In a recent appearance on ESPN Radio’s “Ben & Skin Show,” Deion Sanders was asked his opinion on the Cowboys’ defense, particularly who should be the next defensive coordinator in Dallas. In his response, Sanders allowed for no ambiguity, and less doubt.
Sanders believes that Mike Zimmer, who served as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator from 2000 to 2006 before departing for Atlanta for a season and then Cincinnati, where he is currently employed, is the man for the job in Dallas.
"I don't know the contract situation for Mike Zimmer, but you need to go get him. I don't know what it looks like over in Cincinnati, go get him. Go get somebody who can really take control and run this defense the way they need it to be run. ... He's the guy for the job. But I think he just signed a new deal last year.”
Bingo, and therein lies the first problem with Deion’s solution. Zimmer signed a three-year deal last January with the Bengals that will keep him in Cincinnati through 2012. Contracts aside, though, Sanders remains convinced that Zimmer is the sort of coach that the underachieving Dallas defense needs.
“But he's the guy for the job. A guy of that status that commands respect from a team that has no nonsense. He's not going to tolerate blowing coverages and just not giving effort. He's just not going to tolerate that. I don't think the Cowboys are going to tolerate that anymore either. First of all, they're not that far off. To me this is a good team, they just underachieved. So, they're not that far off.”
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