Mike Zimmer is bringing in some familiar faces to work on his first Cowboys defensive staff. Former Zimmer assistants and at least one of his former players in Dallas will be part of the group.
Part of Zimmer staffs in Cincinnati and Minnesota, former DC Paul Guenther will have another chance in the league. The Cowboys are hiring Guenther to be their run-game coordinator on defense, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill. Dallas will also bring in veteran assistant Jeff Zgonina to coach its defensive line, the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala tweets; Zgonina will replace Aden Durde, who agreed to leave for the Seattle DC job last week.
Former Cowboys pass rusher Greg Ellis will also make a major leap in the coaching ranks. Serving as the head coach of a Texas-based NAIA school last season, Ellis will join Guenther and Zgonina in his old stomping grounds. Zimmer is bringing the former Cowboys sack artist aboard as his assistant D-line coach, Hill adds.
Guenther, 52, coached alongside Zimmer with the Bengals and eventually succeeded him as Cincinnati’s DC under Marvin Lewis. Finishing his Cincy run with Zimmer as the team’s linebackers coach, Guenther linked up with his former boss in Minnesota in 2021; the Vikings brought him in as a senior defensive assistant during what turned out to be Zimmer’s final year running the show in the Twin Cities. Guenther, who served as the Raiders’ DC from 2018-20, has not been in the NFL since that Vikings one-off.
After a 17-year career as a D-lineman, Zgonina has been a regular assistant around the NFL. While Dan Quinn has poached multiple Cowboys assistants — including Joe Whitt as DC — Dallas will hire Zgonina after a Washington stay. Zgonina, 53, has worked with the Texans, Giants, 49ers and Commanders over the past 11 years. He served as D-line coach in San Francisco and Washington, holding that job on Ron Rivera‘s staff over the past two years. The Commanders effectively cut Zgonina’s legs out from under him at the trade deadline, moving Montez Sweat and Chase Young off the roster. Both contract-year players were off to strong starts before being dealt.
Ellis, 48, will make the most interesting move. He served as head coach at Southwestern Assemblies of God University from 2022-23, going 11-10 in that time. Ellis resigned his post in November; he previously served as head coach at another NAIA school (Texas College). Ellis has also devoted time to the theater since retiring from the NFL, directing multiple plays and founding a multimedia company. This will represent a key step for the former Cowboys defensive end, who spent most of his time in Dallas playing under Zimmer.
The Cowboys drafted Ellis eighth overall in 1998, and he became a regular starter for the next decade. The team gave Ellis a six-year extension in 2003; the North Carolina alum registered 77 sacks as a Cowboy from 1998-2008, making the Pro Bowl and earning Comeback Player of the Year acclaim in 2007. Ellis tallied a career-high 12.5 sacks that season.
Additionally, the Cowboys reached an agreement to retain wide receivers coach Robert Prince, Todd Archer of ESPN.com tweets. Prince has been with the Cowboys for the past two seasons, overseeing the development of CeeDee Lamb in the wake of the Amari Cooper trade.