Even though it wasn't going to be a long-term investment, Mike Zimmer was among the more popular defensive coordinator candidates for the Dallas Cowboys last offseason. Sure enough, Zimmer honored his one-year contract and both parties went their separate ways after the season ended.
Zimmer informed the the Cowboys in January that he would not return to his post and that he will likely retire from coaching. While Dallas has since hired Matt Eberflus to succeed Zimmer, the 69-year-old is seemingly still mulling his coaching future.
Deion Sanders told the Colorado media on Wednesday that he's waiting to hear from Zimmer and former NFL quarterback Byron Leftwich about joining his staff in Boulder.
Ex-Cowboys DC Mike Zimmer could rejoin Deion Sanders' staff at Colorado
Zimmer served as a consultant on Sanders' staff at Jackson State in 2022. He followed Sanders to Colorado in 2023 and served in a similar role before returning to the NFL last year to preside over the Cowboys' defense.
Of course, Zimmer and Sanders' paths first overlapped in the 1990s when the former served as Dallas' defensive backs coach. They won Super Bowl XXX together with America's Team.
While Zimmer hasn't made a decision on his future, he was spotted at a Colorado practice in April donning Buffaloes apparel. It would make a lot of sense for Zimmer to return to a familiar setting if he isn't quite ready to walk away from coaching.
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After all, the demands of being an NFL defensive coordinator pale in comparison to that of a consultant or assistant on a college staff.
Zimmer has coached in the league in some capacity for 29 years, including 23 as either a head coach or defensive coordinator. That doesn't take into account his15 years at the college level before he got his first NFL gig as an assistant with the Cowboys. He's been at this for a really, really long time.
Zimmer's one-year stint as Dallas' DC was far from perfect. However, the unit turned a corner in the middle of the season and performed well given all the injuries it had to overcome. It was a decent return considering he was out of the league for three years.
A lot of Cowboys players wanted Zimmer back, including Micah Parsons. But if he wasn't fully committed to returning, it is probably for the best that he and the team went in a different direction.