Tag: Mike Zimmer

The curious case of the Cowboys’ lame duck coaching staff

The Cowboys have been noncommittal with their coaching staff, casting shadows on their intensions, says @ReidDHanson

The term “lame duck” hails from 18th century England, describing a broker of the London Stock Exchange who had defaulted on debts. The offending party would be in lame-duck status and effectively locked out until they could pay off their debts and regain their membership. Since then, the term has expanded to politics and sports.

In politics “lame duck” signifies the period of time between a general election and an outgoing politician’s time in office. In sports it refers to an athlete or coach in the final year of his/her contract. The 2024 Cowboys are loaded with lame ducks. Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb headline the list of players, but the entire coaching staff populates the list of coaches.

As if the Dallas front office was somehow unsure of what they had in the coaching ranks, they opted to kick the can on that particular decision-making process. It’s an action that’s understandable for a young and unproven coaching staff, but for an experienced group that consists of Mike McCarthy, Mike Zimmer and Brian Schottenheimer, it’s mighty curious.

Entering Year 5 of the McCarthy era, the Cowboys have a pretty good idea of what they have. McCarthy was hired to get a talented team over the top in a way Jason Garrett could not. What McCarthy has done is deliver one postseason win amidst three consecutive 12-win seasons. Props are certainly due to a coach who could deliver the consistency no other Cowboys coach could do before, but over the top was about the postseason, not the regular season, and McCarthy’s only win in the playoffs has come against an 8-9 Tampa Bay team that was just lucky to be there.

Zimmer was added as the new defensive coordinator in 2024. He was brought in to tighten up the Dallas defense and add some accountability to a unit that long enjoyed a relatively hospitable environment under player’s coach, Dan Quinn. But it speaks volumes he was hired to a one-year commitment to match McCarthy and company.

To borrow an expression from Mark Cuban, the Cowboys are “keeping their powder dry” for the future. Maybe they want to re-sign McCarthy and staff or maybe they don’t. Surely, they know the answer but unlikely they want anyone else to know that is.

Under McCarthy, the Cowboys have failed to find any more postseason success than under Garrett. Despite having the talent of a top-five roster most years, they’ve accomplished next to nothing. Some may blame the clutchness of players like Prescott, Lamb and Parsons as to why there hasn’t been postseason success. But the issue, which seems to be systemic, has been lingering throughout different rosters dating back to the turn of the century. It’s hard to blame the players when the culture seems to be the culprit.

If McCarthy hasn’t changed it by now, it’s unlikely he ever will. Maybe that’s an irresponsible conclusion given sample size or maybe that’s just being realistic.

Reading into the Cowboys’ actions regarding their coaching staff can get dangerous. The front office knows these coaches. They also know which coaches are going to be on the market in 2025. They want a successful in the 2024 season but based on their actions (or inactions) in free agency and coaching, they aren’t actively pursuing it. Letting everyone play out their deals on the coaching staff will allow a clean break in 2025 and save literally millions of dollars. If that’s what they want to do.

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Zimmer zone-busters, like Bear fronts, could improve Cowboys run D

Mike Zimmer is tasked with improving the Cowboys run defense primarily through scheme but is a Bear or Tite front even possible? From @ReidDHanson

The Bear front defense, popularized by the regular championship contender Chicago teams of the 1980s, is a defensive alignment designed to stop zone-rushing teams. Generally seen as a three-man front, it positions the three down linemen inside the opposing tackles in what’s known as a 3-0-3 alignment.

The returning rise in the popularity of the Bear front in recent years is probably directly related to a rise in usage of the outside zone offense. The Kyle Shanahan rushing scheme touches most of the NFL either through his coaching tree or through copycat coordinators. It’s an inescapable element of some of the best offenses in the NFL and most notably used by Dallas’ postseason rivals, Green Bay and San Francisco.

The Cowboys had an issue with their run defense in 2023. They gave up 4.2 yards/carry and finished dead last in rushing success rate against. Dallas’ thin defensive line, injury riddled linebacker corps, and poor run-fit discipline were the true Achillies heel for defense.

