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Cowboys fall short of big accolades at NFL Honors……

Published

11 months ago

February 9, 2024

Cowboys fall short on major awards at NFL Honors

LAS VEGAS – The Cowboys were well represented at NFL Honors on Thursday, with several players up for awards as finalists.

But for the most part, the team came up empty with the big awards, including NFL MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year.

The only win for the Cowboys on Thursday went to CeeDee Lamb, who was awarded the NextGen Stats Moment of the Year for his 92-yard touchdown catch from Dak Prescott against the Lions.

Dak Prescott was a finalist for MVP and OPOY. He finished second for MVP, which went to Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson. Christian McCaffrey won Offensive Player of the Year, as CeeDee Lamb finished third and Dak was fifth.

The Cowboys also had two finalists on the defensive side of the ball. Micah Parsons finished third for Defensive Player of the Year and DaRon Bland was fifth, although he received a first-place vote. Cleveland’s Myles Garrett won the award.

Prescott was also a finalist for the FedEx Air Player of the Year, but the award went to San Francisco’s Brock Purdy.

Also, former safety Darren Woodson, one of 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024, was denied for the second straight year. Woodson was not one of the seven modern-day inductees.

Cowboys expected to hire Mike Zimmer as defensive coordinator

Zimmer replaces Dan Quinn, who left following the 2023 season to become the head coach of the Washington Commanders.

The Dallas Cowboys are expected to hire former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer as their defensive coordinator.

DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys are expected to hire former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer as their defensive coordinator, people with knowledge of the situation told The Dallas Morning News on Thursday.

Zimmer replaces Dan Quinn, who left following the 2023 season to become the head coach of the Washington Commanders. Before settling on Zimmer, the Cowboys also looked at former head coach/coordinators such as Ron Rivera and Rex Ryan as possible replacements.

Under Quinn, the Cowboys produced Pro Bowl players such as Micah Parsons (edge), DeMarcus Lawrence (defensive end), Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland (cornerbacks). In two of his three seasons as defensive coordinator, the Cowboys led the NFL in takeaways.

CARLOS GONZALEZ, STAR TRIBUNE

The Dallas Cowboys are expected to hire former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer as their defensive coordinator.

However, the Cowboys are coming off a playoff loss in which Packers running back Aaron Jones had 21 carries for 118 yards and three touchdowns. The Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 and Buffalo Bills in Week 14 each surpassed 200 rushing yards in Dallas losses.

This is Zimmer’s second stint with the Cowboys. He spent 13 years with the organization, working as a defensive assistant (1994), defensive backs coach (1995-99) and eventually defensive coordinator (2000-06). Zimmer’s best defenses finished No. 4 in 2001 and No. 1 in 2003. Zimmer was the defensive backs coach on the Cowboys’ last Super Bowl team after 1995 season.

After leaving the Cowboys, he became a defensive coordinator with Atlanta and Cincinnati. He was named head coach in Minnesota in 2014. In eight seasons, the Vikings went 72-56-1 overall and 2-3 in postseason appearances under Zimmer.

During his time as head coach, Zimmer, 67, battled through surgeries to both eyes because of a detached retina and cataracts.

He’s spent the last two seasons helping former players as a consultant. Most recently, he worked with former Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders, who is the head coach at the University of Colorado.

Zimmer has dealt with personal tragedy in his time away from the sport. His son, Adam, died in November 2022. Adam Zimmer, 38, was an NFL assistant coach for 17 years.

The Cowboys also had interest in Cowboys defensive line coach Aden Durde, who was interviewed by three teams for vacant coordinator positions, and Jets safeties coach Marquand Manuel.