Why Commanders’ fans aren’t excited by Dan Quinn.
Dan Quinn, the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, is a finalist to lead the Washington Commanders as their head coach in the future. The final Dallas coordinator to take the helm as head coach of Washington in 1994 was Norv Turner.
Quinn had just concluded his second interview with the Commanders when Ben Johnson withdrew his name from consideration for the coaching position in Washington on Tuesday. All of a sudden, it seemed as though Quinn was a legitimate candidate for the position.
Quinn has spent the last three seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Cowboys. He spent six seasons as the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach prior to that. His tenure as defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks in 2013–14 paved the way for his one and only head coaching position in Atlanta.
Quinn made the Dallas defense better. Gamers adore him. Micah Parsons joked that he would follow Quinn around. Unfortunately, that isn’t feasible for Washington.
However, as we’ve discovered over the past week, Quinn isn’t a favorite among Washington supporters.
Why? He is not Johnson, to start. The 2013 coaching staff graphic, which includes four current head coaches—including one Super Bowl winner (Sean McVay) and another who has appeared in multiple Super Bowls (Kyle Shanahan)—has left Commanders’ fans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Four of the assistants on the 2013 Washington coaching staff are now NFL head coaches, and the team that made the playoffs this year was led by DB coach Raheem Morris, who was recently hired by the Falcons over Bill Belichick. The group’s record was 3-13. tweet.com/Trmgnr92yR
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) January 25, 2024
Second, an offensive coach is what Washington supporters desire. Is it fair to blame them? Fans hope the Commanders select a quarterback with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL draft and that the quarterback and new head coach will play together in the same system for many years.
Thirdly, the addition of another former Dallas coordinator hasn’t exactly thrilled Commanders supporters. Whether it was a good or bad performance in a crushing loss to the Packers in the NFC wild-card round, that was Quinn and the Cowboys’ last memory.
The word that fans use most frequently to describe Quinn is retread. That isn’t totally accurate. Quinn makes a fantastic coach. GM Adam Peters emphasized that Quinn’s leadership qualities among men were crucial in his choice of the team’s next head coach.
Quinn’s work in Dallas over the last three seasons has been exceptional. Here is where the Cowboys finished in terms of total defensive DVOA using the FTN DVOA metric:
