Last week I went on record saying Marty Schottenheimer would be my guy for new Head Coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I still think he would be a great pick, and a great fit, but there is one other one to add to the list;
Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.
Zimmer’s name has been on the radar since the beginning, he’s not too young at age 55, and he has been around the league for a long long time. He has been around long enough to know a lot of people; assembling a quality staff should be no problem for Zimmer. He started coaching when the Bucs started winning, in 1979-80 as the part time defensive assistant for U of Missouri. Great Defenses follow him around;
In 1993 the Washington State Cougars defense ranked 8th in total Defense and second in rushing defense. Sound like a plan for the Bucs?
He became a pro coach in 1994 joining Barry Switzer’s Dallas Cowboys team as an assistant coach, then promoted to DBs coach in 1995 before becoming Defensive coordinator in the 2000 season.
The 2003 Dallas Cowboys gave up the fewest yards in the NFL while running a speedy 4-3 defense; again, sound familiar Tampa Bay? Sound like a fit?
But the best characteristic about him; he is a no nonesense guy who will tell you like it is. He joined the Bobby Petrino led Atlanta Falcons in 2007 and told the world how he felt about Petrino, calling him a spineless, gutless man openly.
He was named the Bengals D coordinator for the 2008 season, and had the 4th ranked defense. This year, his defense rose to prominance with the 7th ranked unit in the league in yardage, and 9th in points allowed.
Zimmer has never been a head coach, and in that capacity, reminds me of Tony Dungy who was a long time Defensive Coordinator with a lot of nice accolades, but never the top dog.
That could change soon for Zimmer, and if its here in Tampa Bay, that would be just fine by me. Zimmer would be more long term than Schottenheimer in my opinion, and thats why I’d take Zimmer ahead of Marty if I had to hire someone today, even over the hot shot assistants in Green Bay. WE’ve already done young, lets get a vet in there, and on the team too.
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