Skip Bayless tears into Cowboys for uninspired defensive coordinator hire

With Dan Quinn taking over in Washington, the Dallas Cowboys needed to find a new defensive coordinator fast. While there was some talks about promoting a candidate from within, head coach Mike McCarthy and owner Jerry Jones opted to go with a familiar face by hiring Mike Zimmer off the street. The former Minnesota Vikings head coach led the Dallas defense in the early-to-mid-2000s.

Even though former Cowboys star Deion Sanders raves about him, and probably regrets not hiring him to be on his Colorado Buffaloes staff, FS1's Skip Bayless is not moved by Dallas' decision. He harped on how Zimmer is all business, a pro's pro when it comes to coordinating defense. Bayless covered him when he was the defensive backs coach on those great Cowboys teams from before.

However, Bayless thinks this is the wrong type of hire the Cowboys needed to make. Admittedly, he cannot see the forest through the trees because he is a die-hard Cowboys fan, but Bayless may be onto something here. Dan Quinn was a fiery leader at times, while Mike McCarthy is the antithesis of a motivator. For a team that hasn't won big in nearly 30 years, a crashing sense of urgency would help.

Watch Bayless debate the Zimmer hire with Keyshawn Johnson and Richard Sherman on Undisputed.

Last year was the year for the Cowboys to get it done, but they wasted another golden opportunity.

Skip Bayless is hyper-critical of the Mike Zimmer hire by the Cowboys

Until things drastically change, which I'm sure they won't, I'm pretty much done with the Cowboys. I waited for years to be all-in on what they could theoretically be about up until last year. At the start of the year, they were my pick to come out of the NFC. They somehow had Quinn back for a third season as the defensive coordinator and Dak Prescott is in his prime. Dallas lost at home to the No. 7 seed...

At this point, I don't know what they are selling us other than Jones-branded false hope. A sucker is born every minute and many of them end up becoming Cowboys fans in the end. From a schematical standpoint, I like the Zimmer hire, but I totally agree with Bayless that this hire is both uninspiring and somewhat directionless. I have never seen a team wanting to be perpetually 10-7 more than Dallas.

Ultimately, 2024 feels like the end of another forgettable era of Cowboys football. McCarthy is about as big of a lame duck head coach as Quinn's Washington predecessor Ron Rivera was entering this year. The Joneses are going to try to keep up with the rest of the league by hiring some under-qualified hotshot offensive coordinator wunderkind to lead them. The results will still be the same.

The Cowboys could hire Ben Johnson away from the Detroit Lions next offseason and it would not make a bit of difference because Jones is still the owner and he loves control more than he ever has.