DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys are expected to hire former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer as their defensive coordinator, people with knowledge of the situation told The Dallas Morning News on Thursday.
Cowboys expected to hire Mike Zimmer as defensive coordinator
Zimmer replaces Dan Quinn, who left following the 2023 season to become the head coach of the Washington Commanders.
February 9, 2024 at 4:59AM
Zimmer replaces Dan Quinn, who left following the 2023 season to become the head coach of the Washington Commanders. Before settling on Zimmer, the Cowboys also looked at former head coach/coordinators such as Ron Rivera and Rex Ryan as possible replacements.
Under Quinn, the Cowboys produced Pro Bowl players such as Micah Parsons (edge), DeMarcus Lawrence (defensive end), Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland (cornerbacks). In two of his three seasons as defensive coordinator, the Cowboys led the NFL in takeaways.
However, the Cowboys are coming off a playoff loss in which Packers running back Aaron Jones had 21 carries for 118 yards and three touchdowns. The Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 and Buffalo Bills in Week 14 each surpassed 200 rushing yards in Dallas losses.
This is Zimmer’s second stint with the Cowboys. He spent 13 years with the organization, working as a defensive assistant (1994), defensive backs coach (1995-99) and eventually defensive coordinator (2000-06). Zimmer’s best defenses finished No. 4 in 2001 and No. 1 in 2003. Zimmer was the defensive backs coach on the Cowboys’ last Super Bowl team after 1995 season.
After leaving the Cowboys, he became a defensive coordinator with Atlanta and Cincinnati. He was named head coach in Minnesota in 2014. In eight seasons, the Vikings went 72-56-1 overall and 2-3 in postseason appearances under Zimmer.
During his time as head coach, Zimmer, 67, battled through surgeries to both eyes because of a detached retina and cataracts.
He’s spent the last two seasons helping former players as a consultant. Most recently, he worked with former Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders, who is the head coach at the University of Colorado.
Zimmer has dealt with personal tragedy in his time away from the sport. His son, Adam, died in November 2022. Adam Zimmer, 38, was an NFL assistant coach for 17 years.
The Cowboys also had interest in Cowboys defensive line coach Aden Durde, who was interviewed by three teams for vacant coordinator positions, and Jets safeties coach Marquand Manuel.
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Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
