The value of Malik Hooker’s experience with new Cowboys DC Matt Eberflus

When a new defensive coordinator comes to town, we’ve seen how they like to bring some of “their guys” with them to the roster. These veterans give the coach some comfort in terms of already knowing how to perform in his scheme, as well as the role they can play in helping their new teammates make the transition. With Matt Eberflus’ arrival in the Cowboys, he may already have a guy in safety Malik Hooker.

When Dan Quinn was hired in 2021, he brought LB/S Keanu Neal and S Damontae Kazee with him from the Falcons. In 2022, Dante Fowler was also signed after getting released by Atlanta. Last season with Mike Zimmer replacing Quinn, LB Eric Kendricks and DT Linval Joseph soon followed based on previously working with him in Minnesota.

We’ll have to wait until next week, at the earliest, to see what free agents might be lured to the Cowboys by Eberflus. He’s certainly got his own pool of guys from the last three years as the Bears’ head coach, and four years as the Colts’ defensive coordinator before that. But there may already be one in-house “Eberflus guy” with Hooker, who played under him from 2018-2020 in Indianapolis.

The 15th-overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Hooker was already in place when Eberflus left his job as linebackers coach in Dallas and became Colts DC in 2018. Hooker, who fell in the draft due to injury issues, suffered another bad one that year after just seven games. Already at three interceptions and four deflections when he went down, Hooker was on pace to challenge for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Medical issues continued to keep Hooker from being a consistent impact player with the Colts. He missed six games from 2018-2019, one of them a playoff loss, and then nearly all of the 2020 season with an Achilles tear. Even before that next major injury, Indy had decided to decline Hooker’s fifth-year option for 2021. His reputation for poor health was why he remained untouched in free agency that year until the Cowboys finally signed him just ahead of training camp.

Since then, Hooker has only missed four games in as many seasons. After rotating with Jayron Kearse and Donovan Wilson in the first two years, he’s been the Cowboy’s full-time free safety for the last two seasons. He’s now one of the veteran leaders on defense and one of the few stable presences in a secondary that’s had plenty of other injury woes the last few years.

We might quickly assume that Eberflus and Hooker will be happy to see each other again in Dallas. But should we? Remember, Eberflus wasn’t part of the Colts’ staff when Hooker was drafted. He was part of it when they declined his option year and chose to let him walk in 2021, but we can’t say how much influence Eberflus had on those decisions.

What we do know is that even after they declined the option year, the Colts still named Hooker as a Week 1 starter in 2020. Here’s what Eberflus was saying about him going into that training camp:

Eberflus also said the following after Hooker’s season-ending injury in 2020:

Matt Eberflus says the example Malik Hooker set in terms of work ethic and positive attitude is what they’ll miss most about having him.

— Jim Ayello (@jimayello) September 22, 2020

It sounds like Eberflus still had plenty of respect for Hooker even though their time together ended. So as long as that goes both ways, it’s not wild to guess that the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator is looking forward to working with the now-veteran safety again.

Hooker may be very important to Eberflus this year as he probably won’t get much opportunity to bring in external free agents. If the Cowboys are as focused on keeping their own like Osa Odighizuwa, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Jourdan Lewis as reports indicate, plus the Micah Parsons extension, that’s not leaving much for outside hires. So in terms of having someone who’s played in his scheme and can help teammates, Hooker may wind up being Eberflus’ best and perhaps only translator.

While already an established starter with job security in 2025, Malik Hooker’s value to the Cowboys may have just gone up after Matt Eberflus’ return. If he can help make the transition to a new defensive scheme even smoother, it will only help Dallas to be playing their best ball sooner rather than later. The defense took time to get going under Mike Zimmer last year, so hopefully we can avoid the same delay next season.