Welcome back to Dallas, coach Zimmer.
The Dallas Cowboys hosted an introductory press conference for Mike Zimmer on Wednesday at the team's headquarters at The Star in Frisco.
Zimmer, who is taking over as the team's defensive coordinator for Dan Quinn, was joined by head coach Mike McCarthy on the podium to answer questions from the media.
One of the questions being -- Did Zimmer ever imagine returning to the Cowboys' organization?
“It feels outstanding,” Zimmer said. “I have two grandkids, twins, that my daughter has. I’m excited to be around them a little bit more. I’ve always loved Dallas. I’ve always loved the Cowboys. . . . Did I ever think I’d be back? I don’t know. I always kind of hoped I would be. When my time was off, I’d had some phone calls [about] going places. I wanted to be somewhere I knew people, and I trusted people. So, when this opportunity came up, I was excited because the relationship I had with Mike and even the conversations we’ve had since I’ve been here.”
Zimmer, 67, last coached in the NFL in 2021, his final season at the helm in Minnesota. He led Minnesota to a 72-56-1 record and made the playoffs three times, including one trip to the NFC Championship Game in his eight seasons. Prior to his time in Minnesota, Zimmer was with the Cowboys from 1994-2006.
McCarthy said Wednesday that Zimmer is "an incredible fit for us."
Zimmer admitted that other NFL teams were in the running for his services after he took the last two seasons off, outside of helping Deion Sanders as a consultant, to deal with personal family tragedies. But Zimmer said he wanted to be in Dallas.
“I knew right away it was the right opportunity,” Zimmer said. “There was another club talking to me. This is where I wanted to come. Mike and I had some great conversations on the phone. We had some great conversations since I’ve been here. I’ve always been comfortable with Stephen and Jerry [Jones]. They’ve been outstanding to my family when I was here way back when. There was never a question of whether or I not I wanted to be here. Of the 32 teams, you probably couldn’t think of more than one I wanted to be at.”
