The Cowboys could have a new defensive coordinator before the end of the week.
They have completed interviews with three candidates, Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News reports.
The Cowboys interviewed former Commanders head coach Ron Rivera on Monday and former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer on Tuesday. Current Cowboys defensive line coach Aden Durde also interviewed this week.
Zimmer, 67, last coached in the NFL in 2021 in his final season as the Vikings’ head coach. He was in Minnesota from 2014-21, going 72-56-1 with three playoff appearances and one trip to the NFC Championship Game.
But Zimmer made his name with the Cowboys.
He joined the team in 1994 as assistant coach of the nickel defense under Barry Switzer, was promoted to defensive backs coach in 1995 and served in that role until the Cowboys promoted him to defensive coordinator in 2000.
In all, he coached under four head coaches in 13 years with the Cowboys.
The Commanders fired Rivera after he went 26-40-1 in four seasons as the head coach of the team. Rivera has interviewed with the Rams for their defensive coordinator position and was linked with the Eagles before they hired Vic Fangio.
Rivera, 62, spent nine seasons as head coach of the Panthers before going to Washington. He has not served as a defensive coordinator since 2010 with the Chargers, but he handled those duties in the final weeks of the 2023 season for the Commanders after firing Jack Del Rio.
Durde returned to the Dallas Cowboys in 2021 as the team’s defensive line coach after beginning his NFL coaching career in Dallas as a coaching intern from 2014-15. He spent three seasons with the Falcons under Dan Quinn, who recently left to coach the Commanders.
Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is looking for his third defensive coordinator in five seasons. He fired Mike Nolan after one season and hired Dan Quinn, who left to become the head coach of the Commanders on Thursday.
