In the midst of all the excitement surrounding their 12-5 record and NFC East championship, the Dallas Cowboys failed once more in crucial situations. In the NFL playoffs, they were humiliated by a 48-32 loss to the Green Bay Packers in the opening round. As one of the league’s most formidable defensive teams, they didn’t anticipate finishing the season with 48 points against a Jordan Love-led offense. In order to support newly appointed defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, the Cowboys are hoping to strengthen their performance on the defensive end of the ball by adding new players. In order to achieve this, Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post reports that the Cowboys are employing Jeff Zgonina, a former defensive line coach with the Washington Commanders, to the same role. Taking a head coach away from the Commanders seemed reasonable, particularly considering that former Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn departed the team to take the Washington head coaching position. Zgonina is an accomplished coach who has worked for the Houston Texans, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers, among other teams, to bolster his resume.
Guenther is joining Zimmer to bolster a Cowboys defense that allowed the Packers to gain a lot of yardage through the air during their playoff matchup. Along with signing Guenther, the Cowboys also hired Greg Ellis, a former player for the Cowboys who played for Dallas from 1998 to 2008, to be Jeff Zgonina’s assistant coach for the defensive line.Ultimately, for the Cowboys to succeed in 2024, Mike Zimmer does not need to completely restructure the defense. All they need to do is adjust a little bit and prepare better for their opponents come postseason time.
