'I'm Not A Jerk!' Inside New Coach Mike Zimmer's First Day Back with Cowboys

'I'm Not A Jerk!' Inside New Coach Mike Zimmer's First Day Back with Dallas Cowboys

FRISCO - Mike Zimmer is well-aware of his rough-around-the-edges reputation, and why not? What football guy doesn't want to be thought of as a bad-ass?

But in his introductory press conference on Wednesday here at The Star, the new Dallas Cowboys clearly wanted to expose the world to another side of the the 67-year-old coach who, based on testimony from respected colleagues from Bill Parcells to Darren Woodson to Deion Sanders, is about ready to tear this roster a new one.

“There’s a reputation out there,'' Zimmer said when asked about his ability to communicate his message to players, "that I’m a jerk or something like that.'' 

He then pointed out the large number of players who’ve reached out to congratulate him on his reunion in Dallas.

“I don't think I’d hear from all them,'' he said wryly, "if I was such a jerk."

Indeed, like most any other coach (and most any other human), Zimmer is more complicated than the high-pitched and profane screamer NFL fans have seen in sideline soundbites. He is, essentially, a teacher. 

And all he wants from his pupils is a desire to learn.

“There’s a lot more social media, there’s a lot more outside stuff going on,” Zimmer said, “but the ones that I’ve been around, the young guys, the ones that want to be great, they want to be coached. They want to study. They want to understand how they can get better. Most of the great players want to know how you can make 'em better.''

In Dallas, that list can start with two already-terrific players in Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs. And they can take stock in the work he's done with previous generations of gifted players.

“I’m demanding,'' said Zimmer, who plans on meeting soon with his players. "I try to get the best out of players. To me, there’s a difference (between that and being a 'jerk.') I had one player who was a terrific player (but) you could not yell at him. You had to put your arm around him. You had to talk to him in a whisper. He didn’t like to be reprimanded in front of people. 

"So that’s what I did with him, and he became a terrific player.''

That player, Zimmer would reveal, was Pacman Jones, who was once with the Cowboys and who played for Zimmer in Cincinnati.

"He gives me the biggest hugs now when I see him,'' Zimmer said. "But we’ve had our issues, going back and forth. I think everybody’s different. You try to hit the button, however it is, to make them better.”

There are players to meet. There is also a staff to build. Zimmer spoke highly of popular defensive assistant Al Harris, assuring that the secondary coach is being retained. As for other slots? At one point during the presser, Zimmer's Apple Watch started ringing. The coach apologized, then looked at the ID.

“Somebody is calling for a job,” Zimmer said, and when reporters laughed, he responded, "I'm serious.''

Contrary to what some think, this is a plum job (ask Rex Ryan!) ... but for the uncertainty involving head coach Mike McCarthy's final-contract-year status. But that is a problem for another day. Here, McCarthy shared the stage with Zimmer - who worked for the Cowboys from 1994 to 2006 before moving to Minnesota, where he dueled with McCarthy's Packers twice a year for five seasons in the NFC North - and shared entertaining old stories and promising new predictions.

McCarthy called Zimmer “an incredible fit for us,'' adding that long-time Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers would agree with him that Zimmer's Vikings defenses always presented great challenges ... and that Zimmer is multi-dimensional in terms of his football philosophies.

“He has a great fastball, a great curveball and a sweet changeup,'' McCarthy said. "That’s the way I look at it.”

Zimmer is a taskmaster; he will be largely unbending - "demanding'' is again his word - in that way. Said Parcells: "You don't have to get along, but players respect people who are straight-forward, to the point and trying to help them get better. He's the best with them.

"And the ones that don't like the truth are probably going to have a problem."

But is there another word Zimmer uses to better describe himself?

“Competitiveness,” he said. “Being technique-oriented. Being fundamental. Disciplined. Those are the kinds of things that (when not achieved) kind of get me grouchy.”

But is this a "kindler, gentler'' Zimmer? Maybe a better way to phrase it is that just as he's a teacher trying to make students better, he's also a student himself. And yes, he's got a softer side. He revealed that when he stated that he'd always wished he could someday return to the Cowboys ...

“I knew right away this was the right opportunity,” Zimmer said of when the job recently opened up as Dan Quinn takes over in Washington. “There was another club talking to me, but this is where I wanted to come. … I knew I wanted to be here. I knew they wanted me to be here.

“I’ve always loved Dallas, I’ve always loved the Cowboys. … I wanted to be somewhere where I knew people and I trusted people. ... Did I ever think I was going to be back? I don’t know. But I always hoped I would be.”

And more relationships: He raised a family in part in Dallas. He has twin grandchildren who live in DFW.

“I’m excited to be around (them) a little more,'' Gramps said.

Micah Reacts as Zimmer Reveals Defense Plans

There are X's-and-O's differences between Quinn and Zimmer, of course. But the essence of what Dallas has accomplished on defense remains foundational.

“I didn’t come here to do all the work that we need to do if we’re not trying to win a championship,'' Zimmer said. "They have won 12 games in three straight years, they’re on the cusp. ... I’m just hoping that I can help a little bit, and we can get the players better. That’s the No. 1 goal. I didn’t come here to be average.''

And along the way, the Cowboys will need to grow accustomed to Mike Zimmer, and he will need to do the same for them.

“We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel here,” said Zimmer ... though "The Jerk'' may be reinventing himself, if just a little bit.