New, old Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer talks softer but the edge remains
Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer admits he is still getting used to wearing Dallas Cowboys gear again.
A 15-year stint with the Cowboys from 1994-2006 was followed with stints with the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals as defensive coordinator from 2007-2013 and then with an eight-year run as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
But slowly, but surely, he’s feeling back at home and looking like his old self.
“You know, I’ll be honest with you, it took me a long time to get used to having the star and Cowboys on me. You know, every time I see an article, I’d see that Vikings helmet,” Zimmer said. “So it took a little while. But I feel good about it. My daughter said, ‘Man, you seem like you’re so happy now.’ So I’m enjoying being around the players. I’m enjoying being around the coaches. Obviously, when I get a chance with the owners, it’s like old times. And I had a good time with Mike. So all that follows been a good coach.
“It’s been a lot of fun, getting around the guys, getting in the meeting room and joking with guys, with players, joking with the coaches, and giving each other a hard time. That’s what we do anyway.”
Don’t let the fun Zimmer fool you.
His voice is softer with his older age. But he is still a tough-cuss-to-play-for coach, especially when you make a mistake or write an article he doesn’t like.
Zimmer’s been tougher on the media than the team so far during training camp.
He is setting his standards and letting the players know what he wants from them.
“I got the same bite,” Zimmer said. “I hadn’t had to use it much. But I probably got the same bite. But now. I’m trying to be very specific about what we want and make sure they understand exactly what we want.”
“I’ve been impressed with this group, I really have. I heard all this stuff when I came here, this and that, but I just go by what I see and what I see has been good.”
But make no mistake about it, Zimmer was brought here to replace the departed Dan Quinn, now the coach of the Washington Commanders. ZImmer brings his old-school discipline, attention to details and fundamentals as much or more than his scheme.
“Yeah, and that was by design,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said. “Dan did a great job here without a doubt. We’ve had his style and we had his super powers and that was definitely reflective in how we played on defense. And had some excellent defenses here. It was important with the opportunity with Mike to clearly give him the clear slate.”
Zimmer’s scheme is targeted to help the Cowboys be better against the run. But it starts with being disciplined fundamentally sound and doing your job.
No more freelancing.
And that goes for the best players, including All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons.
Zimmer has new wrinkles for Parsons and will line him all over the field.
He will do more disguising on defense and his blitz packages are already freaky.
But the foundation remains. Discipline, fundamentals and accountability.
“Just putting guys in a lot of different positions. And not just letting us fly around and vision break,” safety Donovan Wilson said when asked about what Zimmer brings to the defense. “It’s been a lot of like disguises and stuff. But yea Zim brings the extra juice to the whole defense and keeps guys accountable.”
It’s the only way he knows how.
“I think, just like anything, when you’re talking about Mike Zimmer or other guys that have coached in this league through generations. There’s definitely a consistency there in how he goes about it,” McCarthy said. “I think we all recognize things are a little different today than they were 20 years ago, but that’s who he is at the core.”
Owner Jerry Jones agrees it’s the same Zimmer he remembers, although maybe a little more refined.
“Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Smarter,” Jones said when asked if Zimmer is still tough as nails. “He is more seasoned, right. And more respected. He’s got such respect, as would have it because he has been very successful since last time he was with the Dallas Cowboys. So I would say that there’s more respect. He had a lot when he was here. But there’s just an added respect.”
He still has the bark and the bite.
