Tag: Mike Zimmer

Cowboys News: Familiar free agents, Most valuable franchise in sports

Familiar free agents that could sign in Dallas along with franchise tag options. | From @ArmyChiefW3

The Cowboys will get every chance to prove they are “all in” once the new league year begins and free agents can choose where they want to go. A new system requires different players, so tracking down a few familiar names would be a great place to start the defensive overhaul. A mainstay from that side of the ball may not be able to return from a serious injury sustained last season.

The swing tackle position was infamously highlighted a few years back and fortifying the position has become a yearly item to check off the the list. Has the team found a long-term replacement? The franchise tag has been used often in Dallas lately but this year could break a surprising streak. Cowboys tight end Jason Ferguson discusses how he prepared for the 2023 season with the national media. A Cowboys big board, Jimmy Johnson saving the boys, a new addition to the staff, and a collection of guesses at who Dallas takes with their first pick round out this edition of Cowboys news and notes.

Cowboys Free Agency Targets: 8 defenders who played for Zimmer, staff

When coaches find new digs, they often bring in former players to help lead in the new system. Here are some fun ideas for the Cowboys to consider as the league year approaches. | From @KDDrummondNFL

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.

Cowboys’ best Zimmer-style LB may not be back in 2024

Leighton Vander Esch fits the Mike Zimmer mold as a LB but neck issues may prevent him from returning to the Cowboys and the NFL. | From @ReidDHanson

There’s good news and bad news: The good news is the Cowboys new defensive coordinator wants to fix an issue that plagued the defense in 2023. The bad news is the perfect solution on the roster may not be returning.

When asked about the Cowboys most obvious change under Zimmer in 2024, both Nick Eatman and Patrik Walker pointed to the linebacker position. It’s a sentiment echoed by many in the industry, refencing Zimmer’s time in Minnesota and previous stops in Cincinnati and Dallas many years prior.

Zimmer likes big LBs. He likes guys who can hit, fill gaps, and keep passing windows narrow. He likes smart guys who know their assignments and execute their assignments. No guess work. No hero ball.

Truth be told, long and rangy LBs have never truly fallen out of fashion in the NFL but as the potency of the passing game has increased, so too has the prioritization of speed and coverage. This prioritization has paved the way for undersized LBs and even tweeners to break through. Look no further than Markquese Bell and Jayron Kearse who served tweener roles in Dallas under Dan Quinn.

Yet, for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction, and in the NFL that means offenses have taken notice of all the undersized players in the box and adapted accordingly. While the passing game is still king in the NFL, the running the ball is back en vogue.

Shanahan offenses in particular have been masters of running the ball behind various personnel mismatches. And it’s no secret offenses stemming from the Shanahan coaching tree have had high degree of success against the Cowboys in both phases of the game.

Zimmer, on the other hand, has been successful against those Shanahan offenses and one of the reasons why is the linebackers he uses within his system aren’t easy mismatched in the running game or liabilities in the passing game.

Unfortunately for the Cowboys, the LB that best fits Zimmer’s brand of LB play is none other than Leighton Vander Esch. Vander Esch, 6-foot-4, 256-pounds, is Dallas biggest LB and also arguably the most disciplined. The veteran playmaker is the leader of the unit in both brains and brawn. After he fell to injury last season the falloff in play was significant. Not just from his vacated spot but in the play across the LB ranks.

It’s that very injury which may prevent the 28-year-old from returning to field. While everything is pure speculation at this point, Vander Esch has a history of serious back/neck injuries and suffers from cervical spinal stenosis. Jerry Jones indicated Vander Esch’s long-term future was in jeopardy when the Cowboys placed him on IR last season, and nothing said publicly since has indicated otherwise.

Fixing the LB issue in Dallas is going to take some work. It’s not just a one or two man overhaul but potentially an overhaul of the entire unit. That’s not to say there isn’t optimism around DeMarvion Overshown or Damone Clark, but even they come with risk and varying degrees on concern in regards to size, experience, and discipline.

One thing is clear – before any LB overhaul can find success the Cowboys have to fix their issues on the defensive line. A LB is only as good as the lineman in front of him so it’s important the Cowboys find something in free agency to shore up the middle. Luckily for them this is a strong DT free agent class.

The Cowboys have the perfect Zimmer LB on the roster. Unfortunately, there’s a better than zero chance he’ll never play the game again.

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Former draft pick Eric Scott could find new life under Cowboys’ Mike Zimmer

Eric Scott didn’t contribute for the Cowboys as a rookie, but with roster changes and Mike Zimmer on board, he could break through in 2024. | From @ReidDHanson

The 2023 NFL draft was full of surprises for Cowboys fans. From the selection of a defensive tackle in the first round, to the seemingly panic-driven over-drafting of a TE in the second, to the c ‘est la vie approach to the RB position, Dallas did much to spark heated discussions across the fanbase.

