Tag: Mike Zimmer

Former Vikings OC Norv Turner comes out of retirement, joins Raiders staff

Norv Turner will come out of retirement to become an offensive assistant for the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Las Vegas Raiders fired several offensive coaches after Week 9 as the team stands at 2-7 on the season. They have had a rotation of quarterbacks this season and they decided they needed an offensive mind to get things going.

They decided to go deep into the well of great offensive minds and bring one out of retirement.

Norv Turner, former NFL head coach and Vikings offensive coordinator, will come out of retirement to become an offensive assistant for the Las Vegas Raiders. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media first reported the addition to Antoinio Pierce’s staff.

The move also reunites Turner with his son, Scott Turner, the new offensive coordinator for the Raiders. Scott Turner originally joined the Raiders staff in 2023 as their passing game coordinator.

Norv Turner spent three seasons with the Vikings from 2015 to 2016 before he unexpectedly resigned. As a head coach, Turner is 114-122-1 in games coached in the NFL.

Kirk Cousins and Mike Zimmer reunite ahead of Week 9 matchup

The former duo were back in action on Sunday.

Current Dallas’ defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and current Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins were set to face each other this past Sunday in Atlanta. Zimmer was Cousins’ coach from 2018-2021, and they enjoyed a four-year stint together before the team moved on from Zimmer for a young mind like Kevin O’Connell.

The pair was seen talking to one another prior to the game, likely reminiscing about the good times they had in Minnesota.

But Cousins got the better end of Zimmer and Dallas on Sunday. The Falcons took down the Cowboys, 27-21. Dallas moved to 3-5 on the year, while Cousins has Atlanta humming along at 6-3. Zimmer’s former starting quarterback threw for 222 yards and three scores against his Cowboys’ defense.

The Vikings will get a chance to face Cousins on Dec. 8 when Atlanta travels to Minnesota for what will likely be a big contest.

 

This coaching change wasn’t supposed to be Cowboys instant fix, but it’s worse than expected

Did the Cowboys mess up hiring Mike Zimmer to lead their defense in 2024? | From @ReidDHanson

When Dan Quinn left Dallas for the sunny streets of the nation’s capital last winter, the Cowboys had a significant hole to fill on their coaching staff. Quinn had successfully rebuilt the Dallas defense into a force to be reckoned with. Sure, they were prone to massive breakdowns against quality opponents, but overall, they ranked as one of the league’s best, year in and year out.

Complicating matters in the search for Quinn’s replacement was the situation with the rest of the coaching staff. Mike McCarthy was entering the final season on his five-year deal and the rest of his staff was situated to play out the final year of their deals in 2024 as well. The Cowboys wanted their Quinn replacement to join the ranks and similarly play on an expiring deal this season.

As if that wasn’t bad enough the Cowboys made it clear they weren’t interested in being spenders over the offseason either. Whoever came in to fix the defense would have to do so with rookies and the carryovers Dallas had on hand.

It’s safe to say the terms weren’t very attractive and the list of candidates would be somewhat limited as a result. So, when Mike Zimmer’s name came up as the solution, many felt elated such an accomplished coach would even consider the Cowboys, let alone agree to the terms and hop aboard. But that’s what Zimmer did.

Zimmer’s hire didn’t result in parades, but he did receive a fair degree of support from many in Cowboys Nation. As a former coach of the Cowboys, Zimmer had ties to Dallas and as a successful head coach in Minnesota, he had the respect around the league.

Regarded as a disciplinarian, Zimmer looked like he was just what the doctor ordered for the Cowboys. Discipline had long been an issue on the Dallas defense under Quinn, with players freelancing all too often. It resulted in wide swings in run defense and avalanche-like breakdowns against the league’s more nuanced attacks.

Zimmer didn’t just offer discipline and accountability, but he brought a track record of success against offenses like Kyle Shanahan’s. Shanahan offenses have been Dallas’ Achillies heel for years and its growth in popularity has made Shanahan one the NFL’s most prominent coaching trees in the league today.

