What is next for Dallas after hiring Mike Zimmer?
Photo Credit: Tony Gutierrez, Associated Press
DALLAS (PSF) - Once again we are back in the offseason in the NFL, and once again the Dallas Cowboys playoff woes did not go away as they were eliminated in the first round by the Green Bay Packers. It feels like I have been writing this same article for the past three years now, but as hopeful as I am, sooner or later the Cowboys are going to get themselves out of this curse.
Jerry Jones and company started off their offseason in the right way by hiring a good defensive coordinator in Mike Zimmer. Losing former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who accepted a head coaching job in the division to the Washington Commanders, is going to shake some things up on this defense, but ultimately it was the right move by the front office to not bring him back. We all saw the fraudulent Cowboys defense this season. They started off the first two games on a record-breaking pace and were looking to be a historic NFL defense, but looking back on those two games now it was pretty clear to see that it was more of playing against Daniel Jones and Zach Wilson which made the Cowboys defense look very good.
Dan Quinn’s defense has been a top unit in the league since he took over at the beginning of the 2021 season, but every time they lost it always seemed to be by the same reasons, a lack of discipline, not being prepared for the game, and getting gashed in the run game. The front office tried to help the run game issues this year by drafting nose tackle Mazi Smith in the first round, and some people, including myself forgot he was even on the team this year. Dan Quinn refusing to play him over the veteran defensive tackles was a bad mistake, because Mazi barely got any reps in during the entirety of the season. I am not going to call him a bust based on a very limited rookie season. Another issue of Quinn was trying to convert small, skinny safeties like Markquese Bell and Jayron Kearse to linebackers and have them play in the box. Safe to say, that plan didn’t work out great, as they both had awful seasons. Now, I will cut Quinn some slack here as his top two linebackers in Leighton Vander-Esch, who has been the guy in that linebacking core for the past few seasons, went down with a potential career ending injury early in the season. Even in the preseason, Dallas’s third round rookie linebacker DeMarvion Overshown tore his ACL, and Overshown had a lot of hype around him entering the season after a stellar training camp. The front office refused to go out and get any competent linebackers the entire year which forced Dan Quinn to try and play other guys there.
Two more issues I had with Quinn’s defense was not keeping his superstar pass rusher Micah Parsons on the edge to disrupt the quarterback, instead Quinn tried to use him as a rover in the middle of the field which is the biggest flaw in Parsons abilities. The last issue I had with Quinn was his refusal of giving defensive end, Sam Williams any playing time. In the short amount of reps that Williams has had in the last two years he has shown the potential of looking like a great pass rusher in this league, but Quinn would rather play older guys like Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler who were practically cones anytime they were on the field.
Bringing in Zimmer was a smart move schematically wise for the Cowboys. Zimmer has had a lot of very good and successful defenses everywhere he has been. He likes to blitz a lot which will be good for Micah Parsons going forward because someone else other than him will be schemed to rush the quarterback. If the front office goes out and gets a free agent linebacker like Patrick Queen, then the defense can change into a 3-4 base and run zone concepts the majority of the time. A lot of the reasons the Cowboys secondary would get beat in man coverage a lot last year came from the fact that there was no linebacker on the roster capable of covering seams and inside routes. I don’t think bringing back Stephon Gilmore should be a priority for Dallas this offseason, as they will be getting their All-Pro, Trevon Diggs back from a torn ACL. Gilmore had his ups and downs last year but at his age and his speed being a liability, he just does not fit into this defense going forward. DaRon Bland filled in for the injured Diggs last season and had an amazing year racking up nine interceptions, with five of them being pick six’s, breaking the NFL record in a season. Bland was also named first team All-Pro. Bland had a very good season, but only in his second year he still has a lot to develop, specifically with his technique at corner. Personally, I like Bland a lot more in the slot position, and not having to bring back the undersized slot in Jourdan Lewis can be beneficial for Bland moving there full-time. Dallas should look to bring in another corner that can fit Zimmer’s system. Whether that is through free agency or in day one or two of the draft, it should definitely be a top priority for Jerry and Stephen Jones.
I won’t get too deep into the offense, because I really doubt there will be any changes there, the only hopes are to bring in another real NFL wide receiver that can take the pressure off of CeeDee Lamb in big moments. The offensive line could use some revamping, maybe one of these days they will let the eighty-five year pro Tyron Smith retire and draft his replacement.
I can keep putting out the blueprint for Jerry and Stephen Jones to fix the same issues the Cowboys have had for an eternity, but it’s truly going to come down to the point of if they care enough to actually fix their football team. My answer would probably be a solid no, because the only thing the Jones family has cared about is keeping the Cowboys brand alive and wealthy. Maybe this year something will change after Micah Parsons has publicly stated the issues that need to be fixed on this team and what positions they need to upgrade. Once again, it is your move Jerry, please fix your football team.