Jul 30, 2024; Oxnard, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer during training camp at the River Ridge Playing Fields in Oxnard, California. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images.
The Dallas Cowboys possess a 1-2 record in an increasingly competitive NFC and need answers — primarily on defense.
Former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn left Dallas during the offseason for a head coaching job in Washington — his team chipped off the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday Night Football in Week 3 — meaning an already proficient defense needed a competent coordinator to maintain success.
Dallas hired Mike Zimmer for the task, and early returns suggest misery. The Cowboys’ defense has leaked in the last two games, most recently in a loss at home to the Baltimore Ravens. Zimmer had the unenviable assignment of replacing Quinn, who led a terrific Dallas defense that already showcased the right personnel to flourish. Instead, Zimmer’s defense stinks through three games. Here are some of the metrics:
That’s right. The defense with Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs, Demarcus Lawrence, Eric Kendricks, and Mazi Smith, among others, is flatly no good, at least through three games.
Zimmer head coached Minnesota for eight seasons from 2014 to 2021, responsible for the NFL’s 10th-best record on his watch (72-56-1, .540). The Vikings parted ways with Zimmer and his boss, Rick Spielman, after the 2021 season, paving the way for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell to take over in 2022. The pair boasts the league’s seventh-best record since.
The ex-Vikings skipper also made headlines last month in a scorched earth interview with Star Tribune. Following his January 2022 termination, the Vikings’ owners, Mark and Zygi Wilf, asked Zimmer if he wished to address his football team — basically to say goodbye, a farewell address. According to Zimmer, he had no interest. “They asked me if I wanted to address the team. And I said, ‘Hell, no. They got me fired!'” Zimmer told the Star Tribune in a tell-all sitdown.
“I can tell you I’ve not watched one Minnesota game since,” Zimmer added.
Zimmer also expressed retrospective dismay over Spielman’s selection of quarterback Kellen Mond in the 2021 NFL Draft. “The first round, Rick tried to trade up for Justin Fields, who hasn’t done anything. When he picked Mond, I walked out of the room. I left the building,” Zimmer said.
“I didn’t even talk to him on the phone. Rick said, ‘You mad at me?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I think you took four backups when we had guys there I thought were starters.’ From that time on, it just kind of got worse between us. And I’m not saying nothing was my fault. I’m sure there were plenty of things that were my fault.”
In 2024, his defense still has time to improve, and the docket begins in two days on Thursday Night Football at the New York Giants — a decent get-right opponent for a fledgling defense.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.