Seven games into the 2024 season and Zimmer’s defense looks even worse than it was before. While much of the differences can be blamed on injuries to players like DaRon Bland, Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and Sam Williams, discipline towards run fits appear every bit as bad as they were under Quinn.

Was Zimmer the wrong man for the job?

It’s understandable if hindsight prompts this question. The Cowboys have a historically bad defense and don’t appear to be on the road to recovery. Letting the injury-depleted 49ers roll over them for 30 points in Week 8 showed it doesn’t take offensive All Stars to post All Star-like performances against the Dallas defense.

But asking Zimmer to fix the defense under the Cowboys’ circumstances in 2024 is almost an impossible ask. Dallas horrifically misevaluated their situation at defensive tackle. Even when the players show a knowledge and commitment to the task, they get beaten and bullied out of position.

The ramifications of which aren’t hard to see as linebackers and safeties are regularly met with 300+ pound linemen squaring up with them at the second level, running play after running play.

Zimmer’s playbook itself takes time to digest and perfect. As a coach who likes to disguise and misdirect, he’s more complicated than many defensive coordinators around the league. It’s not something a coach can impart in just seven games and given the chronic issues on the defensive line, it’s probably not something that can be fixed in Dallas without upgrading the talent.

Zimmer was given an impossible task and the results, while worse than any of us imagined, shouldn’t be overly surprising given the circumstances. It’s possible a more vanilla scheme would be easier to digest for players, but Zimmer isn’t teaching rocket science here either. At some point the accountability has to fall onto the players themselves and these Dallas defenders look like they are the biggest problem.

Zimmer’s first seven games back in Dallas have been an unmitigated disaster but he was never supposed to be an instant fix. He’s a culture coach and a disciplinarian who needs the right pieces and viable alternatives to properly implement his defense. Neither time nor alternatives have been afforded the coach.

Zimmer needs blame because at the end of the day he’s responsible for the defense, but he’s not the problem with the defense. The problem is the impossible circumstance and dearth of talent given to him. That falls on a different man.

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Cover 1, Cover 3, Cover your eyes: Cowboys defensive flip hasn’t worked

The Cowboys are doing something funny with their safeties and it isn’t working. | From @ReidDHanson

Most will agree, the Cowboys’ biggest shake up of the 2024 offseason was their change at defensive coordinator. Gone was Dan Quinn. After coaching the Dallas defense for three successful seasons, Quinn earned a head coaching job in our nation’s capital. Replacing him at the helm was long time coordinator Mike Zimmer. Zimmer brought with him his infamously demanding defensive scheme, a nonsense attitude and an acceptance for timely split safety looks.

While the Cowboys were still expected to lean on man coverage in 2024, they were also expected to show more two-high safety looks. Zimmer was known to disguise coverage frequently and split his safeties over the top from time to time. It was a departure from his predecessor who both preferred single high safety formations and didn’t put much value is disguises.

2024 has proven to be surprising but not quite in the way many imagined. Zimmer has indeed disguised coverages, rolling safeties and linebackers at the last second to catch passers off guard, but he hasn’t moved Dallas off the single-high safety reliance.

https://x.com/fball_insights/status/1848828006363529723

Between Cover 1 and Cover 3, the Cowboys play a combined 61% of their snaps in single high. While that may be down from the seasons prior, it still represents their two most popular coverages seven weeks into 2024.

It’s understandable since the Cowboys have two fairly different safeties starting on their defense. Malik Hooker, traditionally their free safety, has been one of the better centerfielders in the NFL. In his last two seasons under Quinn, he ranked inside the top 15 of the 88+ safeties Pro Football Focus graded. Donovan Wilson, their primary box safety, didn’t grade as well by PFF but since the majority of his splash plays come near the line of scrimmage with him running downfield, his positioning seemed appropriate as well.

Under Zimmer that has changed somewhat.

