'Too Buddy-Buddy?' Coach Dave Campo Criticizes Dan Quinn vs. Mike Zimmer
One difference between newly-hired Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and the man he's replacing, Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn, could not be more apparent - not necessarily in their defensive philosophy, but rather in their personalities and their reputations regarding how they interact with their players.
Zimmer, who was head coach of the Minnesota Vikings from 2014-2021, is famously a disciplinarian who's not afraid to criticize his players. On the other hand, Quinn, who served as the Cowboys' defensive coordinator for the past three seasons, seems much "warmer'' with his players, which is evident in the way they've praised him since his departure.
There's obviously nothing wrong with a coach being close with his players, but getting too close could have some negative repercussions. According to former Cowboys head coach Dave Campo, who coached the team from 2000-2002, Quinn may have fallen victim to this exact trap.
“From a culture standpoint … I’ll just say one thing this way. I know Dan Quinn very well. I was not in the office, in the building, I’m here in Jacksonville so I saw a bunch of the games," Campo said. "I’m going a little bit on some hearsay. But I think the one thing about Dan is he’s a fine gentlemen and he’s smart and his scheme was OK, but he was a little bit too buddy-buddy I think with the players and that’s part of it.
"You can’t have a lot of accountability if you don’t stand a little bit above it of the people that you’re trying to get to be accountable.”
There's no question that Quinn was close with his players, but it feels like somewhat of a stretch here, in this sense: "Too close'' actually worked here, as Quinn's coaching produced overall terrific success in Dallas during his eight-year stretch. Meanwhile, "too grouchy'' - the word Zimmer playfully used to describe his personality - was celebrated in Minnesota ...
Until is wasn't. And when Zimmer was fired there, his critics surely yelped that maybe he should've been "warmer'' ... if not "buddy-buddy.''
The point is, it's common for criticism to come out about a coach after his tenure has ended, which is surely the case here. By the way, the coach we remember Campo to be while in Dallas? He leaned toward the "warmer'' side, no doubt.
If the Cowboys did indeed feel that Quinn was "too buddy-buddy'' with his players, though, then they made sure to avoid that by going in the by-reputation complete opposite direction with Zimmer. ... except for this: As Zimmer himself said, why, if he's such a "jerk,'' is he receiving so many congratulatory phone calls from players on this move - for all we know the same number of congratulatory calls Quinn is getting on his?
