All signs point to 2024 being a make-or-break season for the Dallas Cowboys.
Head coach Mike McCarthy and quarterback Dak Prescott are both heading into the final years of their respective contracts.
According to team staff writer Patrik Walker, new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer also faces an uncertain future after 2024.
Mike Zimmer is on a one-year deal, as confirmed by Jerry Jones, but the #Cowboys owner also said that not all of his assistants are, as has been rumored.
?Also, interestingly enough, Jones made it clear a one-year deal does not mean Zimmer won't be in Dallas in 2025 (I'd assume…
— Patrik [No C] Walker (@VoiceOfTheStar) March 2, 2024
There were questions surrounding the specifics of Zimmer’s contract, but Walker shared that owner Jerry Jones has confirmed the one-year deal.
It is noteworthy that at the end of Walker’s post, Jones mentions “Sometimes a year creates a lot of energy and a lot of aggressiveness.”
For a team that rolled over and surrendered 48 points at home to the Green Bay Packers in yet another disappointing playoff loss, perhaps it is not a coincidence that Jones has been noncommittal past 2024 to so many key members.
Zimmer takes over a defense coming off a season where it was top 5 in the league in yards allowed, points allowed, and passing yards allowed, according to ESPN.
One area of note that was mentioned by Vice President of Player Personnel Will McClay at the NFL Combine is that the team is looking to bring in “bigger bodies” for Zimmer’s defense.
“I think we’re probably going to look more so at those bigger bodies at the inside, stopping that. We’re always looking at linebackers. That’s a position that in free agency and in the draft that we’re going to have to look at because we want to add more players there.”
McCarthy and Zimmer did not attend the Combine and are instead opting to conduct their interviews with prospects virtually as they continue to restructure this defense back in Dallas.
Zimmer’s assistants being on multi-year contracts should speak to some semblance of job security, but Jones is making it quite clear that 2024 could be the final year in Dallas for a lot of key members of this roster.
NEXT: Jerry Jones Reveals Where The Cowboys Need To Improve