The Cowboys hope to improve that run defense largely through a coaching change and a touch of added accountability. The previous regime, led by Dan Quinn, was a well-regarded administration in which the defense thrived under throughout most his time in Dallas. But the player friendliness may have come at a cost of discipline and by the end of Quinn’s tenure in Dallas things were sloppy and changes needed to be made.

Mike Zimmer, the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator, will be tasked with fixing the run defense that has recently plagued Dallas. Since the Cowboys did little to nothing to upgrade the roster over the offseason, scheme change and accountability will have to do most of the heavy lifting.

While Zimmer has been known to primarily lean on a traditional four-man front in both base and nickel looks, he has experience with odd-man fronts as well. Dating back to his time with Bill Parcells in Dallas and used sporadically in Minnesota in Bear and Tite fronts, Zimmer has played with different schemes to fit the objective at hand.

Under Quinn the Cowboys frequently used three down linemen with Micah Parsons essentially serving as the fourth lineman split out wide in either a 2- or 3-point stance. It’s not too much of a departure from a Bear front which typically has a 0-tech flanked by two 3-techs or a Tite front (something the Eagles use frequently) which has a 0- tech flanked by two 4i-techs.

Both fronts use EDGE rushers lined up wide in a 7- or 9-technique and both demand down linemen to play gap-and-a-half or even 2-gap to make the fits work.

From a schematic perspective this is a great occasional pivot for the Cowboys to make in 2024. It installs excellent run defense and supports Zimmer’s traditional coverage looks. Since zone runs perform 0.05 EPA/play worse against Bear fronts than other defenses, it also makes sense since most of the top teams in the NFL lean on zone rushing attacks. The only problem is the Cowboys personnel may not allow it to be an option.

Zimmer used this when his roster was deep in defensive tackle talent. He essentially used DTs at all three down linemen spots to make it work. In Dallas he doesn’t have those riches. Outside of Osa Odighizuwa, the situation is sparse at DT. Mazi Smith is still a wildcard and there’s no assurances depth players like Carl Davis, Denzel Daxon or Justin Rodgers even make the team.

It’s possible a couple defensive ends with inside-outside ability can play gap-and-a-half at 3 tech or 4i tech, but that might be wishful thinking since the two most likely players are Chauncey Golston and Viliami Fehoko.

As a coach, Zimmer brings plenty of options to the table in 2024 but his schemes can only be as good as the roster talent allows and that’s a big unknown at this point.

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Cowboys have personnel to make Micah Parsons a chess piece again

The Cowboys want to use Micah Parsons as a moveable chess piece in 2024. | From @ReidDHanson

Micah Parsons is arguably the best pass rusher in the entire NFL. Since joining the league three seasons ago, he’s routinely ranked at the top in pass rush win rate, pressures, pressure percentage and sacks. The converted Penn State linebacker has been a fixture on the edge since joining the Cowboys and he’s been the key cog of the entire Dallas defense throughout the Dan Quinn administration.

Mike Zimmer, the Cowboys new defensive coordinator, thinks he can get more from him.

In not-so-many words, Zimmer believes he can squeeze more juice from the perennial defensive MVP candidate. Where Dallas’ previous DC saw a fixture on defense, Zimmer sees a chess piece. He sees a player that can moved and weaponized in a way opposing offenses can’t block. Provided he has enough pieces supporting such a move.

“We were sitting up there again this morning talking about other things we can do with [Parsons],” Zimmer said. “He’s such a dynamic player that, I said this the other day: ‘Offenses are always going to know where he’s at.’ They’re going to turn protections to him, have the back help chip no matter what it is. In a lot of the games he played last year that I watched, the offenses had a good scheme where they could get two tight ends on him and all those things.”

Part linebacker and part defensive end, Parsons is best described as an EDGE. Whether in two-point stance or down in a three, Parsons’ job has been typically the same: He is to attack the edge of the line and create havoc in the backfield.

801 of his 911 snaps last season came on the defensive line. Offenses took note of this and adjusted their blocking scheme accordingly. They doubled and even tripled him routinely. Parsons led the league in double-team rate in 2023, and unless something changes with his deployment with Zimmer, opponents are likely to do the same again in 2024.

