There are nine Cowboys who could go to Washington with Dan Quinn in the next two years.
It seems likely that a lot of Cowboys defenders had a great time when Dan Quinn was in charge. He went to the Super Bowl as coach of Atlanta, even though they didn’t have a great defense, during that time.
People often say that his best quality is his ability to inspire and lead. This is coming from someone who has been the defensive coordinator for three consecutive top-five defenses in Dallas and two back-to-back No. 1 defenses in Seattle.
With an unknown quarterback coming in and a lot of cap space, it makes sense that Washington will be a very interesting place for Quinn’s fans to move to.
Not all of them can join him this year; some have to wait until the end of their contracts in a year. There are a lot of free agents from the Cowboys over the next two years who could follow Quinn to the big city.
Dan Quinn, the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, will be the next coach of the Washington Commanders, according to sources who spoke to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Early on in the process, they also talked to Eric Bieniemy, who is the offensive coordinator for Washington.
Ron Rivera was fired by the team’s new owner, Josh Harris, the day after the regular season ended. Quinn takes his place.
Adam Peters was hired as general manager by the Commanders on January 12. Harris officially bought the football team in July, and these hires are his first big ones on the football side.
Washington had also talked to Mike Macdonald, who later became the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, Aaron Glenn, who is the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions, Anthony Weaver, who is the associate head coach for the Baltimore Ravens defensive line, and Bobby Slowik, who is the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans.
They wanted to talk to Ben Johnson, who is the offensive coordinator for the Lions, but he told them on the way to Detroit that he was uncomfortable leaving the Lions.
Last month, Adam Peters, Washington’s new boss, told the press that the team was looking for a coach with “leadership, great communication, and being able to be honest, direct, and upfront.”
The length of Quinn’s contract is still unknown. Most deals last for five years, but some coaches have been given six years.
Washington saw him as a top candidate, but sources said Quinn was also a strong candidate throughout the process.
Quinn, who is 53 years old, has been Dallas’ defensive coordinator for the last three years. The Cowboys were fifth in points scored and eighth in yards gained. 93 forced turnovers were the most in the NFL during Quinn’s time in charge.
Last month, Dallas linebacker Micah Parsons told reporters, “That guy is like my OG. He means a lot to me, and it’s not just about football.”
“He knows how to make you love the game.” He doesn’t just play with me; he’s more like a friend.
We’re not afraid to have tough talks, whether we’re father and son or player and coach. He’s constantly there for me when I need him. “Dan is my guy.”
Rivera could take over for Quinn in Dallas because sources told ESPN that the Cowboys will meet via the former Commanders coach.
Joe Whitt Jr., who has worked with Mike McCarthy for a long time and is now the Cowboys’ passing attack coordinator, is the best candidate from within the team.
The Cowboys’ defensive lineman coach Aden Durde and secondary coach Al Harris are two other possible candidates. Dude worked for Quinn for six years as a coach in Atlanta and Dallas.
Quinn was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2015 to 2020. After the 2016 season, he led the Falcons to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Patriots from New England in overtime after being ahead 28-3.
In the two seasons before he came, Atlanta won a total of 10 games. In Quinn’s first three years as coach, the Falcons went 29-19.
“He is by far a few of my favorite lead coaches,” said Chris Chester, a guard who used to play for Atlanta and Washington and played for Quinn for two seasons. He was in the NFL for 11 years.
“His energy was always there… My job changed because of that. Before that, it was more like regular coaching, and the building looked heavy when it was bad.
We flushed bad games and moved on when Quinn was in charge. It’s not like the building was in a fog or gray cloud.
But Atlanta went 14–23 in his last two and a half seasons. He went 43–42 overall and 3-2 in the playoffs. One source said Whitt is likely to also be interested in the job in Washington.
According to Logan Paulsen, a former Washington tight end who now works as an analyst for the team, “The place I enjoyed working the most was probably Atlanta with Dan Quinn.”
Over 10 years, he played for five teams, including the Falcons for one season. This is what Paulsen said because he thought Quinn was “great” at getting people to work together and was in line with his vision.
Before coming to Atlanta, Quinn was in charge of the defense for two years with the Seattle Seahawks. Over there, his defenses were the best at stopping points and yards every season.