Mike Zimmer another coach Jerry whiffed on
By Mac Engel
Of the many screw-ups committed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame general manager and president of the Dallas Cowboys over the past two decades, not giving his defensive coordinator even a cursory interview in 2007 will forever remain one of his most perplexing decisions.
In August of 2006, Jerry Jones said of his defensive coordinator, “Mike (Zimmer) should have an opportunity to be a head coach. In talking with people that have coached with him and players that played for him that I’ve known, he’s in the league of head coaching material in the NFL.”
Because in January of 2007, Jerry Jones interviewed nearly every human being who ever blew a whistle to be the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, just not Mike Zimmer.
Jerry had a good candidate to replace Bill Parcells down the hall, but Jerry fell victim to buying into labels, perceptions, and losing sight that while Zimmer might not have been a good PR move he was/is a good football coach.
Few coaches in the NFL deserve their success any more than Zim’, who has the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC title game after the Minny Miracle on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys prepare for another year of Jason Garrett. Draw your own conclusions here ...
Don’t ever blast Jerry over losing current Saints head coach Sean Payton in January of ’06, when Parcells was still the head coach and going nowhere.
Feel free to blast Jerry for not even considering Parcells’ other coordinator the following year, but know a lot of other teams blew it on Zimmer, too.
Go back to January of 2007, when Jerry hatched his super plan to return to the Super Bowl. A super plan that was built around Garrett.