It’s led to Parsons getting neutralized in some of the biggest games of the year. His five lowest pressure totals of 2023 (four or fewer pressures) came against the 49ers, Giants, Eagles, Commanders and Packers. It’s safe to say in games of that magnitude, Zimmer wants more from his top weapon.

 “So, we’re going to obviously move him around, do different things with him,” Zimmer said. “But we’re going to use him in some ways where we’re getting the protection turned the way we want it turned and able to win on the other side. Sometimes we’re going to overload a protection where he gets one-on-one.”

Moving Parsons will allow the Cowboys to dictate the terms themselves rather than their opponents. Whether Zimmer is overloading one side to give Parsons a one-on-one or using Parsons to occupy space so other pass rushers get cleaner shots, Zimmer intends to be strategic with him.  By keeping Parsons actively moving behind the line at the snap to prevent blocking schemes from keying on him, Zimmer seems intent on getting more from Parsons.

Zimmer’s famous double A-gap blitz is a way many see Parsons making an impact from an off-ball position. Attacking through the A-gap (both sides of the center) challenges the pocket directly and severely limits what a blocking scheme can do to stop it. It’s difficult to double-team in pass-protection and can create single match-ups with an OC.

When used with a BEAR front (OC and both guards are covered), the double A-gap blitz puts offensive linemen in conflict and can even disrupt a running game. The vulnerably is on the edges where single players are responsible for multiple gaps.

To successfully force single matchups such as this, the Cowboys need to have players capable of 1-gapping and 2-gapping outside. The Cowboys traditionally haven’t had DEs who can 2-gap on the edge but with players like Viliami Fehoko (267 pounds), Chaucey Golston (268 pounds) and Marshawn Kneeland (267 pounds) possibly stepping up into rotational roles in 2024, that might change.

All three are larger players than the men they replace and all three project as solid two-way players able to be trusted against the run. If the Cowboys load up in one area to force one-on-one matchups with Parsons, it’s up other players to take on extra responsibilities to make up for it. On paper, it appears Dallas has that.

Zimmer also has to be strategic how he uses Parsons in traditional EDGE roles. It’s no surprise Parsons was double and triple-teamed on plays DeMarcus Lawrence was on the sideline. Teams were daring Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler to beat them in those situations, and more often than not, they couldn’t. That means either Lawrence stays on the field for all these DE static situations or someone like Kneeland or Sam Williams (2022 draft pick) must step up as a pass rusher to make defenses honest.

Although unproven, the Cowboys appear to have the pieces in place to move Parsons around and make him a pass rushing chess piece for Zimmer’s defense. It will involve different roles and responsibilities for some of Dallas’ defensive linemen, but it will also help prevent offenses from neutralizing Parsons in the biggest games.

Between strategy, support and star power, it really is a group effort for the Cowboys pass rush in 2024.

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Costs, benefits of Zimmer’s plans to coach Cowboys’ D from sidelines

There are advantages and disadvantages to Mike Zimmer coaching from the Cowboys sideline in 2024, says @ReidDHanson.

One of the special wrinkles to Dan Quinn’s coaching style over the years has been his preference to coach from the booth. As the Cowboys defensive coordinator from 2021 through 2023, perched high over the field is from where Quinn made his defensive calls. The benefits from that vantage point are clear: It allowed him a better view of all 22 players. He could better identify weaknesses and opportunities in his defense and adjust accordingly.

Mike Zimmer, the Cowboys new defensive coordinator for 2024, prefers a more in-your-face approach to coaching. Instead of coaching from the booth, Zimmer coaches from the sidelines. It’s a location he confirmed he’d be coaching from when he spoke with reporters earlier in the week.

“I’ve always been on the sideline, number one,” Zimmer said. “Number two, I want to catch them when they come [off the field] so I can talk to them.”

Which location is best really comes down to the coach himself and his preferred style of communication. In 2024, technology is such that face-to-face isn’t always necessary. Coaches can call down and talk to anyone they want, at any time. Discussions don’t require physical presence.

