FRISCO — The question wasn’t framed to be about the entire team. Instead, it was specifically directed to new Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Linval Joseph.
How do you measure success as a defensive tackle?
Joseph, hardwired through 14 years of experience, turned away from the personal and toward the collective.
“Everybody has success, and once somebody else does their job, it leads to somebody else making plays too,” Joseph said. “So being a d-tackle in this system, you have to be selfless. If you’re selfish, it won’t work for you. You just have to be able to give it your all, help others, and let plays come to you.”
It may not have been Joseph’s intention, but his answer could’ve also served as a reminder to his fellow defenders about what it takes to succeed on defense — and specifically under this defensive coach.
New — and former — Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer came to Dallas with the reputation of a fiery coach. A coach you didn’t want to cross. A coach who would keep things in line. Former players under Zimmer echoed that/
“I cannot wait to give him a big hug,” Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith said at the Super Bowl about Zimmer, “because I think we need some of that old school tradition brought back into the mix.”
Externally, Zimmer — now 68 years old — hasn’t looked like the loud, drill sergeant that his reputation may have suggested. He’s soft spoken in interviews. He even bonded with star linebacker Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs over breakfast in Oxnard.
Joseph, 35, may be one of the best perspectives on Zimmer. Joseph was a big free agent signing by the Minnesota Vikings in Zimmer’s first off=season as their head coach. The two spent the next six seasons together, establishing one of the best, and most consistent, defenses the league had to offer at that time.
It helps explain why Joseph deflected toward the collective defense when asked about what it would take for personal success.
The response prompted a follow-up question: what does it take to be a successful defensive tackle for Zimmer, in particular?
“Just learning and picking it up early and minimizing your mistakes,” Joseph said. “Zimmer don’t like mistakes. I learned that. So, yeah, pick it up quick.”
A warning from a veteran who’s seen it — with further context that followed.
“He just holds everybody accountable,” Joseph said. “Not just me: himself, everybody. Once everybody can be locked in on the same level and do their job, good things happen.”
It also doesn’t take a master degree’s worth of college experience under Zimmer to see that.
Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown has been in a lot of different defenses since the start of his college career. He said he multiple defensive coordinators in college. He’s now had two different ones in the NFL.
“Defense is going to be defense,” Overshown said. “You know, you’re probably going to change the name of calls and stuff, but schematically, each coach is going to have their thing.”
Simply put. The same, according to Overshown, can be said for playing defense under Zimmer, specifically.
“Just do what he says and you’re gonna be all right,” Overshown said. “He breaks it down. It’s simple. He corrects you on stuff that you already know. It’s really easy to thrive in his defense with the type of coach he is. He likes everything done a certain way. There’s no gray area. It’s black and white. You do what he says and you’re going to be perfect.”
That’s the measure of success under a Zimmer defense.
