In final press conference of season, Cowboys coach Mike Zimmer shows emotion, explains biggest regret of 2024
Along with the speculation around head coach Mike McCarthy and his job status entering the upcoming offseason, the same questions are being raised about defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.
In the lone season of his one-year deal, Zimmer has seen his fair share of ups and downs with his defensive unit that has been marred with injuries. As he approaches an offseason that begins in less than a week, his feelings remain neutral about his future.
“No feelings, really,” Zimmer said. “This isn’t the first time this has happened [with me]. People in the real world do this all the time, they don’t have long-term contracts …We’re doing the job that we love to do. It is what it is. Worrying about it isn’t going to help anything. We just go about our business and move on.”
A week earlier, Zimmer said that it has been a challenging year and offered pause on if he would want to return to coaching in 2025. When asked how his feelings have progressed in the last week, he’s remained consistent.
“Number-one, someone has to want you,” he said. “It’s always a two-way street. I’ll just worry about all of that stuff after the season. We’ll just keep trying to do the best job that we can, and then everybody will sit down and have a conversation and Jerry [Jones] will decide what he decides.”
Reflecting on the season in his final press conference of the year, Zimmer applauded his unit for overcoming injuries and still performing to get the team to seven wins. However, he looked at a key stretch at the beginning of the season that he said he regretted.
“I wish that when I came in, I did everything the way I wanted it done,” he said. “That was probably the struggles at the beginning … I was just doing things I was uncomfortable with, and so I had to do what I had to do.”
“I’ve said it to some of the coaches, you come in and here was the situation. They were good last year, right? So I come in, I don’t want to really rock the boat. I wasn’t as tough as I typically am. I probably wasn’t as hard-headed about how I do things is the best way to say it. That’s what I regret the most.”
In his opening press conference after being hired in February, Zimmer said that he needed the game of football back in his life. After the death of his son, Adam, in 2022, it was important for Zimmer to get back into a familiar place in Dallas.
“I remember the first game in Cleveland looking around at the stadium saying, ‘This is pretty cool,’” he said. “Guys come up and say, ‘I’m glad you’re back.’ It’s been good. I needed it for my son.”
Before walking off the podium on Monday, for potentially the final time, Zimmer was asked about how this season has been emotionally for him without Adam. He fought back tears as he left his lasting memory in what could be his final words spoken in front of the media.
“Adam was, is a terrific kid,” Zimmer said. “He was smart, loved football. He would’ve given his left arm to do this. I know he’s upstairs looking down on me cheering every Sunday.”
This story was originally published December 30, 2024 at 7:37 PM.
