<p>Only one day after he was introduced as the Atlanta Falcons head coach, Bobby Petrino reached agreements with his offensive and defensive coordinators on Tuesday.</p><p>Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer will head Petrino's defense and Hue Jackson will leave the Cincinnati Bengals staff to become the Falcons' offensive coordinator, a league official confirmed on Tuesday night.</p><p>The Dallas Morning News and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the agreement between Petrino and Zimmer Tuesday.</p><p>Petrino said Monday he wants the Falcons to run a 4-3 defense.</p><p>"One of my critical hires will be my defensive coordinator," Petrino said Monday. "It's certainly going to be very important to me. I want to be able to play the game very aggressive and be able to come after the quarterback. Obviously, you have to stop the run first."</p><p>The Atlanta paper also reported the Falcons' talks with Jackson, who was the Bengals' receivers coach.</p><p>Petrino plans to call the plays during games, but Jackson is expected to run the offense in practice and help coordinate the offensive game plans.</p><p>Jackson, 45, has been with the Bengals for three years. He was the Washington Redskins' running backs coach in 2001-02 and the team's offensive coordinator in 2003.</p><p>Jackson was a college assistant for 14 years, including work as Southern California's offensive coordinator from 1997-2000.</p><p>Zimmer will replace Ed Donatell, who served as defensive coordinator under Jim Mora. Jackson will replace Mora's offensive coordinator, Greg Knapp.</p><p>Petrino plans to retain two assistants from Mora's staff, quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave and running backs coach Ollie Wilson, according to the Atlanta paper.</p><p>Zimmer, 50, has worked with the Cowboys for 13 seasons and took over as defensive coordinator in 2000. He has agreed to a two-year contract, according to the Dallas paper. His contract with the Cowboys was expected to expire this offseason, and his future in Dallas was uncertain with coach Bill Parcells' status unknown.</p><p>Zimmer worked with Petrino at Weber State in 1987 and 1988. Zimmer's Dallas defense led the NFL in 2003.</p><p>Petrino said he hopes to hire a blend of veteran NFL assistant coaches and young assistants from his Louisville staff.</p><p>Petrino's brother, Paul Petrino, who was Louisville's offensive coordinator, is an obvious candidate for the Atlanta staff. Another possibility is Louisville co-defensive coordinator Mike Cassity.</p>
