Mike Zimmer is equipped to back up his words

How much do you trust Mike Zimmer?

The Dallas Cowboys introduced their new defensive coordinator on Wednesday. Or perhaps re-introduced is more accurate. Mike Zimmer’s first defensive coordinator job was with the Cowboys, and he was on the staff even longer. He first joined the team in 1994 as an assistant, meaning that he was there for the last Super Bowl win for Dallas. Including his time after being promoted to the DC job in 2000, he has a total of thirteen years in that capacity, including stops with the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals, and then spent eight years as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

You’ve likely heard all that before, but it sets up a question. During his introductory press conference, Zimmer said some encouraging things. He thinks this team is ready to do better than it has in recent seasons. During his remarks, he focused on being hard on his players and instilling discipline. Those were welcome comments, as the Cowboys not only have a reputation for being soft at times, but exhibited disturbing traits during the losses last year that seem to bear it out. Dan Quinn was known as a player’s coach, but sometimes you need one who is more demanding and less concerned with keeping players comfortable. It was all great talk, but you have to ask, is Zimmer able to walk the walk?

There are plenty of examples of coaches who talked a great game, but just couldn’t deliver. Rob Ryan said a lot of good things when he was the DC here, but was unable to deliver with what were seen as overly complex schemes designed to confuse the opponent. Instead, they seemed to confound his own players much of the time. However, sometimes a coach actually delivers. Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions took over the head coaching job there promising to build a new, winning culture. His description of biting knee caps may have been mocked, but in just three seasons he took one of the perennial doormats to the playoffs as the NFC North champion and made it to the NFC Championship game. That is the kind of coaching we hope Zimmer will bring to the table, although perhaps without the overly colorful descriptions.

That is why the recap of his coaching history kicked off this article. That is the best thing to look to for some indication of how well he will be able to perform. His head coaching stint with the Minnesota Vikings is a good indication that he is a capable man in that position. More pertinent to this discussion is his time as the DC with the Cowboys, however.

2003 was the high point, with the defense ranked first overall in yards allowed and second in touchdowns. It was one of the best rosters he had to work with, including Dat Nguyen, Darren Woodson, Terence Newman, Greg Ellis, and La’Roi Glover. Still, it does not appear to have been as talented as the one he is inheriting, and that he has expressed a strong desire to improve. In that year, the defense ranked in the top ten in every defensive ranking except turnovers. They were only twenty-second in turnover margin.

That seems like a positive thing. Turnovers have a huge element of luck involved. Last year’s defense seemed overly dependent on them. Being able to shut down opponents without them giving you the ball is much more sustainable. If they do put the ball in your hands, it is always helpful. But in 2003, the team ranked fifteenth in turnover ratio while managing to be eighth in win percentage. Given that the quarterback that year was Quincy Carter, who threw more interceptions than touchdowns, the defense was carrying a big load. That would be a welcome development. There were just too many times last year the defense gave up winning drives, or almost did in the case of the Lions win where Campbell made some bad decisions and a controversial call by the officials came into play.

Another thing to note from Zimmer’s first time as the Cowboys’ DC is that head coach Bill Parcells had him switch to the 3-4 defense in 2005. That was the rookie season for DeMarcus Ware, who would go on to earn a bust in the Hall of Fame. Ware thrived as a pass-rushing outside linebacker in the 3-4. Zimmer prefers the 4-3 alignment, but adjusted to capitalize on the talent available. Today, the 4-3 and 3-4 alignments are less rigid. One of the players Zimmer will have to work with is Micah Parsons, who looks a lot like a 3-4 OLB much of the time. The coach’s ability to adapt to what he has to work with is a potentially big asset.

It was also interesting that he appears to have been on board with retaining Al Harris. Given that Harris has been coaching Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland, Donovan Wilson, and Malik Hooker, this does smack of not wanting to fix something that ain’t broke. Unless this was forced on him, it is another sign that he is much more interested in getting the job done than who gets the credit.

While Zimmer does fit the stereotypical hiring pattern for Dallas as an old, experienced coach, he also seems as good a fit as they were going to find. His statements about really wanting to come to the Cowboys might have to be taken with a grain of diplomatic salt, there are also some reasons to believe there is genuine sentiment involved. We still will have to see just how well this all translates to the field, but the new DC looks like he has the chops to back up his words.