Quinn has traditionally been seen as a player’s coach. As such, he probably doesn’t feel the need to get in anyone’s face on the sideline when a simple conversation could be had virtually.  Zimmer, on the other hand, is known to be more authoritative in nature. Face-to-face on the sideline brings instant accountability and possibly even some intimidation. The coaching preference seems to fit each coach.

On a defense that many believed lacked accountability and discipline, Zimmer’s place on the sideline has been overwhelmingly celebrated. His presence may light a fire in some players and bring better discipline throughout. But it also comes as a cost.

Zimmer won’t have the same full view of the field Quinn had. He’ll get images and likely have a coach perched up top to communicate but he won’t have that first-hand view Quinn enjoyed. Hopefully all the benefits by standing on the sideline will make up for it but costs can’t be completely ignored.

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One nightmare game still haunts Cowboys DC Mike Zimmer 24 years later as he preps new defense

From @ToddBrock24f7: Zimmer previews his ’24 unit and what he expects from them while still trying to get over what happened in his first infamous game as DC.

As his second stint as Cowboys defensive coordinator begins, Mike Zimmer already knows what his primary focus will be.

It’s getting after the thing that bit him on his very first day on the job 24 years ago.

It was opening day of the 2000 season. Zimmer, who had already served on the Dallas staff for six seasons, was now wearing the DC headset for the first time, under new head coach Dave Campo. The Cowboys were at home, with the division rival Eagles and head coach Andy Reid paying a visit on a sweltering September afternoon when the temps in the Metroplex reached 109 degrees.

At one point, a thermometer on the Texas Stadium turf hit 130, but it was the Philadelphia run game that ended up cooking Zimmer and the Dallas defense.

“That year, I was coming from [being] secondary coach, and I said, ‘Turn these guys loose, let ’em rush,'” Zimmer told Matt Mosley and Ed Werder on a recent episode of The Doomsday Podcast.

“We gave up 220 yards rushing that day,” Zimmer recalled.

The heat must have gotten to Zim, because in fact, it was even worse than that. With their players famously staying hydrated and cramp-free by drinking pickle juice on the sidelines, the Eagles actually racked up 306 rushing yards in a 41-14 blowout win. It was, at the time, the most rushing yards ever allowed by a Cowboys defense in a single contest.

“The Pickle Juice Game” has haunted Zimmer ever since.

“From that day on,” he admitted, “there’s always been an emphasis on stopping the run.”

By and large, Zimmer’s defenses- in Dallas, in Cincinnati, in Minnesota- have made good on that. As pointed out on the podcast, seven of Zimmer’s 22 defenses (as a head coach or defensive coordinator) finished in the league’s top 10 in stopping the run.

Now, about to turn 68 years old, Zimmer is back, and he’s tasked with working his magic on a Dallas unit that got embarrassed in a home playoff loss to the Packers in January.

The veteran coach is still getting acquainted with his players and hasn’t even met some of his biggest stars yet, but he can already say exactly what he’ll be expecting of each of them.

“I’m demanding,” Zimmer admitted. “I’ve got a job to do: get these players playing the best they can possibly play, be as disciplined as they possibly can be, and play together as a team. We have to get guys understanding their roles and what is asked of them to do. Do your job so someone else can have success doing theirs. You might not like taking on this double-team, but that’s your job. And this guy, because you’re doing it, has got an opportunity to make some plays. Next time, he’s going to help you make some plays. That’s how it all works together, whether it’s corners and safeties, defensive line to linebacker, or whatever it is.”

Of his new centerpiece, Micah Parsons, Zimmer calls him “rare” and praises his intelligence, a trait that will allow him to remain incredibly versatile in whatever Zimmer’s tweaked system will look like.

“Usually smart guys that have outstanding ability,” Zimmer said. Their ceiling is so high that you can do a lot of things with them.”

Zimmer is also complimentary of incoming linebacker Marist Liufau, calling the Notre Dame product “brilliant” and already envisioning packages that use him and Parsons in tandem, creating confusion for opposing offenses by bringing high-motor pressure from two different spots on the field.

The Cowboys’ linebacker corps will be a particular point of emphasis in Zimmer’s overhaul. To help with the transition, the Cowboys have added veteran Eric Kendricks, who played for Zimmer’s Vikings for seven seasons. The DC says Kendricks has been “integral” in getting the younger guys acclimated to his style of play.