Hooker’s snap percentage at deep safety has dropped from 84 percent under Quinn to 66 percent under Zimmer. Wilson’s snap percentage at deep safety has jumped from 38 percent under Quinn to 57 percent under Zimmer. While the slight increase in split safety looks accounts for some of that, the two players can be seen routinely playing each other’s roles throughout a game.

Hooker can often be seen sneaking up into a box role while Wilson positions himself back as the single high. What would have been a unicorn moment in 2023 now looks commonplace on the Cowboys defense in 2024 and it’s hard to understand why.

Deception is one thing, but these are typically pre-snap alignments, so the intention is stated at the start. This is just a case of role swapping and based on early returns it isn’t working out great. Based on PFF grades Wilson is having the lowest graded season of his career in 2024. He’s flashed a nice play here and there, but most will agree it’s been a pretty poor season for the man who’s on the books for $7,370,575 this season.

Hooker is having a season to forget too. The former first-round pick is also having the lowest graded season of his career and is having a hard time justifying his more modest $3,985,296 cap hit as well.

It seems the two players were better when they were focused on their respective expertise. Maybe run fit discipline led to change or maybe it was matchups that has Zimmer playing mix and match with his two playmakers but whatever the reason, it doesn’t seem to be worth it.

The Cowboys are still leaning heavily on single high safety looks under Zimmer but where the new defensive coordinator differs from his predecessor is which safety he uses where. That may not be a good thing.

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Steelers the perfect opponent for Cowboys to try changes against

The Steelers’ struggles on offense should provide the Cowboys a chance to experiment. | From @ReidDHanson

The Dallas Cowboys’ defense is going to look significantly different when they take the field in Pittsburgh on Sunday night. For the first time since 2020, Dallas will play without Micah Parsons. Parsons, a perennial defensive MVP candidate, will presumably be out this week with a high ankle sprain suffered against New York. Joining Parsons on the sideline will be fellow pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence. Lawrence also fell in Week 4 and could miss up eight weeks with a Lisfranc injury.

With the two top pass rushers out, it would be an understatement to say this defense is going to look fairly abnormal in Week 5. Dallas will likely tinker with substitution packages, blitzes, stunts, and personnel groups in order to compensate for the loses. Just to even remotely replace the missing production, things may need to get extremely creative for Mike Zimmer and company.

And Week 5 is the perfect week to do it.

The Steelers, Dallas’ opponent Sunday night, are still trying to figure things out on offense. They rank 20th in EPA offense this season and have been having significant struggles running the ball. Their rushing EPA ranks 29th in the NFL with a success rate of just 35.5 percent. Even with one of the best rushing quarterbacks in the league in Justin Fields, the Steelers have struggled to move the ball on the ground.

It just so happens run defense has been Dallas’ biggest issue in 2024. Parsons and Lawrence may represent most notably the Cowboys’ pass rush, but they also rank as two of the most capable run defenders. Losing them impacts both phases of the game.

Facing a below average offense that’s struggling to run the ball is just what the doctor ordered at a time like this. Zimmer can experiment with new players, new alignments and blitz packages he may not otherwise feel comfortable with.

With the Lions and the 49ers next up on the schedule, the following two matchups aren’t so inviting. The first-place schedule they face in 2024 certainly isn’t doing them any favors, so all things considered, the injuries fell at a good time for the Cowboys. Now is the time to experiment on defense and try to figure some solutions because things get much harder down the road.

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Mike Zimmer’s coverage philosophy just isn’t working for the 2024 Cowboys

Cowboys coverage calls are much different than 2023, and the results haven’t been good. Causation or correlation? | From @KDDrummondNFL

It’s always tough to make a one-to-one comparison between coaching staffs in the NFL. From year to year, so much changes about team personnel that it’s sometimes tough to pinpoint what changed philosophically or what changed out of necessity.

Take the Dallas Cowboys for instance. Last year’s starting cornerback tandem of Stephon Gilmore and Daron Bland have played zero snaps for the team in 2024. Can a change in the way the secondary schemes be tethered to a necessary change with Trevon Diggs return and a fifth-round rookie in Caelen Carson playing opposite him? Or is it more about Mike Zimmer implementing what has always been a much different philosophy when it comes to coverages than his predecessor Dan Quinn?

