Finally happy again, Cowboys defensive coordinator and former Vikings coach Mike Zimmer discusses his awful final act in Minnesota, his son Adam’s death, and why he wanted to return to the NFL.Oxnard, California – Mike Zimmer is dressed strangely as he turns towards the Dallas Cowboys practice field and notices a familiar figure from Minnesota.
It’s not the blue and white uniform or the star on his cap. It’s a smile. Corri, his daughter, says the 68-year-old grandfather is finally happy again. Finally allowing himself to rejoice after being sacked as Vikings coach, mourning the death of his son Adam, and going two seasons without coaching for the first time since 1978.
“She’s right; I’m having fun again,” the new Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator tells the Minnesota Star Tribune during a training camp visit last month.
After practice, Zimmer laughs and reaches for a pouch of Red Man chewing tobacco from a desk in the corner of a makeshift coaches office at the team’s Residence Inn. This is his second tenure with the Cowboys, which suits him. It’s the ideal career rebirth, thanks in large part to how miserable Zimmer’s final act in Minnesota was from the start of the injury-plagued 2020 season to Jan. 10, 2022, when Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf declared Zimmer and General Manager Rick Spielman’s careers officially over.
Zimmer was crushed. Angry. Sleep-deprived. The unusual coaching veteran who had never been dismissed.
“They asked me if I wanted to address the team,” according to him. “And I replied, ‘Hell, no. They had me fired!
“I didn’t realise I needed to go to HR and sign out or whatever. Nobody told me. I just gathered all of my belongings, got into my truck, and fled.”
And finally: “I can tell you I’ve not watched one Minnesota game since.”
No-brainer reunion.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is sitting on the couch of his Residence Inn hotel unit. Troy Aikman, Hall of Fame quarterback, is to his left.
Zimmer stated that he is back in Dallas, working under his former NFC North opponent, “to prove to myself and others that I can still coach.” Because when you’re dismissed, you believe you’re the worst in the world.” McCarthy is asked what drew him to Zimmer as the candidate to succeed Dan Quinn, the current head coach in Washington.
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