On Tuesday, the Cincinnati Bengals re-signed defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer after finishing 2009 with one of the top defenses in football. While the amount is still unknown, his new three-year deal is expected to make him the highest paid assistant coach in team history. The deal also puts an end to all the rumors of the possibility of Zimmer leaving Cincinnati to sign with another team for money.
The Bengals scoring defense finished sixth in points allowed this season by allowing their opponents to average just18.6 points per game. Despite struggling to stop the New York Jets running game, their defense displayed one of the top defenses in the NFL at stopping the run. They allowed just 98.3 yards per game on the ground and only allowed three running backs—Jerome Harrison, Jamaal Charles, and Shonn Greene—to gain over a 100 yards rushing all season.
Zimmer joined the team in 2008 after spending one year as the defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons. Prior to that, he spent six seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. In just two years, he turned around a Bengals' defense that was near the bottom of the league in 2007 to fifth best overall in 2009.
Comments