Stephen Paea is ecstatic to be with the Dallas Cowboys.

A big part of that reason is that, for him, it comes with a football reunion. Paea will rejoin forces with defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli, who was was DC for the Chicago Bears in 2011 -- the year the team selected Paea in the second round of the NFL Draft.

It's a big reason Marinelli lobbied to bring Paea in, and now that the 28-year-old has officially signed his new deal and been assigned the former jersey number as the lost Terrell McClain, he's amped and raring to get to work for his new old coach.

Officially a Cowboy. Can't wait to play REAL Defensive??. Getting off the ball and hit OL in the mouth. Back with Marinelli. Buckle up. ?????????? — Stephen Paea (@PAEA_90) March 14, 2017

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Paea is a formidable run-stopper is a former second round pick of the Chicago Bears, and becomes a Cowboy by way of the Cleveland Browns.

In their first stint together with the Bears, Marinelli had nothing but high praise for the NFL Combine bench press star.

"He is a worker,'' Marinelli said of Paea, via The Chicago Tribune. "And he is tough. You see the same guy every day. He is really consistent."

After losing McClain to the Washington Redskins on the first day of free agency, Paea will now combine with players like Cedric Thornton and rookie Maliek Collins -- making for quite the powerful defensive front.

The NFL's best run defense just got better.