Former Vikings HC to Meet with Cowboys
Josh Frey
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Well, Mike Zimmer is officially part of the hiring cycle in the NFL.
After stating back in December that he had an interest in getting back to the league, the former Vikings HC will be interviewing with the Dallas Cowboys in regard to their vacant defensive coordinator position. Earlier in the week, Dallas’ former DC, Dan Quinn, took the head coaching role for the Washington Commanders, leaving the Cowboys in search of a new coach to lead their defense.
Former Vikings HC Mike Zimmer to Interview with Cowboys
Adam Schefter of ESPN reported the news, tweeting, “Former Vikings’ head coach Mike Zimmer, who last worked in the NFL in 2021, is meeting with the Cowboys about their defensive coordinator job, per league sources. Zimmer and Dallas are quite familiar with each other; Zimmer worked as an assistant coach in Dallas from 1994-2006.”
Zimmer, 67, has a total of 28 years of NFL coaching experience, holding various roles with multiple teams, including his eight-year stint as the head coach in Minnesota. However, as Schefter alludes to, his longest stint by far came with the Cowboys where he coached for 13 years from 1994-2006.
The former Vikings head coach began as an assistant defensive coach in 1994 before taking on the role of defensive backs coach in 1995. Then, he held the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator role from 2000-06.
Over Zimmer’s seven seasons as DC of the Cowboys, Dallas made the playoffs twice. The 2003 season was a high-point for Zimmer’s stint in Dallas, coaching a defense that ranked second in points allowed and first in total yards allowed.
Zimmer then spent 2007 in Atlanta and 2008-13 with the Cincinnati Bengals as defensive coordinator. Following that 2013 season in which Cincinnati ranked top five in both points allowed and total yards allowed, he signed with the Vikings to become head coach.
Over his eight seasons in Minnesota, the Vikings went a grand total of 72-56-1, qualifying for the playoffs three times. This included a 2017 run to the NFC Championship Game in which the Vikings’ defense led the NFL in both points and yards allowed.
Of course, the Vikings would let Zimmer go following a disappointing 8-9 campaign in 2021, and they replaced both the head coach and general manager Rick Spielman during the offseason.
Zimmer has helped Dallas get to the promised land in the past (he was part of their staff during the most recent Super Bowl run in 1995), and now, this could be a golden opportunity to do so again with a number of talented players on the defensive side of the ball such as CB Da’Ron Bland and pass rusher Micah Parsons.
Throughout the past three seasons, the Cowboys have finished the regular season with 12-5 records before disappointing playoff exits. Particularly this past season, much of the reason for their loss to the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card was because their defense allowed 41 points while Green Bay got another touchdown off a pick-six from Darnell Savage.
If Dallas can shore up their defensive efforts in the playoffs, they can become a formidable team in the NFC. Perhaps Zimmer can be the coach to do that.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
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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.