Strong secondaries have always been a Zimmer trademark, too, and the one he’s inheriting in Dallas is among the NFL’s best. Cornerback DaRon Bland is no longer a secret after a record-setting five pick-sixes last year, and now Trevon Diggs will be back opposite him after a season-ending injury early last year.

“The thing that stands out about him, probably more so than anything, is he’s got the best hands of any defensive back,” Zimmer said of Diggs.

That’s absurdly high praise, considering some of the DBs Zimmer has worked with over the years, including Darren Woodson and Deion Sanders. One is in the Cowboys Ring of Honor and the other is a Hall of Famer, but Zimmer says Diggs is already approaching that level.

“Obviously, Deion had good hands,” Zimmer said, “but guys have to get a ways up there before you compare them to Deion Sanders.”

Deion’s name isn’t the only blast from Zimmer’s past that’s having an influence on his 2024 crew. The team’s defensive linemen will be learning directly from former end and 1998 first-round draft pick Greg Ellis. Zimmer calls him “the best I’ve ever been around at using his hands and setting guys up with rushes,” and now he’s the team’s assistant defensive line coach.

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It all adds up to a ton of optimism surrounding the Cowboys defense, although Zimmer concedes that things may look a little different from Dan Quinn’s units the past three seasons.

“There might be a little bit of a mixture of pressure and coverage and disguise and things like that that maybe can help us,” he explained. “Maybe not get as many turnovers or all those [things], but I think if you go back and look at my history throughout [my] time, there’s been a lot of sacks, a lot of pressure, low-scoring games. That’s really what we want to try and do: keep the scores down, and if we get opportunities to get turnovers, interceptions, sacks, then so be it.”

And by all means, stop the run… to keep those memories of “The Pickle Juice Game” buried well in Zimmer’s past.

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Former Viking: Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer ‘hated’ each other

Things are usually cold in Minnesota but they seemed to be especially cold in the team’s offices between Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman.

Things are usually cold in Minnesota but they seemed to be especially cold in the team’s offices between Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman. The former head coach and general manager for the team, respectively, always had tension between them but it was never confirmed until now.

While appearing on Matt Folk’s podcast, former Viking Kyle Sloter mentioned that Zimmer and Spielman “hated each other.”

He would explain it as it related to his situation on the team.

“Spielman really liked me. Zimmer and Spielman hated each other, so Zimmer hated me, they both knew they were getting fired, so when they needed a QB, it was a last f-you to Zimmer.”

This reported hate for each other shouldn’t come off as surprising. Towards the end of their tenure with the Vikings in 2021, they publicly had grown tired of putting up a front, and several press conferences got testy.

Both men have since returned from their strenuous relationship and found new homes, with Spielman landing at CBS Sports and Zimmer back in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys.

Cowboys look for defensive tweaks from Zimmer, not total rebuild: ‘Football is still football’

From @ToddBrock24f7: The new DC will be expected to implement an improved scheme in Dallas but show results quickly in what is shaping up to be a prove-it year.

Often, a first-year coordinator means a long, slow turn from the unit he’s taking over. Personnel moves, new assistants, changes in scheme, revamped verbiage and terminology, and plain old fit within the rest of the organization is what often marks a coordinator’s first year on the job… and frequently results in growing pains in the field.

Mike McCarthy and the 2024 Cowboys don’t have the luxury of waiting for things to gradually develop on the defensive side of the ball, with more and more indicators pointing to a total reset in 2025 if this season falls short of anything but a very strong showing in a conference championship.

So newly-hired defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who’s been on various NFL sidelines for most of the past three decades, is already off and running with his staff in Dallas.

“They’re in there early, the defensive staff, and they’re just grinding away. They’re spending a ton of time together,” McCarthy told reporters this week while in Orlando for the annual league meeting.

But while the Cowboys definitely need a refresh after a 2023 that saw the defense exposed several times- especially in the postseason- as the team’s weakness, Zimmer apparently won’t be trying to reinvent the wheel as he implements his philosophy.

