The Dallas Cowboys‘ defensive coordinator has been compared to Bill Belichick after announcing his engagement to Katarina Elizabeth Miketin, a model who is 25 years younger than him.
Mike Zimmer, who is 68, and Miketin have been reportedly dating since 2020 but news of their intent to marry came on New Years’ Day when she posed for a photo holding a large cutout of a diamond ring with sparkles in the background.
The relationship between the NFL coach and his now fiancee, who is aged 40, has largely flown under the radar compared to Belichick, who is dating Jordan Hudson despite being 72 and her 24.
Now in the NCAA with the North Carolina Tar Heels, the ex-New England Patriot drew criticism concerning the ethics of their relationship and now that’s a challenge Zimmer must defend himself from, as fans called out the age difference.
One user wrote via X.com, formerly Twitter, “a little young… lmao.”
A second added, “Bill Belichick route.”
And a third commented, “You can do anything with money I guess nowadays.”
Further comments hinted Miketin is only with the defensive coordinator, who works under Mike McCarthy, for his four-million dollar annual salary.
Some of the comments felt the 40-year-old woman is far too young for Zimmer, and it appears as though some people have misjudged the age of the model who could probably pass for being 30 in the engagement photo.
Zimmer is on a one-year deal with the Cowboys as their defensive coordinator and seems to know he isn’t returning to the AT&T Stadium next season.
The 68-year-old reflected on the tough campaign that saw the NFC East earn a 7-9 record and allowed 445 points, but interestingly only used past tense when it came to talking about fixing the problems.
“I wish that when I came in that I would have done everything the way I wanted it done,” Zimmer said, as per TotalProSports. “Not kind of tried to blend things. I think that was a part of the struggles at the beginning.
“I’ve said it to some of the coaches. You come in and here was the situation: They were good last year, right? So I come in and I don’t really want to rock the boat. I probably wasn’t as though as I typically am, probably wasn’t as hard-headed about how I want to do things.”
