The Dallas Cowboys have a brand new defensive staff, and with that they will have the opportunity to try and shore up the one issue the unit had in 2023; variance. The Dallas Cowboys had a ton of great performances under Dan Quinn over the last three seasons. Twice the led the NFL in turnovers and two different defensive backs had all-time great NFL seasons under Quinn. Trevon Diggs had the most interceptions in a single season in over 40 years in 2011 and DaRon Bland set the all-time Pick-6 record in 2023. But there were enough performances where the defense didn’t show up, most notably the wild-card loss to the upstart Green Bay Packers, that showed the unit was not all it was cracked up to be.
Now, Mike Zimmer is in charge and while the front office may not rain down on him with draft picks to improve his unit in Year 1, there’s probably a sizable free agent haul awaiting him and his new staff. Often times, coaches like to bring in players who are familiar with their systems and who they know they can trust as bridges to the other veterans they are inheriting.
Zimmer worked for Cincinnati as their DC from 2008 through 2013 and was the head coach of Minnesota from 2014 through 2021. Between his former players and those who suited up for new DL coach Jeff Zgonina (Washington 2020-2023, San Francisco 2017-2018) or run-defense coordinator Paul Guenther (Cincinnati DC 2014-2017, Oakland LB coach 2018-2020) there are a handful of current free agents who might be interested in reunions.
Here are the six names, and where they rank on PFF’s list of top 200 free agents heading into 2024. In addition, there are two players who are currently under contract but could be released before the new league year kicks in who would be under consideration.