“Football is still football,” explained McCarthy. “We’re still going to line up with 11 players on defense, Mike’s going to still run some of the common concepts that our players are engaged with, but it’s really the utilization of how we get to them. It’s got to flow. And that will play to our strength, because Mike’s called a lot of games in this league. He has a lot of experience with his system, and to get it in properly, we definitely have the time to get that done.”

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Right now, it’s coaches in meeting rooms. It’s reviewing game film. It’s drawing up Xs and Os on a whiteboard. It’s football gameplanning, but it’s all theoretical. Soon, it will be about flesh-and-blood players bringing those concepts to life on the practice field… maybe in just a slightly different way than the returning veterans will remember from last year.

“The biggest thing for the players will be communication; that will be the first thing that hits them,” admitted McCarthy. “But it always comes down to the nitty-gritty, and it’ll be techniques, alignment, stance, philosophy, utilization of the body types. So much has been made of our run defense. We need to take another step. Statistically, we have improved each year in that area, but it’s still not good enough. We’ve got to play the run first and be more situation-conscious with that. It can’t be all about sacks.”

The run defense has gotten better over the past three seasons, at least incrementally. In 2021, the Cowboys allowed opponents 4.5 yards per carry. In 2022, it was 4.4. Last year: 4.2.

But that’s still just middle of the pack among all NFL defenses. Zimmer has plenty of work to do. And since the team has lost several playmakers and done precious little in the way of adding experienced free agents (aside from linebacker Eric Kendricks, one of Zimmer’s former Vikings players), the new coordinator will have to hope for some fresh talent to work with via the draft.

With holes still to fill at every level of the defense, Zimmer, McCarthy, and the Cowboys definitely have a type they like.

“The most important thing about a system is to have the flexibility to accommodate all the players that you bring into your building,” the coach said. “I think you’ve got to watch on how stringent and structured you are, but I don’t think you can be big enough or have enough length, particularly in that defensive front. We’ll continue to work to that profile.”

So make changes, but not too many. And not too drastic. Except in the right areas. And do it mostly with what we already have in-house. And most important of all, do it in a hurry.

Got it, Zim?

It’s not a tear-down, it’s an express-lane tune-up. And hopefully it’s enough to get the Cowboys where they want to go in 2024.

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‘The defense is the thermostat’: Cowboys’ McCarthy wants more consistency from Zimmer’s unit

From @ToddBrock24f7: “When we win the championship, it’ll be because of our complementary football,” said McCarthy. He’s looking at you, Mike Zimmer.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has no doubt that his team is capable of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. And this week at the league meeting in Orlando, he laid out exactly what it will take to make that happen.

“When we win the championship,” McCarthy told a gathering of reporters, “it’ll be because of our complementary football. That’s what wins championships.”

Now entering his second season as the offensive play-caller in Dallas, McCarthy is clearly confident that his own unit is up to the task. After all, they led the league in points in 2023. The tacit implication, of course, is that Dan Quinn’s defense is what cost the Cowboys too many times in 2023… and certainly when it mattered most.

The way McCarthy sees it, it’ll be up to new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer to raise the bar in 2024.

“The defense is the thermostat of your football team,” McCarthy explained. “And the offense and the defense need to complement one another, because the defense always should have the ability to keep you in the game. The offense needs to go win the game.”

Dak Prescott & Co. generally did last season, putting 30 or more points on the board 10 times out of 17 (though many of those points admittedly came from defensive scores). The Cowboys’ high-powered offense also led in first downs and finished top-three in offensive plays run and top-five in yards amassed.

But there were simply too many instances when the defense under Quinn dug too big a hole for the offense to climb their way out of.

In four of the team’s five regular-season losses, Dallas found themselves trailing by double digits at some point. And the team’s three lowest point outputs of the year (Buffalo, San Francisco, Arizona) came in contests where they were behind by 12 or more points in the second quarter.

When the defense was cold, the offense couldn’t get the pilot light fired.

“Yeah, you always want to score in the 30s,” McCarthy noted. “But when you get in those games, one has to pick up for the other. And if you look at our last game, that clearly wasn’t evident.”