But for as unpredictable and controversial as many of their decisions were that fateful weekend, one selection stood out amongst the rest as particularly puzzling: sixth round pick Eric Scott Jr. from Southern Miss.

When the Cowboys picked Scott, draft analysts went scrambling. Franticly flipping through notes, sharing panicked looks, and filling the broadcast with enough empty words and sound fillers to make even the most hardened speech teacher cringe.

Dane Brugler, the benchmark in all things draft, had Scott listed as his 60th ranked CB in the class. He only profiled the top 46. Many were at a loss for words, especially because the Cowboys didn’t just sit back and settle for Scott, they aggressively pursued him.

Trading a 2024 fifth-round pick to Kansas City, the Cowboys jumped into the top of the sixth and selected a hardly-known CB just nine spots after selecting Asim Richards in the fifth. It’s possible a spirited discussion at the Richards pick led to an “ok then, let’s try to pick them both” type of situation.

Regardless, it was clear the Cowboys wanted Scott and saw something most draft experts did not. It made him a fun storyline to follow in minicamps and the preseason and will likely make him a fun one again in 2024, even if he is seen as the forgotten draft pick from the 2023 class.

Scott graded out as a big, strong, athletically gifted prospect in the draft process. But a reported quad injury tanked his 40-time, causing him to fall on many boards. The Cowboys saw him as one of the most explosive players in the draft. That explosiveness, a trait they value greatly, was seen from Scott early in his offseason work in Dallas.

The 6-foot-1, 204-pound CB, was a standout in OTAs. With Trevon Diggs and Nahshon Wright sitting out, Scott got first-team reps and showed many in attendance why the Cowboys moved up for him. Eventually the logjam at CB and his rawness as a prospect caught up for him and Scott’s rookie season essentially served as a redshirt year for the 25-year-old prospect.

In 2024 the scene has changed considerably. Stephon Gilmore and Jourdan Lewis are both free agents and Dan Quinn has been replaced by Mike Zimmer. Opportunities on the roster should be there for Scott and the scheme of Zimmer should work to Scott’s advantage as well.

Zimmer loves big physical CBs who can play man, play the ball, and make tackles in space. That’s Scott. A full year in the Cowboys program and a full offseason to absorb Zimmer’s schemes will allow Scott to start on a level playing field with the other supportive DBs on the roster.

It’s likely Scott won’t be challenging for a top-3 spot anytime soon, but a strong presence on special teams will go a long way in carving out a depth role in 2024. Scott played predominantly on the boundary in college, taking 499 snaps outside, compared to just 48 as a slot/box player in 2022. But if he can prove capable of inside/outside versatility it could be all he needs to jump to the top of the reserve pecking order.

He’s a fun player to think about in Zimmer’s defense and someone everyone should have an eye on over the summer.

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Former Cowboys head coach criticizes Dan Quinn

Dave Campo happens to be the worst coach in Cowboys’ history.

The Dallas Cowboys have had nine head coaches in the 64-year history of the franchise. Only one of those coaches finished his tenure in Dallas with a losing record: Dave Campo.

Campo was the Dallas head coach from 2000-02 and had a 15-33 record in three seasons. Campo replaced Chan Gailey and was replaced by the legendary Bill Parcells.

To say Campo bleeds Cowboys’ blue would be an understatement. He arrived in Dallas with Jimmy Johnson in 1989. After serving as an assistant under Johnson, Barry Switzer, and Gailey, Campo got his shot at leading the franchise in 2000.

After he was fired and had stints with the Browns and Jaguars, he returned to the Cowboys in 2008 as the defensive backs coach for four seasons under Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett.

Since leaving Dallas after 2011, Campo served as an assistant with the Kansas Jayhawks and, most recently, a two-year stint with the USC Trojans (2018-19) as an analyst.

Campo still follows the Cowboys closely and is friends with Dallas’ new defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer. Campo and Zimmer first worked together in 1981 at Weber State. They were reunited with the Cowboys in 1994 when Switzer hired Zimmer as a defensive assistant.

After six seasons as a defensive assistant, Campo promoted Zimmer to defensive coordinator in 2000 when he took over as head coach. When Campo was fired, Parcells kept Zimmer as his defensive coordinator.

Safe to say, Campo is happy to see his old friend back in charge of the Dallas defense.

But what about the Cowboys’ former defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn? Quinn departed after leading the Cowboys defense for three seasons to become the new head coach of the Washington Commanders.

Campo had some criticism for Quinn.

“From a culture standpoint…… I’ll just say one thing this way,” Campo said in an appearance on the San Antonio Sports Star, as transcribed by Blogging the Boys.

