Getty Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn
If an outside suitor wants Dan Quinn, they will need to pry the veteran defensive coordinator from the Dallas Cowboys‘ cold, dead grip.
That’s because, per Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer, Cowboys brass — namely owner/general manager Jerry Jones and executive vice president Stephen Jones — “love[s]” Quinn and could make an “aggressive” push to retain the 51-year-old beyond the upcoming playoff run.
“How badly do the Cowboys want to hang on to Dan Quinn? From what I can gather, the Joneses love their first-year defensive coordinator,” Breer reported on Monday, January 10. “And with teams sure to want to talk to him about their head coach openings the next few weeks, it’ll be interesting to see if Dallas gets aggressive in trying to find a way to keep Quinn around.”
Quinn has been a revelation in his first season with the Cowboys, spearheading the league’s seventh-ranked scoring defense and coaxing breakout campaigns from Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs and soon-to-be Defensive Rookie of the Year Micah Parsons.
Quinn, formerly the Falcons’ head man, even pinch-hit for Dallas HC Mike McCarthy in 2021, assuming interim duties during McCarthy’s early December bout with COVID-19. Quinn guided the club to a 27-17 victory over the New Orleans Saints, embedding himself in franchise lore.
“With the win, I told him he’s right there with Tom Landry,” Jerry Jones said after that game, via Jori Epstein of USA Today. “He now can say he’s head coached the Cowboys.”
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Quinn Receives Interview Query from Denver
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Monday, January 10 that the Denver Broncos have requested an interview with Quinn for their head-coaching vacancy following Sunday’s firing of Vic Fangio. This is the second such request for Quinn, who last month rebuffed interest from the Jacksonville Jaguars.
That Denver is pouncing on the opportunity to meet (even if remotely) comes as no surprise; recent reports have pegged Quinn as a frontrunner to succeed Fangio given his past ties to GM George Paton.
“Dan Quinn — who worked with [Broncos general manager] George Paton years ago in Miami, so they have a relationship working together — is the name that right now is being bandied about as a potential replacement for Fangio if Fangio is in fact fired at the end of the season,” Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline said on December 30.
“Quinn, who reached the Super Bowl as head coach of the Falcons, has done great work in his first season running the Cowboys defense, and his demeanor and personality would be a significant change from Fangio, who is more gruff and old-school,” CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora wrote on January 8. “Quinn’s style of communication is quite different, and he is expected to garner heavy interest in a multitude of searches.”
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Broncos Also Targeting Moore
In addition to Quinn, the Broncos put in for an interview with Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, 9News’ Mike Klis reported Monday, January 10. The meeting will not take place until next week as Dallas readies to face the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card round of the NFC playoffs.
Moore, 33, held a virtual interview with the Jaguars last Friday from the team hotel in Philadelphia, ahead of the regular-season finale against the Eagles. It’s unclear as of this writing whether Dallas grants the Broncos’ request nor if Moore accepts, though beat reporter Michael Gehlken considers Quinn the “clubhouse leader” to land in the Mile High City.
Broncos requested interviews with Cowboys DC Dan Quinn and Cowboys OC Kellen Moore for head coach position, source said. Quinn the “clubhouse leader” entering interview process, given his past HC experience, relationship with GM George Paton and ability to galvanize locker room.
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Cowboys Could Make ‘Aggressive’ Move with DC Dan Quinn: Report