Mike Zimmer hasn’t coached in the NFL since 2021, a year that marked the bitter end of an eight-year stint as head coach of the Vikings.
His return to Dallas as defensive coordinator, where he served in the same role from 2000-2006 and worked on staff six seasons before that, made perfect sense -- both in terms of fit and as an opportunity to combat any negative narratives that still cling to Zimmer from his time in Minnesota.
“Part of the reason for coming back is I have to do this for me because I don’t want people thinking I was a lousy coach,” Zimmer told Mark Craig of the Minnesota Star Tribune. “Somebody told me, ‘You don’t have anything to prove after Minnesota,’ but I felt like I did.”
Zimmer’s track record as a head coach doesn’t give off "lousy."
He went 72-56-1 overall, good for a .562 winning percentage. The Vikings twice won the NFC North during Zimmer’s tenure and finished no worse than 11th in defensive scoring during his first six seasons at the helm.
Zimmer also led Minnesota to the playoffs three times, going as far as the NFC Championship, which has proven the franchise’s ceiling since 1977.
But things ended there for a reason, namely a defense that plummeted to the bottom third of the league in Zimmer’s final two sub-.500 seasons and an authoritative approach with diminishing returns.
Zimmer, who said he didn’t address the team after his dismissal because they got him fired, also hasn’t watched a Minnesota game since.
If he happens to take a renewed interest in the Vikings this year, it’ll likely mean something positive for his Cowboys, not to mention his former squad.
The only way the two teams can meet during the 2024 season, necessitating Zimmer to take a deep dive back into watching the purple and gold, is if both squads reach the playoffs.
That’ll certainly be the expectation for the Cowboys, winners of 12 games in each of their last three seasons and defending division champions.
The defense Zimmer is inheriting played a massive role in Dallas’ recent string of regular-season dominance. Under Dan Quinn, now the Commanders’ head coach, the unit ranked ranked fifth in points allowed for two consecutive campaigns after placing seventh the first year he came on board.
Most of the core is returning, led by All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons and All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs, who missed all but two games last season. On top of that, one of Zimmer’s former players from Minnesota, linebacker Eric Kendricks, has buried the hatchet with his old coach to come quarterback the defensive middle for Dallas.
The table is set for Zimmer to show everyone his coaching acumen remains sharp as ever.
However, even if he’s wildly successful calling defense for America’s Team, at 68, Zimmer harbors no expectations redemption will lead to another head-coaching opportunity elsewhere.
“Guys with worse records than me have gotten second chances, but I don’t see it happening because of my age,” Zimmer said. “And now teams also want whoever can coach the quarterback. It is what it is.”
A ring wouldn’t hurt either way, though.