“I know Dan Quinn very well. I was not in the office, in the building, I’m here in Jacksonville, so I saw a bunch of the games. I saw that game. I’m going a little bit on some hearsay. But I think the one thing about Dan is he’s a fine gentleman, and he’s smart, and his scheme was okay, but he was a little bit too buddy-buddy, I think, with the players, and that’s part of it. You can’t have a lot of accountability if you don’t stand a little bit above it of the people that you’re trying to get to be accountable.”

Campo then criticized Quinn’s defense for being too small.

It’s fair to criticize Quinn’s unit for being too small and unable to stop the run, but his three-year run in charge of the Cowboys’ defense was the best three-year run that side of the ball has had in ages.

Quinn’s defense led the NFL in turnovers by a wide margin over the past three years and finished in the top five of FTN’s defensive DVOA in each of his three seasons. While many will remember the blowout loss to the Packers more than Quinn’s success, that isn’t a fair way to judge his tenure in Dallas.

His players will miss him. And fans, if the defense takes a step back under Zimmer, will miss him, too.

As they say, you never know what you have until it’s gone. Ask Eagles coach Nick Sirianni about that after losing both coordinators last offseason.

Campo sticking up for Zimmer is not a surprise. Once it was revealed that Zimmer would return to the Cowboys, Campo said the following on Twitter.

No one knows how Quinn’s tenure in Washington will turn out, but Campo’s comments are one-sided and well-timed. When you base your public comments on hearsay, that’s never a good look.

While Campo may be beloved by some segments of the Dallas fan base, he had a .313 winning percentage as head coach. As Parcells often said, “You are what your record says you are.”

Micah, Mike and the Mike: Zimmer’s scheme, personality will determine Cowboys success in 2024

A video dive into the fronts, coverages new DC Mike Zimmer will deploy in Dallas, along with the most important question of player buy-in. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The relationship between a defensive coordinator and his troops is not an insignificant one. Especially in Dallas, where that role is essentially head coach of the defense and the DC operates with relative autonomy over his side of the ball.

Going from a player’s coach to a no-nonsense disciplinarian is not always going to be a smooth transition. On the latest episode of Catch This Fade, PFF editor John Owning joined to discuss the Cowboys’ hiring of Mike Zimmer to replace Dan Quinn. Amidst the conversation about the types of fronts Zimmer will deploy to hopefully improve Dallas’ run defense, and the complex secondary coverages he will deploy and require his DBs to sync within, is conversation about how Micah Parsons will take to the dramatic shift in tone during practice.

Cowboys News: ESPN host Stephen A.’s ankle, celebrity ballers latest Parsons victims

Parsons participation in NBA All-Star weekend ends up with his coach in the hospital after trying to get in his way and the celebrities on the other side not faring much better. | From @ArmyChiefW3

Reputed and outspoken Cowboys hater, Stephen A. Smith, has been known to use every available chance to throw shade at Cowboys fans worldwide. Those antics may have him rethinking the time and place after an encounter with Dallas star pass rusher Micah Parsons lands him in the hospital. Speaking of Parsons, his 37 points earn him Celebrity All Star MVP honors. As his new defensive coordinator gets comfortable in the role, Mike Zimmer is finalizing his staff of assistants which will include a former Cowboys player.

While on the topic of former players, Zimmer’s track record of guys who have succeeded under his tutelage speaks for itself.

The defensive ends were given a salary inspection which may lead some to believe the edge group could be a priority once the new league year begins. Before that day rolls around, Dallas hopes to have their franchise quarterback Dak Prescott locked up to a shiny new contract. The space created from a Prescott extension could prompt moves in the wide receiver room, should it? A former Cowboys head coach gives an honest assessment of the old and new defensive staffs. That and much more in this edition of Cowboys news and notes.

 

Cowboys hire former Commanders defensive line coach

Dallas hires one of Ron Rivera’s former assistants.

The Washington Commanders took from the Dallas Cowboys this offseason by hiring defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as their next head coach. Quinn brought secondary coach and pass game coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. with him to Washington as his new defensive coordinator.

That meant the Cowboys had some holes to fill. They interviewed former Commanders head coach Ron Rivera to replace Quinn, but that job went to former Vikings coach Mike Zimmer. Zimmer served as the Dallas defensive coordinator from 2000-06.

Following Quinn and Whitt out of Dallas was defensive line coach Aden Durde. Durde, who followed Quinn to Dallas from Atlanta, was the Cowboys defensive line coach over the past three seasons.

As Washington officially announced its new coaching staff on Thursday, most of its former staff members were free to seek employment elsewhere. The Commanders retained four coaches from Rivera’s former staff. One member of Rivera’s former defensive staff will join Zimmer in Dallas.