The first-round playoff flop versus Green Bay was perhaps the most embarrassing example of the defense going into hibernation, with the Cowboys staring up at a 27-0 deficit before halftime.

With over two months of hindsight, though, McCarthy is at least able to reflect on the positive strides the team made in what ultimately proved to be a disappointing year.

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“A big focal point for us going into ’23 was we needed to take care of the football better, and we needed to win the time of possession and get the snaps down [in terms] of how long our defense is on the field. And we accomplished that at a high level,” the coach said.

“Those are the things that, to me, outside of winning the game, are most important because that breeds the consistency of putting yourself in position to win.”

But now actually capitalizing on that position- and doing so in the playoffs- will fall largely on how the defense responds to Zimmer, his new staff, and the new scheme he implements across the ball from McCarthy in Dallas.

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Another former Commanders’ defensive assistant heading to the Cowboys

More coaching movement between the Cowboys and Commanders.

When the Washington Commanders hired former Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to be their new head coach, there were bound to be some assistants who followed Quinn.

One was former Dallas secondary coach/pass game coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. Whitt, who followed Quinn from Atlanta to Dallas, joined him in Washington as his new defensive coordinator. It was a long overdue promotion for Whitt, who will call the Commanders’ defensive plays.

The Commanders attempted to hire others, but the Cowboys blocked the moves. Whitt received a promotion; therefore, Dallas couldn’t stop him from leaving. Also following Quinn and Whitt was assistant defensive line coach Sharrif Floyd, who will have the same role with Washington.

How did Dallas replace Quinn? Before the Cowboys hired Mike Zimmer, they interviewed recently fired Washington coach Ron Rivera. While Rivera didn’t get the job, Dallas did hire former Washington defensive line coach Jeff Zgonina.

Now, another former Commanders assistant is heading to the Cowboys.

On Friday, Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reported that former Washington defensive assistant Cristian Garcia was joining Dallas as a defensive quality control assistant.

When Rivera fired defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and secondary coach Brent Vieselmeyer in November — after a blowout loss to the Cowboys — he took over as Washington’s defensive play-caller. He also gave Garcia a promotion as the interim defensive backs coach. Garcia would help Rivera in game planning over the Commanders’ final five games of 2023.

A University of Florida graduate, Garcia joined Washington in 2021 as a defensive coaching assistant. In 2022, he was moved to a defensive quality control coach before being promoted to assistant defensive backs coach/nickels in 2023.

 

Did Micah Parsons criticize Commanders’ Dan Quinn?

Parsons wants a fresh start? Was he being critical of Dan Quinn after repeatedly praising him recently?

Dan Quinn spent the last three seasons with the Dallas Cowboys as their defensive coordinator, and now his best defensive player had something to say about it.

Micah Parsons appeared this week on the “Stephen A. Smith Show” and expressed his excitement to play for the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer.

“I just want to play winning football,” Parsons said. “I want everybody to be accountable. I want everybody locked in. What I hear is Zimmer’s one of them guys that’s gonna have everybody accountable… I just want a fresh start. I just want to change the culture, identity of the Dallas Cowboys and win a championship.”

Was Parsons implying Quinn did not keep everyone on the defense accountable? What did Parsons mean by “I just want a fresh start?” What was Quinn’s culture in Dallas that you “want to change the culture and identity of the Dallas Cowboys?” Here is the story in “The Landry Hat.”

This is all a surprise seeing that when Quinn was hired by the Commanders as their new head coach, Parsons praised Quinn, “They’re getting a real upstanding, outstanding guy, man,” Parsons said of Quinn. “I hope those players buy in and play extremely hard for him and understand that ain’t no one going to love them and care more about them than Dan Quinn.”

Parsons did not elaborate on what he meant by everyone being accountable and the culture change and identity change needed by the Cowboys. Whatever he did mean, the past is now behind Quinn as he has begun his second opportunity as an NFL head coach, this time in Washington.

Quinn replaces Ron Rivera, who did not have a winning record in his four seasons as Washington’s head coach. Commanders fans are starving and looking to Quinn to bring winning seasons. Washington has not accomplished a winning record since the 2015 and 2016 seasons when Jay Gruden was head coach and Kirk Cousins the quarterback.