Cowboys Coach Bluntly Calls Out Team for ‘Uncomfortable’ Approach

We’re crawling along to the end of a miserable season for the Dallas Cowboys, and as part of that process, we’re getting insights into a raft of regrets from players and coaches. Perhaps the bluntest of those regrets come from defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.

Speaking with reporters this week, Zimmer seemed to accept the fact that, even if Mike McCarthy does return as the Cowboys coach, Zimmer likely won’t be back. He was brought in on a one-year contract.

What was strange, though, was how straightforward Zimmer was in making his comments. Perhaps knowing that he is gone, Zimmer tried to save some face by pointing the finger at the team in general for the defense’s struggles this year, as the team went from ranking fifth in points and yardage allowed in 2023 to ranking 28th in yards and 31st in points. Zimmer indicated the problem was that he was not allowed to coach the way he wanted to, which could be taken as a shot at McCarthy.

Mike Zimmer Was Not as Tough as He Wanted to Be

Here’s what Zimmer, who was emotional, said, via the Cowboys’ website:

“I wish that when I came in, I would’ve done everything the way I wanted it done. That was probably the struggle at the beginning. What I am most proud about is watching the guys improve. … There’s still more we could’ve done better, but I think a lot of it was that. So we had to work through a whole lot of different scenarios to get to the vision that I had.”

Zimmer was asked to elaborate on that, and said, “I was just doing things I was uncomfortable with. I had to just do what I had to do. So here was the situation: they were good last year, right? So I came in and I didn’t really want to rock the boat. I probably wasn’t as tough as I typically am. I probably wasn’t as hard-headed about things — about how I wanted to do things — is the best way to say it. I wasn’t, and that’s what I regret the most.”

Cowboys’ Other Coordinator Not Happy, Either

Zimmer was not the only coach expressing his regrets for the Cowboys. Brian Schottenheimer, the offensive coordinator, was not happy with the way things went, either. He lamented the fact that the Cowboys were fifth in giveaway-takeaway ratio last season but dropped to 24th this year.

Dallas had four turnovers and no takeaways in the 41-7 drubbing they got from the Eagles on Sunday.

“Biggest thing for me would be the turnovers,” Schottenheimer said. “You just can’t win consistently turning the football over. We know that we’ve not done a very good job coaching it, and that falls on all of us. But again, felt really good going in the game [vs. Eagles] thinking we’d have a chance to win, and obviously the momentum of the turnovers killed us.”