Reports: Cowboys bring back Mike Zimmer as DC

Field Level Media|published: Mon 12th February, 17:18 2024

Jan 9, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer waves to the crowd after the game against the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium. credits: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Cowboys will bring back Mike Zimmer as their defensive coordinator, multiple outlets reported Monday, 18 years after he last held the position with the franchise.

Zimmer, 67, was head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2014-21 and has worked the past two years as an analyst/consultant for Deion Sanders, first at Jackson State and then at Colorado last year.

Zimmer returns to the Cowboys where he was an assistant coach from 1994-2006, first as a coach of the secondary then as defensive coordinator from 2000-06. After leaving the Cowboys, Zimmer was a DC for the Atlanta Falcons (2007) and Cincinnati Bengals (2008-13) before he was hired by the Vikings.

"I'm excited and honored to be back with a great organization," Zimmer told ESPN. "I'm thrilled to work with (head coach) Mike McCarthy, for whom I have had a ton of respect in our NFC North days, and to do anything I can do to help (owner Jerry Jones) and the Cowboys."

Dan Quinn, the Cowboys' defensive coordinator the past three seasons, was hired to be the head coach of the Washington Commanders.

Other former head coaches under consideration for the Cowboys DC job were Ron Rivera and Rex Ryan. Rivera was fired as head coach of the Commanders on Jan. 8.

—Field Level Media

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