The ties that bind: Why Marvin Lewis called Mike McCarthy for Mike Zimmer for Cowboys DC job

When the Dallas Cowboys hired Mike McCarthy in 2020 as the ninth head coach in franchise history, owner Jerry Jones and vice president Stephen Jones interviewed former Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis for the job, in part to satisfy the NFL’s Rooney Rule obligations.

Lewis and Stephen Jones had a long-standing relationship from their days on the NFL’s competition committee.

Lewis, now the assistant head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, did not speak with the Jones family regarding the vacant defensive coordinator position on McCarthy’s staff following the departure of Dan Quinn to the Washington Commanders as head coach.

But Lewis was admittedly directly involved in the process that landed former Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer back with the Cowboys as McCarthy’s DC heading in the 2024 season.

“I haven’t talked to Jerry or Stephen this time around,” Lewis said to the Star-Telegram. “I stayed out of that. I’m happy it got done. And they were able to figure it out because I just think they’ve got a lot of talented players there and whoever walked in that door. had to walk in with respect.”

Lewis had something to do with Zimmer walking back through the door with the Cowboys 18 years after departing a 12-year stint with the team from 1994-2006.

Lewis has known McCarthy since both coached together at the University of Pittsburgh in 1990.

And he knows Zimmer going back to 1983 when he was at Idaho State and Zimmer was at Weber State.

Zimmer was also Lewis’ defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals from 2008-2013 before he became the Vikings head coach and the two have recently done a podcast together.

Lewis has checked in with McCarthy over the last four years with the Cowboys and when Quinn left for Washington, he picked up the phone on behalf of Zimmer.

”When this opportunity came up with Dan getting the job, I reached out to Mike saying [Zimmer] wants to coach. We talk a lot. He wants to coach. He wants to get back into it and he’s ready to go,” Lewis said.

So you you reached out to McCarthy about Zimmer?

“Yeah,” Lewis said.

Zimmer has been out coaching since 2021 when he was fired after eight seasons with Vikings, though he was consulted with Deion Sanders during his stints at Jackson State and now Colorado.

McCarthy pointed to his familiarity coaching against Zimmer when he was with Green Bay Packers and Zimmer was with the Vikings as well as when he was offensive coordinator with the New Orleans Saints and Zimmer ran the Cowboys defense.

But he also mentioned their mutual relationship with Lewis is a key factor in the hiring.

“Having a mutual friend in Marvin Lewis and just the people that you really trust in this business,” McCarthy said. “I have a personal experience, I don’t know if I have called as many games against another coordinator in my time in the league. All of that is important.”

Lewis and McCarthy are so close that Lewis said if he wasn’t with the Raiders, he might be in Dallas.

“I don’t know Jerry as well as I know Stephen but I’m a fan of them,” Lewis said. “If I wasn’t here, I might be there doing something for Mike.”

Lewis said he believed Zimmer was a good fit in Dallas as he’s a former head coach who could run the defense and allow McCarthy to continue to focus on offense.

And he believes their personalities will match.

He intimated the delay in Zimmer’s official hiring with the Cowboys roughly a week after his initial interview was about the two sides getting on the same page as far expectations and roles.

“What was important was that everybody was clear on expectations going into it,” Lewis said. “That was paramount. Just what Mike McCarthy sees Mike Zimmer’s role as a defensive coordinator, as a member of his staff and so forth. That he knows he can just focus on doing the things he needs to do and have the input that he wants and that Mike Zimmer is gonna be receptive to it and he understands the authority and the chain of command.

I think that was important for everybody that to be on the same page with.”