The Dallas Cowboys have found their next defensive coordinator. The team is expected to hire veteran coach Mike Zimmer to lead the defense going forward, according to NFL Media. Zimmer comes aboard after the Cowboys lost Dan Quinn, who has since accepted the head-coaching job for the Washington Commanders.
Zimmer has a history with the organization, so this could be looked at as something of a homecoming. He initially broke into the NFL coaching ranks with Dallas back in 1994 and was with the club all the way until 2006. The final seven seasons of Zimmer’s tenure with the Cowboys came as the defensive coordinator. He was also on staff as a defensive backs coach when the team won Super Bowl XXX in 1995, which is the last time the organization hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.
On top of that familiarity with Jerry Jones and Cowboys ownership, head coach Mike McCarthy should also know Zimmer quite well, as they faced one another twice a year for five seasons in the NFC North when McCarthy was coaching the Packers and Zimmer the Vikings.
The 67-year-old last coached in the NFL in 2021 when he was still the head coach in Minnesota. For his career, he owns a 74-59-1 record (2-3 in the playoffs). On top of formerly serving as the defensive coordinator with Dallas, he also held that title with the Atlanta Falcons (2007) and Cincinnati Bengals (2008-2013). More recently, Zimmer was an analyst and consultant for Jackson State in 2022.
This defensive coordinator job with the Cowboys is arguably one of the more attractive non-head coaching jobs in the league considering the talent Dallas has on that side of the ball. Headlined by the likes of Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland and others, this defense has the ability to be the top unit in the NFL. During the regular season in 2023, the Cowboys allowed 18.5 points per game and 299.7 total yards per game, which were both fifth-best in the NFL. The club also had 26 total takeaways.
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Author: Tyler Sullivan
February 8, 2024 | 10:00 pm