Jeff Zgonina, who joined the Commanders in 2020 as the assistant defensive line coach, was promoted to defensive line coach in Aug. 2022 when Rivera fired Sam Mills III. He will join Zimmer as his new defensive line coach.

When Zgonina was promoted in Washington, Rivera hired franchise legend Ryan Kerrigan as the assistant defensive line coach. Quinn retained Kerrigan.

Zgonina played 17 years in the NFL, retiring after the 2009 season. He began his coaching career with the Texans in 2013. In addition to his time with Houston and Washington, Zgonina has coached with the Giants and 49ers.

Zgonina earned rave reviews from some of Washington’s defensive linemen, including Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne.

Zimmer’s work with star defensive players meshes well with Cowboys’ personnel

Zimmer, as witnessed in these 6 star players, has a history of getting the most out of his best talent on defense. | From @BenGrimaldi

The Dallas Cowboys finally got the man to coach their defense by looking to their past. Jerry Jones might have chosen comfort by hiring Mike Zimmer as his defensive coordinator, but that doesn’t make it a bad decision.

Zimmer is an excellent defensive coach who has a history of getting the most out of his best players. At every stop where he’s been the DC or head coach, Zimmer’s had elite players who have been among the best in the league at their respective positions.

In Dallas, the veteran coach will have a bevy of top-tier talent to work with on defense. The Cowboys had two defensive MVP candidates in 2023 and get back another All-Pro in cornerback Trevon Diggs for the upcoming year. There’s a lot for Zimmer to work with, and the DC has gotten great results from his players in the past.

‘Not trying to re-invent the wheel here’: Mike Zimmer looks to boost ‘pretty good’ Cowboys defense

From @ToddBrock24f7: The Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator puts to rest the past weekend’s drama and says he looks forward to working toward a title in Dallas.

It worked out exactly the way Mike Zimmer and the Cowboys wanted it to.

Despite several days of will-they-or-won’t-they regarding the 67-year-old’s return to Dallas as defensive coordinator, Zimmer told reporters at his introductory press conference that he “always kind of hoped” he would be back with the organization that gave him a Super Bowl ring in the mid-’90s.

“I wanted to be somewhere where I knew people and I trusted people,” Zimmer said Wednesday. “So when this opportunity came up, I was excited.”

As for that lull over the weekend where Rex Ryan noted the lack of a signed contract and even publicly lobbied for the Dallas job live from the ESPN desk, Zimmer says there was no last-minute second-guessing going on behind the scenes.

He was sick over Super Bowl Weekend, he explained, and the agreement had already been reached anyway.

“We kind of slow-played it and kind of went from there,” Zimmer said. “It wasn’t any intense negotiation or anything like that. I knew I wanted to be here; I knew they wanted me to be here. It wasn’t any big deal.”

So Ryan and the conspiracy theorists can settle down.

“I see a lot of Rex Ryan comments,” Zimmer deadpanned.

Now that it’s official, the hire will bring together two coaches who became quite familiar with one another from opposing sidelines in the NFC North. McCarthy recalled hard-fought battles between his Packers and the rival Vikings during Zimmer’s eight years as head coach in Minnesota.

Zimmer did the same.

“When I was in in the NFC North, he was the one I respected most. They were the best team, they were the most well-coached, the teams played the right way. We tried to emulate a lot of those things so we could hopefully compete against them.”

Now he’ll compete alongside McCarthy and complement his offense. And he’ll have as a starting point a defensive unit that’s already among the league’s best.

“We’re not trying to re-invent the wheel here. You know, they’ve been pretty good,” he told reporters. “We want to take the good things that they’ve done and maybe add a few more other things that we’ve done good in the past and try to make this thing manageable where we’re disciplined and we’re well-coached, we play together as a team, and we try to make sure everybody understands their role so that other people on the field can have success doing their job.”

Zimmer did hint that certain dynamics might change under his command, however, particularly given his often fiery handling of players.

“There’s a reputation out there that I’m a jerk or something like that. It is what it is, I guess,” Zimmer explained. “But since it was announced that I was going to be here, I’ve heard from so many players that played for me … texting me and said how happy they are for me. I think if I was such a jerk, I wouldn’t be hearing from those guys.”

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Zimmer readily admitted to a “demanding” coaching style and dropped names of several players who he’s had past run-ins with, including Adam “Pacman” Jones and Anthony Barr, but he was quick to offer that there was always a higher reason for driving some of his players harder.

“The ones that want to be great,” Zimmer pointed out, “they want to be coached. They want to study. They want to understand how they can get better.”

And making the entire Cowboys defense better and ultimately getting them back to the Super Bowl is more than just a contributing factor as to why Zimmer has returned.

“There is no other reason,” he said. “My grandkids are fine and all that, but I can see them anytime. I didn’t come here to do all the work that we need to do if we’re not trying to win the championship.”

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