Getty Image / Megan Briggs
The Dallas Cowboys have a huge hole in their coaching staff to fill after defensive coordinator Dan Quinn moved on to be the head coach of the Washington Commanders.
It should be a pretty attractive job, considering the amount of talent that’s there on that defense in premium positions.
Every defensive coordinator in the league would love to build around a young superstar like Micah Parsons long-term. The 24-year-old has been arguably the league’s best defensive player since entering the league three years ago. The Penn State product has 40.5 sacks despite sometimes playing as an off-ball linebacker, and led the league in pressures last season. He is as versatile as any defensive chess piece in the league.
Plus, the secondary has two young studs at cornerback. Trevon Diggs had an astounding 11 interceptions in 2021, and is one of the league’s best ballhawks. The 25-year-old missed all but two weeks of the season in 2023 with a leg injury, but he should be ready to go next year. Da’Ron Bland had one of the great seasons of any corner in league history this year, picking off nine passes and returning five for touchdowns.
So, there’s a great foundation there, and former Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer is interested in leading the Dallas Cowboys defense following a two-year hiatus from NFL coaching.
Former Vikings HC and Cowboys DC Mike Zimmer is interested in the current vacant Cowboys gig a person with knowledge of his thinking said.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) February 2, 2024
Zimmer is one of the best defensive coaches in the league, and was a pretty solid head coach, too. He went 72-56-1 in Minnesota, and reached the NFC Championship Game in 2017. The Vikings had the top defense in the league according to EPA during his eight-year tenure.
This would be a home run hire for the Dallas Cowboys, and would be similar to how Dan Quinn, a former head coach himself, was a head coach of the defense. It’s probably a win-or-else year for both Head Coach Mike McCarthy and this Cowboys core, and there’s no time to bring someone up to speed in the defensive coordinator role who has never done the job before.
The 67-year-old is likely heading into his last stint as an assistant coach. He does have a lot of experience in Dallas, as he was a defensive assistant there from 1994-2006, serving as the defensive coordinator there for the final seven seasons of his stint.