What happened: Christian Parker pushed back on the idea that last season's defensive issues automatically belong to this group, saying the 2026 unit is responsible for fixing its next Sunday performance. He is also taking over Dallas' fourth defensive coordinator in four seasons, so questions about whether anything really changed were always going to follow this start.

Why it matters: That stance only lands if the defense looks clearly different right away, and the first meaningful data point was a 28-20 loss. When a team keeps changing coordinators without quick improvement, fans are justified in treating "new year, new unit" as a claim that still needs proof.