So far in 2024, there’s been a major difference between the way the secondaries have been deployed. And while it was expected for their to be a learning curve for the secondary players as Zimmer’s coverages are notoriously complicated, it’s been a dramatic shift in results.

Last season, the Cowboys were equally as likely to deploy their secondary in Cover 1, man-to-man with a centerfield deep safety, as they were in Cover 3, where the two corners play zone along with said deep safety.

This year though, Zimmer greatly cut back on the man-to-man philosophies. Cover 1 calls have dropped from 34% of snaps in 2023 to just 17% through the first four weeks of 2024. 2-Man calls, man-to-man corners with two deep safeties, have disappeared completely, going from 3% to 0% accotding to data colleted by Football Insights.

Cover 3 calls have risen from 30% of all defensive calls to 38%, but the biggest riser has been the use of Cover 6. That’s where half the field plays quarters coverage (four-deep zone) and the other half of the field is in an underneath zone.

Are the changes working?

Last year the Cowboys ranked fifth in defensive dropback EPA (expected points added) at -0.06 and seventh in defensive passing VOA (value over average). EPA measures on a per play basis how well a defense does in preventing the expectation of a score for the offense at -3.3%.

VOA is a metric that takes into account game situation and opponent strength to measure how well a unit is doing. A negative rating means the opponent is seeing less success than the average opponent.

In 2024 those numbers have plummeted. Dallas currently ranks 18th in defensive dropback EPA, allowing opponents to increase their chances of scoring with each pass at 0.041. They’re also 21st in pass-defense VOA at 12.3%.

Things have gotten decidedly worse, but the question is are these issues due to other factors, or the philosophy? Everything about the Dallas defense is worse than it was a year ago, from their run stopping ability to their pass rush. So is the coverage calling a result of trying to compensate for what’s happening in the front seven or a symptom of the same core issue?

Attitudes, lack of effort likely highlight Cowboys systemic issues that rain from top down

The Cowboys issues the past few games may go beyond just X’s and O’s, says @ReidDHanson

Following Dallas’ loss to the Ravens in Week 3, the Cowboys are at an extreme low point in their storied history. Three of their last four games played (dating back to last postseason) have qualified as nothing short of embarrassing. Their 1-2 record has them tied for last in the NFC East and key areas of their performance are even falling into the history books (in a bad way).

According to ESPN Research, the 557 yards Dallas has allowed on the ground this season are the most allowed since 1963. During the same stretch their defense has set a record in rushing touchdowns allowed while allowing the highest yards per carry against since the 1970s.

With the Cowboys run defense playing this poorly the problems extend beyond scheme or select members of personnel. To fall this flat takes a group effort and probably something deeper rooted.

Scanning the sideline mid-game, it was impossible not to notice visibly deflated body language and the many forlorn faces amongst the team. The impressions given on the sideline bled into the game with Cowboys players appearing dejected and even exhibiting suspect effort in plays in which they were actively involved.

Calling into question someone’s effort is dangerous business in sports. To say someone isn’t trying or has given up is one of the most damning things you can say about a competitor. With that said, it’s hard to argue the issue doesn’t exist in the Dallas these days.

The Cowboys had a handful of landslide losses in 2023 where players appeared to be done playing by halftime. The scheme change this offseason didn’t change that nor did the move from Dan Quinn to Mike Zimmer. The Cowboys even churned the bottom of the roster, rolling out new players and new roles in their defensive front-seven. It offered up the same optics as before with the same poor results as before.

To say the issue is systemic is to say the issue is engrained in the culture of the team. Several members of the offense even seemed to fall victim to it this time around.

Only after a handful of role players like Brandan Aubrey, Hunter Luepke, KaVonate Turpin and Jalen Tobert stepped up and got the Cowboys back in the game did some of the attitudes and effort appear to return, but even then, effort and attitude looked suspect.

