Cowboys BREAKING: Mike Zimmer Hired By Jerry Jones to Mike McCarthy Staff; 4 Reasons Why

Dallas Cowboys BREAKING: Mike Zimmer Hired By Jerry Jones to Mike McCarthy Staff; 4 Reasons Why

LAS VEGAS - The Dallas Cowboys have filled the vacancy at defensive coordinator after losing Dan Quinn by hiring a sort of “made man” in the organization.

Mike Zimmer is coming back to Dallas as the replacement for Dan Quinn, who accepted the head coaching job for the Washington Commanders last week, CowboysSI.com confirming on Thursday night here in Las Vegas the Zimmer plan …

And there are four central reasons why …

1- Dallas wanted a coordinator who, like Quinn before him, has experience - maybe even head coaching experience. That was going to make it a challenge for any in-house candidate to top Zimmer, 67, the former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

2 - Zimmer has a unique bond and trust with the Jones family, dating back to when he broke into the NFL in 1994 … and stayed with the club all the way until 2006 while working under four different head coaches.

The constant during that time, including the final seven seasons of Zimmer's tenure here as the defensive coordinator? Jerry Jones. CowboysSI.com reported early on in this process that the team owner would help make the choice.

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And that is very much the case here. 

Some will call this “meddling.” But it’s commonplace in Dallas. Indeed, Zimmer benefited from it through head coaching changes here over the years. And when present coach Mike McCarthy’s first-year carte blanche hire of buddy Mike Nolan didn’t work out? The front office got involved in helping McCarthy choose Quinn.

3- He has won, simply. He was on the Dallas staff that won the 1995 Super Bowl winner in Dallas. And as the head coach in Minnesota, owns a 74-59-1 record.

But on a more specific level: Zimmer has succeeded against the “Kyle Shanahan Tree of Coaches” in ways that Quinn could not.

For all of the grand things Quinn did here in his three seasons - he nurtured the careers of stars like Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland while creating a takeaway machine that was top-five in 2023 in points allowed (18.5) and yards allowed (299.7) - Dallas has been habitually victimized by Shanahan’s 49ers and by teams coached by his disciples.

The numbers say Zimmer - who can oversee any style of defense, so forget those “4-3/3-4” debates, as he’ll leave much of the essence of DQ’s scheme intact - does not suffer from that specific issue.

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If Zimmer helps Jones and McCarthy to overcome the 49ers in 2024? This will be that ballyhooed “home-run hire.”

4- Trust. The familiarity with Jones and Cowboys ownership is central. And Zimmer has some of that familiarity across the football world, having worked for everyone from Barry Switzer to Bill Parcells to Deion Sanders.

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Zimmer and head coach Mike McCarthy? They know one another from five seasons of Packers-Vikings battles in the NFC North. But how can contractual lame-duck McCarthy know that his new top aide won't spend the year angling to be his replacement?

McCarthy found that trust with Quinn. He’s likely about to find it again with Zimmer, who harbors no illusions here. Out of the NFL since 2021, he’s not coming back for the glitz. He’s coming back for the grind.

Zimmer is a made man. He’s a loyalty guy. He's here to help.