Mike Zimmer’s Door to the NFL May Be Creaking Open
Josh Frey
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Back at the end of December, former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer alluded to the idea that he would like to get back into coaching at the NFL level.
Well, the hiring cycle has officially begun in the NFL, and a door may be creaking open for Zimmer to get back into the league if he wants to do so. That door exists via the Dallas Cowboys, who lost in the Wild Card round to the Green Bay Packers.
Mike Zimmer’s Path to Return to the NFL
Of course, there were some rumors in the days after Dallas’ embarrassing 48-32 loss to Green Bay that head coach Mike McCarthy could be on the hot seat.
However, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has since dispelled any such rumors. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweeted screenshots of Jones’ statement ensuring that McCarthy will remain the head coach of the Cowboys.
“I believe this team is very close and capable of achieving our ultimate goals,” Jones said in the statement. “And the best step forward for us will be with Mike McCarthy.”
While the head coaching position may be out of the running for 2024, Zimmer could still be a candidate to join the staff in Dallas this year. In particular, the defensive coordinator spot would be an interesting landing spot for the former Vikings head coach.
Zimmer, of course, got his first NFL coaching gig with these Dallas Cowboys back in 1994 as an assistant coach. He was with the team as their defensive backs coach when they won their most recent Super Bowl during the 1995 season.
Zimmer then took over the defensive coordinator role in Dallas during the 2000 season, and he held that position for seven years before taking the same job with the Atlanta Falcons in 2007. During his seven seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Cowboys, Dallas had three seasons where they ranked within the top 10 in terms of yards allowed and one season in the top 10 of scoring.
So, how exactly could Zimmer land with his original NFL team? Well, the current defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn, has been a known head coaching candidate across the league. He has taken interviews with five of the seven teams with head coaching vacancies this offseason. Those teams include the Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, and Washington Commanders.
There is still a chance that Quinn lands one of these head coaching jobs, considering he helped lead the Atlanta Falcons to the Super Bowl as their head coach in 2016.
Additionally, we can’t necessarily rule out the idea that Dallas could move on from Quinn at the defensive coordinator spot regardless. The Cowboys were one of the top scoring defenses in the NFL throughout the season, but they were completely outmatched on Sunday against the Packers. In fact, the 48 points that they allowed are the most Dallas has given up in a home playoff game in their franchise’s history (per Stathead).
The Cowboys are certainly a talented team, but over the past few years, they’ve continuously failed to live up to the hype when the lights get bright. If a change were to be in order on the defensive coaching side, Zimmer could be the guy to swoop in and land the job that he held for nearly a decade.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.