Mike Zimmer will look to lead a stout Dallas Cowboys defense to a higher gear in 2024.
The former Minnesota Vikings head coach returns to the NFL as a defensive coordinator for the first time since 2013. Zimmer will take control of a unit that ranked fifth in yards and points allowed last season before a first-round playoff collapse to the Green Bay Packers.
Per ESPN’s Todd Archer, Zimmer acknowledged that he’s inheriting a formidable group. However, he still sees room for growth.
“It’s like I told the defense the first day I got here. I said, this is a different deal for me. Usually when I come in, the defense is not good. You know? They’re pretty darn good,” Zimmer said. “So it’s a little different for me because we have to advance some of the things they were doing good and try to improve on the things they weren’t doing as good. But for the most part they’ve played pretty darn good, and we’re going to try to accentuate that and maybe be a little bit more technique-oriented, maybe a little bit more disciplined.”
The defense’s past success doesn’t mean Zimmer will take a more hands-off approach. The 67-year-old still wants the group to follow his lead.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to do it the way I want it done,” he continued. “I know if you try to come in and do somebody else’s thing, it just doesn’t go well.”
Zimmer returns to Dallas, where he served as a defensive coordinator from 2000 to 2006, after spending two seasons as a college football analyst for Deion Sanders at Jackson State and Colorado. He’ll replace new Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn.
Zimmer will try to steer a Cowboys defense led by Micah Parsons and a returning Trevon Diggs to their first Super Bowl since 1995, his second season as a Dallas assistant.