During training camp in Oxnard, California, new Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer chatted with Mark Craig of the Minnesota Star-Tribune in an interview published over the weekend. While Zimmer spilled a lot of tea concerning his time as head coach of the Vikings, and how things went wrong before his eight-year tenure ended in January 2022, it was on off-hand comment about now-Steelers quarterback Justin Fields that has caught attention around the NFL.
Zimmer took aim at many of those who hurt him personally on his way out the door in Minnesota, and described the deterioration of his relationship with GM Rick Spielman, who was also fired in 2022. Their relationship soured during the 2021 NFL draft, when Spielman planned to draft a quarterback without having mentioned that plan to Zimmer.
The Vikings still had Kirk Cousins on hand. But the team was trying to move up from No. 23 to get in range to pick Fields, for whom the Bears traded up to draft at No. 11.
“The first round, Rick tried to trade up for Justin Fields,” Zimmer told Craig, “who hasn’t done anything.”
Cowboys Will Play Steelers in Week 5
Oof. Let’s circle the October 6 Cowboys-Steelers game, when Fields (who is not slated to be the starter in Pittsburgh) might have his first crack at Zimmer’s defense.
Of course, Fields had been something of a disappointment in the NFL. He has shown himself to be a very capable runner, and amassed 1,143 yards rushing in his second NFL season, in 2022. He led the league with 7.1 yards per carry that year.
But Fields has not come very far as a passer, and has a career rating of 82.3. He has thrown 40 touchdowns and a whopping 30 interceptions in three seasons, and posted a career record of 10-28 as a starter. He also has had trouble staying healthy, and missed four games last season.
Then again, though, the Bears did not do Fields many favors during his tenure as the starter. Last year, after he came back from his injury, Fields put together a strong stretch of four wins in five games, before petering out in the season finale against the Packers.
As NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk pointed out, the Fields criticism was out of whack: “And it’s unfair and inaccurate for Zimmer to say Fields ‘hasn’t done anything.’ He’s a very dangerous runner. He’s developing as a passer. He could end up being the starter in Pittsburgh, at some point this season.”
Mike Zimmer-Eric Kendricks Rift Healed
One issue that was addressed in the Star-Tribune article was the relationship between Zimmer and new Cowboys linebacker Eric Kendricks, who played for Zimmer in Minnesota for the first seven seasons of his career.
After Zimmer was fired, several players aired their feelings about Zimmer’s old-school style of coaching. Kendricks was among them, telling reporters, “I don’t think a fear-based organization is the way to go.”
Kendrick originally agreed to join the 49ers this offseason, but the Cowboys were able to persuade him to come instead to Dallas, where he was the team’s biggest offseason acquisition. But Kendricks had to clear the air with Zimmer first.
“Zim and I talked about that quote before I signed here,” Kendricks says. “Look, it was the climate at the time. Things weren’t going well. Emotions, pressures were high. People say things and do things that are not to their true character. We both said things back then that we shouldn’t have said in the heat of the moment.”
