After spending the 2024 season as the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator, former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer is reportedly considering retirement, according to ESPN's Jeff Darlington on Monday.
The news came about after it was revealed on Monday that Mike McCarthy won't be returning as the Cowboys head coach for the 2025 season. Dallas let McCarthy's contract run out last week and both sides seem to be going their separate ways.
Zimmer, who will turn 69 in June, joined Dallas last year after Dan Quinn left his role as the team's defensive coordinator to become the new head coach of the Washington Commanders.
With Zimmer leading the defense, the Cowboys finished the 2024 season ranked 29th in the NFL in points allowed per drive, 30th in yards allowed per rushing attempt, and 28th in net yards allowed per pass attempt.
Former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer might retire after one season with the Dallas Cowboys
If the 2024 campaign truly ends up being Zimmer's last as a coach in the NFL, he'll be remembered as one of the top defensive minds in the history of the league.
Yes, the 2024 season with Dallas went poorly, but in almost three decades as a head coach and an assistant coach in the NFL, his teams' defenses ranked among the top 10 in the league in points allowed 10 different times.
Even if Zimmer doesn't retire, it seems like his tenure with Minnesota will end up remaining the only time he was given the opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL.
In eight seasons with the Vikings, his teams went 72-56-1 (.562 winning percentage) in the regular season, and 2-3 in the playoffs. Minnesota won two NFC North titles and made it to the 2017 NFC Championship with Zimmer as the team's head coach.
Despite his time with the Vikings ending before he would have liked, he still helped provide the team's fan base with some of the most memorable moments (including a miraculous one) in the history of the franchise.