Getty Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones walks onto the field before an NFL game.
The Dallas Cowboys would be wise to keep an eye on the unfolding situation with the Carolina Panthers. If the Panthers opt to move on from head coach Matt Rhule, Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn could be at the top of the team’s list of possible candidates, per Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson.
“I’m expecting, and many others around the league expect Tepper to go with a proven head coach with significant NFL experience,” a league source told Wilson for a September 30 feature. “That would mean looking at Sean Payton or a Dan Quinn. Tepper has been patient, but patience only stretches so far. At some point, you have to win, and they haven’t won nearly enough games.
“Of course, it doesn’t help the situation that Baker Mayfield hasn’t played very well. Rhule is in a tough spot and I don’t see how he can fix the situation. It feels pretty inevitable from everything I’m hearing that he’ll eventually be fired.”
Quinn: ‘I’m Having a Blast Here’
The good news for the Cowboys is that Quinn spent six seasons as the Falcons head coach and has shown a willingness to be patient for the right opportunity before taking over again as the lead man. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hinted that Quinn turned down head coaching offers last offseason, with plenty of speculation that one of these teams was the Giants.
It remains to be seen whether the Panthers would be enticing enough for Quinn to once again take a head coaching gig. Quinn declined to get into the specifics of whether he received a sizable raise to return as the Cowboys defensive coordinator.
“I think the first rule of fight club is you never talk about fight club,” Quinn joked during an August 3 press conference. “I would say like unless my Jersey roots have changed, we don’t talk about contracts.
“But honestly, I’m having a blast here, I really am and I’m enjoying the whole process of what we’re doing. And I just want to provide value to Mike [McCarthy] first and to the defense. Every once in a while you find where your feet are, and you’re in a good space and you feel it. That’s really how I felt here.”
Jones: ‘I Would Consider [Quinn] If I Didn’t Have a Coach’
During the offseason, Jones created a stir by admitting he would consider Quinn as a head coach “if I didn’t have a coach.” Jones added that head coach Mike McCarthy played a critical role in Quinn’s return to Dallas despite plenty of interest from other teams.
“Well, he’s certainly qualified,” Jones explained during a February 2 Senior Bowl media session. “He’s very qualified. Yes, I would consider [Quinn] if I didn’t have a coach, I would have been interviewing him for [the head] coach. …Now when you say that, make sure that, not that I said it, but that the facts are nobody worked harder to keep Dan here than Mike. It was the plan.
“…I wanted ’em [interested teams] to be thinking about that they were talking to a guy that could be head coach of the Cowboys. Could be. …Mike knows that someday somebody will be coaching the Cowboys other than him. He knows that.”