“He’s Not, Yeah, Dude!” Angry Dave Campo Responds to Mike Zimmer’s Hiring by the Dallas Cowboys
Following Mike Zimmer’s recent rehire by the Dallas Cowboys as defensive coordinator, several of his former teammates have spoken out about their opinions on Zimmer’s new position.
Dave Campo, a former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, was thrilled to see Zimmer return to the team. He discussed the hiring on 105.3 The Fan.
When both Campo and Zimmer were at Weber State in 1981, Campo was an assistant coach and Zimmer was the defensive backs’ and inside linebackers’ coach.
“My initial impression of Mike Zimmer at Weber State was that he is a difficult coach, highly vocal, and really enthusiastic about what he does. This impression has stuck with him throughout his career,” Campo remarked.
Prior to Zimmer’s promotion to defensive coordinator in 2000, Campo said that Zimmer had been hired as an assistant secondary coach by Barry Switzer, the Cowboys’ head coach, from 1994 to 2000.
“I adored him since he’s not a follower. He is very open and has his own opinions. The players, the head coach, and everyone else are aware of those concepts, according to Campo.
When all was said and done, I would always say, ‘That’s wonderful, Zim, but we’re doing it this way.'” That’s how we went about it.
“I believe one of the things he brings to the table is his enthusiasm for winning, and from a loyalty aspect, it was one of his assets.”
Between 1994 and 2002, Campo and Zimmer collaborated in Dallas, including during both of Campo’s tenure as head coach and when Zimmer was his defensive coordinator.
Parcells Responds To Zimmer’s Hiring by the Cowboys
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Bill Parcells, a former coach of the Cowboys, also mentioned Zimmer.
Parcells told ESPN, “I always appreciated that he’s a coach’s kid because they lived it at the dinner table when they were young.” “[Bill] Belichick operated similarly. These were the kind of folks. However, Mike and I ended up becoming close friends.”
In order to lead the team to a deep playoff run in 2024, current coach Mike McCarthy is hoping that Zimmer can rediscover some of the defensive magic he helped establish in the mid-1990s. Not to be outdone, Zimmer added his own ideas while integrating them with what McCarthy had already established.
