DMN Blog: Phillips should bring back Mike Zimmer
by Jean-Jacques Taylor
Wade Phillips needs a defensive coordinator now that Jerry has convinced him to fire Brian Stewart, his hand-picked defensive coordinator.
He needs a man who commands the respect of the players. He needs a man focused on attention to detail. And he needs a man who's not afraid to tell players the truth about their performances.
Since we all know Jerry shows little imagination, when it comes to hiring assistant coaches let's assume the Cowboys' next defensive coordinator will be someone Jerry
knows intimately.
What about Mike Zimmer?
Yes, he has a contract in Cincinnati, but he has such a close relationship with Marvin Lewis that the head coach would probably let him out his deal, if asked. Besides, he still owns a home in Grapevine, so he doesn't even have to look for a new place to live.
Now, some of you will be vehemently against Zimmer returning for a variety of reasons. No problem. Any candidate Jerry hires or Wade suggests will be flawed.
Zimmer is no different. His positives, for this team, dwarf his negatives.
He's a proven coordinator with a history of success, and he would be a much different coordinator under Phillips than he was under Parcells because he would be free to do whatever he wants on defense instead of following Parcells' orders.
That would allow him to be more creative in his blitz packages and his coverages. Zimmer is intimately familiar with the 3-4 so he could also use some of those principles to go back-and-forth between the schemes like New England does so effectively.
More important, Zimmer's presence would give Phillips the latitude to actually restore some order to a team whose players do whatever they want whenever they want.
Wade Phillips needs a defensive coordinator now that Jerry has convinced him to fire Brian Stewart, his hand-picked defensive coordinator.
He needs a man who commands the respect of the players. He needs a man focused on attention to detail. And he needs a man who's not afraid to tell players the truth about their performances.
Since we all know Jerry shows little imagination, when it comes to hiring assistant coaches let's assume the Cowboys' next defensive coordinator will be someone Jerry
knows intimately.
What about Mike Zimmer?
Yes, he has a contract in Cincinnati, but he has such a close relationship with Marvin Lewis that the head coach would probably let him out his deal, if asked. Besides, he still owns a home in Grapevine, so he doesn't even have to look for a new place to live.
Now, some of you will be vehemently against Zimmer returning for a variety of reasons. No problem. Any candidate Jerry hires or Wade suggests will be flawed.
Zimmer is no different. His positives, for this team, dwarf his negatives.
He's a proven coordinator with a history of success, and he would be a much different coordinator under Phillips than he was under Parcells because he would be free to do whatever he wants on defense instead of following Parcells' orders.
That would allow him to be more creative in his blitz packages and his coverages. Zimmer is intimately familiar with the 3-4 so he could also use some of those principles to go back-and-forth between the schemes like New England does so effectively.
More important, Zimmer's presence would give Phillips the latitude to actually restore some order to a team whose players do whatever they want whenever they want.
posted by The Gryphon at 5:49 PM
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