Cowboys hire a wave of defensive coaches for Mike Zimmer’s staff

The Cowboys are finalizing Mike Zimmer’s defensive staff.

It only took a few days after Mike Zimmer’s arrival, but the Dallas Cowboys are filling the vacated holes on their defensive coaching staff. Zimmer told the media during his press conference he needed to take time to meet with his staff and then evaluate. It looks like the evaluation process went faster then expected.

Jeff Zgonina – Defensive Line Coach

Aden Durde left to become the Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator, creating an opening for a new defensive line coach. Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post reports the Cowboys are hiring former Washington Commanders defensive line coach Jeff Zgonina.

Zgonina spent the previous four seasons with the Commanders under Ron Rivera and was elevated to coach the defensive front in 2022. He helped coach some of the better defensive linemen in the NFC with Chase Young, Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen, and Daron Payne of the Commanders.

Before his time in Washington, Zgonina was coaching the defensive front of the San Francisco 49ers, the New York Giants, and was an assistant for the Houston Texans after his playing days were over. He played 17 seasons as a defensive tackle on seven different teams. Zgonina brings a ton of playing/coaching experience to the Cowboys defensive line.

Greg Ellis – Assistant Defensive Line Coach

The Cowboys are bringing in a familiar face to help Zgonina coach the defensive line. Todd Archer notes Dallas will hire Greg Ellis as their assistant defensive line coach.

Ellis, a former first round pick of the Cowboys, played 12 years in the NFL, 11 of which came in Dallas. He spent almost his entire career around Mike Zimmer, so there’s familiarity between both men.

Ellis has been spending time coaching at the collegiate level with Texas College and Southwest Assemblies of God University. The Cowboys have had former players as assistant d-line coaches going back to Leon Lett during the Jason Garrett era.

Paul Guenther – Run Game Coordinator

Last but not least, the Cowboys hope another familiar hire will help solidify one of their biggest problems on defense—stopping the run. Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News says the team is set to hire Paul Guenther as the defense’s run game coordinator.

Guenther and Zimmer go way back to their time together in Cincinnati with the Bengals. The two worked together from 2008 to 2013 before Zimmer took the head coaching opportunity with the Minnesota Vikings in 2014.

Guenther worked as the defensive coordinator of the Bengals once Zimmer left until 2017 and then moved on to the Las Vegas Raiders as their defensive coordinator for three seasons. The two coaches reconnected in 2021 when Guenther was hired as a senior defensive assistant in Zimmer’s final year with Minnesota.