Mike Zimmer shares vision for Cowboys defense in 2024

Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has the unique task this season of taking over an already good defense and trying to make it the best in the league. He may not have very long to do it either. Head coach Mike McCarthy is entering the final year of his contract, which could mean a full staff overhaul in 2025 if the team doesn’t meet expectations. This week, Zimmer shared his vision for the Cowboys defense this season and how he plans to improve the unit headlined by star edge rusher Micah Parsons.

“It’s like I told the defense the first day I got here. I said, this is a different deal for me. Usually, when I come in, the defense is not good. You know? They’re pretty darn good,” Zimmer said, via ESPN. “So it’s a little different for me because we have to advance some of the things they were doing good and try to improve on the things they weren’t doing as good. But for the most part, they’ve played pretty darn good, and we’re going to try to accentuate that and maybe be a little bit more technique-oriented, maybe a little bit more disciplined.

“Some of those things. At the end of the day, we’ve got to do it the way I want it done. I know if you try to come in and do somebody else’s thing, it just doesn’t go well.”

Zimmer has more than 40 years of coaching under his belt, including eight years of experience as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. The Cowboys’ defense is trying to become a better run-stopping unit this season after dominating most teams who tried to throw on them last year.

While coordinator of the Dallas defense in the early 2000s, Zimmer had his group ranked in the top 8 in rushing defense four times and in the top five twice. His rush defense in Minnesota ranked third three times.

Eric Kendricks helping Zimmer with defensive installation

The Dallas Cowboys began the installation of new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer‘s scheme at OTAs, which was a highly-anticipated phase for veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks. Of all the Cowboys defenders, Kendricks is the most familiar with Zimmer’s defense, having spent the majority of his career under the coordinator’s wing in Minnesota.

“Obviously, I have a lot of experience with (the defense),” Kendricks said. “We’re doing things a little bit differently. We’ve added some new things. I’m still learning. I’m still trying to check my ego, I don’t know all the answers.”

“I know the strengths and weaknesses of this defense,” he added. “I know what it’s capable of. There are a lot of guys on this team that haven’t played in this defense, and they don’t know it yet, but it suits them very well. I can’t wait to see it.”

The first glimpse of the Dallas defense in its full glory will come on Sept. 8 against the Cleveland Browns. The Browns had a top-15 offense last season, scoring 23.3 points per game even without Deshaun Watson for 11 games.