Play calling and schemes certainly bear massive responsibility in the loss and those suspect gameplans very likely contributed to players’ attitudes in the huddle and on the sideline, but that doesn’t excuse questionable effort.

There might be a culture issue in Dallas and that’s far more damaging than just losing two games in a row and an even harder issue to fix. The Cowboys have issues in scheme and in personnel but it’s time effort and attitude also get called into question.

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False Positives? Cowboys defense tested by Saints early and often in Week 2

The Saints continue their torrid start to the season, leaving the Cowboys’ defense trying to catch their breath. | From @KDDrummondNFL

There was always a concern that Mike Zimmer’s complicated defense was going to take some time to take hold in Dallas. After Week 1’s total shutdown of the Cleveland Browns, there was a ton of optimism the amount of talent in the Cowboys’ locker room would prevent that from being the case. Early on in Week 2 it appears that was nothing but a Deshaun Watson mirage.

Derek Carr, Rashid Shaheed and the New Orleans Saints have stormed into AT&T Stadium for Dallas’ home opener and completely abused the passing defense of the star-laden lads.

On the opening drive of the game, QB Derek Carr connected on a short third down to Shaheed on a crosser, gaining 17 yards. A few plays later Shaheed broke free from Trevon Diggs and raced towards the right sideline to gain 39 yards, setting up an Alvin Kamara five-yard score.

After the Cowboys cut the lead to four on a Brandon Aubrey field goal, it took exactly one play for the duo to go back to work. With no pressure in his face, Carr stepped into a throw and launched a deep bomb to Shaheed, who split and beat the two safeties, Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson, for a 70-yard score.

The score put the Saints up 14-3 and was the 11th-consecutive drive they’ve scored with Carr at quarterback.

Dallas’ defense seems to have their work cut out for them through one quarter.

Drew Brees previews Saints-Cowboys with Jon Gruden

Drew Brees previewed this week’s Saints-Cowboys game with ex-NFL coach Jon Gruden. He doesn’t envy Derek Carr having to prepare for Mike Zimmer’s defense:

Jon Gruden has been out of the NFL for a few years now after being fired by the Las Vegas Raiders in the wake of a scandal centering on his extensive use of hateful language, and he’s keeping busy these days by talking shop with current and former players when the New Orleans Saints aren’t inviting him to observe practice and sitting down with him for team meals in Tampa.

Gruden still has a lot of connections and fans around the league. His old quarterback Derek Carr is one of them. Another Saints quarterback, Drew Brees, is another. Brees joined Gruden on his YouTube channel to discuss a wide range of topics including youth football, fatherhood, and this week’s matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.

Brees visited the Saints at their training camp in Southern California, and he’s eager to see more of their offense with Klint Kubiak calling plays into Carr’s headset: “I love what that offense brings, both in the run game and I think the mentality, the way it shapes up the play action the passing game as well. I think there’s a renewed enthusiasm there. I think Derek’s about to have some of his best years. He’s got some explosive weapons around him.”

Interestingly, Brees pointed to what the Saints are doing now in comparison to what he and Sean Payton did back in 2006. Just like Payton learned much from Gruden as a coaching mentor in adapting the West Coast offense for his own designs, Kubiak is making Kyle Shanahan’s system his own in New Orleans. “It came from the same source, right?” Brees added.

As to this matchup in Dallas? Brees is hoping Carr can build on his strong performance: “That’ll be a heck of a matchup. I’ll be glued to the TV for that one.”

One wrinkle to this year’s game Gruden pointed out? Mike Zimmer’s return to Dallas. He’s once again the Cowboys defensive coordinator after a couple of seasons out of the league, running the defense where he first rose to prominence as Payton’s coworker so many years ago. And Brees doesn’t envy Carr and Kubiak having to outwit a defensive coach he has a ton of respect for.

