The Dallas Cowboys can confirm that they have reached an agreement with Mike Zimmer to take over as the team’s next defensive coordinator. The two met on Monday afternoon, following the initial announcement on Thursday night that Zimmer would be the team’s pick.

As Mike McCarthy enters the fifth and final year of his contract with the franchise, Zimmer, 67, returns to Dallas, where he served as the defensive coordinator from 2000 to 2006 and a defensive assistant for seven years before that, to support him.

Even though it took several days for Zimmer to reach a mutual understanding with the club, the agreement was reached when Jerry Jones and the front management traveled to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl weekend. The deal was struck on Monday after Jones and the front office were able to return to the building, according to Rex Ryan, who was interviewed for the job last Tuesday. Ryan made this statement on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown on Sunday morning, saying that the two were still working toward an agreement.

 Following his departure from Dallas in 2006, Zimmer worked as the Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator from 2008 to 2013, and then from 2014 to 2021, he served as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. He guided the Vikings to three postseasons over his eight years as head coach, including a trip to the NFC Championship Game in 2017.

Zimmer has brought multiple top-five total defense seasons to every position he has held, whether as head coach or defensive coordinator. The Cowboys finished first and fourth in total defense in 2001 and 2003, the Bengals third and fourth in 2013 and 2009, and the Vikings first, third, and fourth in 2017, 2016, and 2018, respectively.

Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland, and Micah Parsons are three First-Team All-Pro players on Zimmer’s defense, and there is a good amount of quality surrounding them. This offseason will see the team make important choices regarding important free agents, including Stephon Gilmore, Jordan Lewis, Jayron Kearse, and Jonathan Hankins. It will also involve draft selections that could improve Dallas’ ability to stop the run in 2024. In his 22 seasons as a coordinator or head coach, Zimmer has led seven defenses to the top 10 in running defense.