Despite turning 54 years old later this week, Jeff Zgonina looks like he could still throw on pads and ring up a sack or two in the NFL. The 6-foot-3-inch 300-pounder cut an imposing figure when he stopped for a quick Q&A with reporters at The Star recently, but the Cowboys’ new hulking assistant defensive line coach does more than just look the part.
While defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s fiery temper has been a topic of much conversation since his hiring this offseason, it’s clear Zgonina will bring plenty of edge, too.
He freely admitted that his reputation over his previous eight seasons as a coach- he’s now on his fifth team- has been that of “a raging lunatic.”
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And although he’s been on staff for just three quiet months in Dallas, Zgonina says he’s already had cause to bark at multiple players.
“Yes. Every day,” he said. “Every five minutes, if not more. And they’ve been warned.”
When asked what bothers him the most, Zgonina snapped back like the question itself was utterly ridiculous and the answer couldn’t be more obvious.
“Everything.”
As Zgonina and the coaching staff look to instill a bit more of that combative fire into a Cowboys defense that perhaps relied too much on speed and finesse and was subsequently pushed around more than once last season, he knows that a big chunk of his first-year job performance will be based on the progression of 2023 first-round draft pick Mazi Smith.
The onetime seventh-round pick who enjoyed a 17-year NFL career and won a Super Bowl ring as a Ram isn’t overly concerned about Smith’s development under the new defensive regime in Dallas.
“Once we get him on the field, I think he’ll be a lot more comfortable in Coach Zim’s defense than previously,” Zgonina explained. “I think this aligns more with his build and what he’s known to do.”
That means getting Smith fully rehabbed from offseason shoulder surgery and getting him back up to a respectable playing weight for a nose tackle. The rest, Zgonina says, will come from letting him simply do his job.
“I think he’s going to be able to play blocks more than just getting upfield,” he continued. “I think it suits him better. Instead of just running upfield, he’s going to play blocks. He’s going to grind blocks and double teams and all that stuff, especially in the run game.”
Cowboys coaches will get their first opportunity to see that this summer in training camp. And while…
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