“I’ll say this, we played against Zim a bunch. And there was never a week I expended more mental energy preparing for a defense than a Zimmer defense,” Brees said. “Because just like you said, the minute they walk those two linebackers up in the A gaps, even if they’re just bluffing them, it gets you thinking so much about, ‘Where can I get the ball out? What coverage are they potentially rolling to?'”

That sounds exhausting just from the description. What’s really intriguing about the Kubiak-Zimmer chess match is that Kubiak last worked as an offensive coordinator calling plays under Zimmer on the Minnesota Vikings. But the offense he’s running now is more heavily derived from Shanahan’s San Francisco 49ers system than what Kubiak used in Minnesota, so it’s not like either coach has an inside track on what the other is planning. It’s all going to come to a head on Sunday. Like Brees (and Gruden), we’ll be watching.

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Mike Zimmer to get first Cowboys test against dreaded Shanahan offense Week 2

Mike Zimmer was brought to the Cowboys to stop Shanahan offenses like the Saints bring in Week 2, says @ReidDHanson

The Shanahan offense. For years it’s been a thorn in the Cowboys’ side. Popularized in San Francisco, coach Kyle Shanahan has created a schematic juggernaut that’s elevated numerous offenses across the league to be far greater than the sum of their parts. Its branches extend from coast to coast and its many spinoffs have traditionally given the Cowboys absolute fits.

In Week 2 the Cowboys welcome New Orleans to take on the latest Shanahan spinoff, Klint Kubiak’s Saints. This will mark the first big test of the Mike Zimmer era and will go a long way into making fans and media believe this year might be different in Dallas.

Zimmer’s predecessor, Dan Quinn, enjoyed enormous success during his three years with the Cowboys. But despite building a one of the best defenses in the NFL, Quinn couldn’t get over the Shanahan hump.

Quinn’s unit was often exposed going up against a Shanahan offense. All three postseasons under Quinn, two of which were at home, abruptly ended at the hands of a Shanahan offense. As John Owning of PFF pointed out over the winter, in the Quinn era the Cowboys gave up an EPA of 0.045 against Shanahan offenses compared to -0.094 EPA against non-Shanahan offenses. That’s a +0.139 swing which, to put it bluntly, is nothing short of radical.

Kubiak’s ties to the Shanahan offense extend beyond his one-year stint in San Francisco last season but go to his roots as the son of Gary Kubiak. Gary Kubiak worked for years under Mike Shanahan, Kyle Shanahan’s father, and as many recall this is where the original conception of the Shanahan offense began. The wide zone scheme held a legendary status even before Kyle Shanahan evolved it into what it is today. Therefore, it’s safe to say the younger Kubiak has a pretty firm grasp on this Cowboys killing scheme even if he only had one year of tutelage in San Francisco.

In the Saints Week 1 win over Carolina, Kubiak hit the ground running, putting up 47 points on the hapless Panthers. They were among league leaders in play-action, condensed formations and motion which are all staples of a Shanahan offense.

https://twitter.com/jagibbs_23/status/1833154900437406157

Historically, this scheme has caused fits for the Dallas defense. In the past Cowboys’ defenders have been lacking gap discipline, often allowing big gains on the ground. They’ve also been eager to bite on play fakes allowing exaggerated separation on routes downfield.

The 2024 Cowboys defense returns many of the same players guilty of these lapses in discipline, but the hope is under the leadership of Zimmer, the issues get corrected. It’s not just that Zimmer is a renowned disciplinarian as a coach, it’s that Zimmer’s defenses historically do very well against Shanahan offenses.

https://twitter.com/CowboysStats/status/1753225757055156534

Pass coverage specifically has made Zimmer a standout coordinator against these types of offenses. Since the run typically exists to set up the more fruitful gains downfield through the air, both elements need to work harmoniously to stop an offense such as Kubiak’s. It’s what made Zimmer the most optimal defensive coach to replace Quinn this past winter. He’s a decisive upgrade against the offenses that have been proven Cowboys killers.

Week 2 is Zimmer’s first test in proving 2024 will be different.

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