Accounts On Parker’s Role
The disagreement leaves Parker’s game-day location unresolved. Jones described a booth move as settled when he spoke on the radio Tuesday. Two days later, Parker told reporters he expects to stay on the field, the spot he has worked from for most of his coaching career. Neither account addresses why the two differ, and nothing in either comment clarifies which plan will actually be in place when the Cowboys host the Green Bay Packers.
Dallas head coach Brian Schottenheimer did not address the sideline-booth dispute directly, but he backed Parker’s standing within the organization. “Christian Parker is our defensive coordinator and everything, all decisions, will run through him,” Schottenheimer said. “We’re supporting him…