{"id":56554,"date":"2025-06-17T03:32:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T03:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56554"},"modified":"2025-06-17T03:32:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T03:32:12","slug":"breaking-ex-cowboys-defensive-coordinator-mike-zimmer-scores-unexpected-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=56554","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Ex Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer Scores Unexpected Prize.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"m-detail-header--dek\">Months after stepping away from his post with the Dallas Cowboys, the team&#8217;s former defensive coordinator score a big win over the weekend when one of his horses reeled in a major cash prize after a victory at Churchill Downs.<\/div>\n<div class=\"m-detail-header--flexbox\">\n<div class=\"m-detail-header--meta\">\n<div class=\"m-description--list\">\n<p>FRISCO \u2014 Mike Zimmer&#8217;s second stint with the\u00a0Dallas Cowboys\u00a0lasted one brutal season. Zimmer&#8217;s schematic fit was a tough one from the start with the\u00a0Cowboys\u00a0but never really had the chance to blossom.<\/p>\n<p>Dallas&#8217; injury woes plagued the team on both sides of the ball last season but especially on the defensive side where they never had their full assortment of key contributors.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, both sides have moved on for the better. Zimmer himself may be on the way out from the game entirely with retirement on the horizon. However, the long-time\u00a0NFL\u00a0coach has other ventures lined up and is already enjoying those successes.<\/p>\n<p>Zimmer has gotten entrenched in the horse racing game and has owned Zimmer Ridge Ranch since 2013. Over Father&#8217;s Day weekend, one of his horses scored a big win in a race at the famous Churchill Downs.<\/p>\n<div class=\"m-detail--body-item m-detail--body-twitter-embed\">\n<figure class=\"m-embed mm-embed--twitter l-inline\">\n<div class=\"rna-container rh-ineligible\" data-embed-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChurchillDowns\/status\/1933992512718348357\" data-rhp=\"1\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1933992512718348357&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fathlonsports.com%2Fnfl%2Fdallas-cowboys%2Fdallas-cowboys-mike-zimmer-horse-racing-major-cash-prize-churchill-downs-offseason-news-update&amp;sessionId=fdc15f0d7a1499ed7b6a33c47a864f3e0e890fea&amp;siteScreenName=athlonsports&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1933992512718348357\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>His horse, Not This Boy, cruised to a dominant victory, winning by nearly seven lengths. The triumph came with a cash prize of $134,000. The vast majority of that figure traditionally goes to the owner.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a landmark moment for Zimmer in his second hobby, one coincidentally brought about by former Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells whom\u00a0he worked with\u00a0in Dallas from 2003 to 2006.<\/p>\n<p>Zimmer coached consistently in the NFL from 1994 through 2021. His first stint in Dallas lasted from that &#8217;94 season through 2006. From there he had two separate roles as a defensive coordinator with the\u00a0Atlanta Falcons\u00a0and\u00a0Cincinnati Bengals\u00a0before becoming the\u00a0Minnesota Vikings\u00a0head coach in 2014.<\/p>\n<p>While Zimmer may have not gotten the conclusion to his NFL career that he wanted, he can find comfort in finding this exciting hobby to focus his efforts on in this next stage of his life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Months after stepping away from his post with the Dallas Cowboys, the team&#8217;s former defensive coordinator score a big win over the weekend when one of his&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - 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