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The Dallas Cowboys are going old school with their new defensive coordinator.
Mike Zimmer is set to return to the NFL following a two-year hiatus, per Tom Pelissero.
Zimmer was one of numerous names interviewed by the Cowboys for the position, which has been vacant since Dan Quinn became the head coach of the Washington Commanders.
What is Mike Zimmer’s connection to the Cowboys?
Before getting a coaching job in the NFL, Zimmer served in numerous defensive roles at the University of Missouri, Weber State and Washington State.
He came into the height of the Cowboys dynasty, joining Barry Switzer’s staff as an assistant coach of the nickel defense in 1994.
The Cowboys were reigning Super Bowl champions when he arrived, but the franchise’s hope of a three-peat was cut short by the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
Nonetheless, the next season, Switzer promoted Zimmer to defensive backs coach in 1995, with the Cowboys reclaiming their Super Bowl crown.
Zimmer stayed with Dallas long after Switzer’s departure in 1997, climbing up the ladder to become defensive coordinator from 2000-2006.
In 2003 the Cowboys defense gave up the fewest yards in the NFL, running an aggressive 4-3 defense.
Zimmer’s coaching stops since leaving Dallas
In early 2007, Zimmer joined the Atlanta Falcons as defensive coordinator under new head coach Bobby Petrino.
Zimmer didn’t last long in Atlanta after Petrino departed for the University of Arkansas after just 13 games that season.
Zimmer’s next stop was with the Cincinnati Bengals as defensive coordinator, winning NFL Assistant Coach of the Year honors from Pro Football Weekly/Pro Football Writers and CBSSports.com in 2009.
The Bengals had the fourth-best defense that season.
Zimmer remained in Cincy until 2013, with his defensive unit always in the top 10 statistically.
In January 2014, he became the new head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
He’d spend eight seasons in that role, leading them to three winning seasons and three playoff appearances, making the NFC Championship Game in 2017.
His head coaching record in Minnesota is 72-56-1.
Former foes joining forces
Zimmer and Mike McCarthy know each other well.
The Minnesota Vikings rivalry with the Green Bay Packers is one of the biggest in the NFL.
Zimmer was in charge of the Vikings around the same time that McCarthy was coaching the Packers.
McCarthy’s Packers finished first in the NFC North twice while Zimmer was in charge of Minnesota, with the Vikings also finishing first twice around that time.
Overall, Zimmer holds the edge with a record of 5-4-1 versus McCarthy
Now it’ll be up to Zimmer to continue on from Dan Quinn and enable DaRon Bland, Micah Parsons and company to take their games to the next level.
Dallas had the fifth-fewest yards allowed during the 2023 regular season (299.7).
They’ll be counting on Zimmer to try and maintain consistency within this group.
McCarthy will be the fifth Cowboys head coach that Zimmer works for, with the others being Switzer, Dave Campo, Chan Gailey and Bill Parcells.
The Cowboys are hoping Zimmer can dig up some of that magic from the past that helped America’s Team become world champions.