The Washington Commanders‘ season isn’t over, but this version of the franchise may already be a dead iteration walking.
Such was the opinion of ESPN’s Ben Solak, who wrote on Tuesday, October 13 that while head coach Dan Quinn probably shouldn’t lose his job solely because of a tipping-point moment against the New York Giants in a Week 5 overtime tie that was mostly QB Jayden Daniels‘ fault — he’s probably going to lose it anyway.
“Quinn should not lose his job because Daniels short-circuited on a play he didn’t fully understand. But you can’t really come back from this,” Solak wrote. “It’s Quinn’s third season as the head coach in Washington, and all the magic of Daniels’ rookie year and that deep 2024 playoff run is forgotten.
“If Washington can’t beat this version of the Giants — up by 14, in the rain, facing a backup quarterback and with a hand-delivered victory at the end of overtime — it’s hard to imagine it’ll beat enough teams to justify keeping the staff,” Solak continued. “Remember, Quinn made two coordinator changes last offseason. He’s all out of cards to play to keep his seat for another year if things don’t change very quickly.”
Micah Parsons Lit Up Jayden Daniels Over QB’s Failing of Commanders, Dan Quinn
Green Bay Packers injured edge-rusher Micah Parsons agreed with Solak Tuesday, and actually took it further.
Parsons is an acolyte of Quinn’s given all his success across three years (2021-23) when Quinn was Parson’s defensive coordinator with the Dallas Cowboys.
“Jayden Daniels probably cost my man Dan Quinn his job, to be honest with you,” Parsons said on his podcast. “And, like, I’m a big Jayden Daniels fan. But the reality is, he probably cost a lot of people their jobs this past weekend.”
Parsons went on to say that he, a defensive player, wouldn’t have been capable of making the same time-management mistake Daniels did by extending a play late in overtime with zero timeouts, then failing to spike the football in time to try a makable game-winning field goal against the Giants.
“I know what to do in those situations. There’s no way I’m taking a sack with 14 seconds left and no timeouts,” Parsons added. “Mind you, it’d be different if Jayden Daniels was a rookie. This is your third year.”
Commanders’ Dan Quinn in 8th Season as NFL Head Coach
Quinn is now 18-20-1 across his two-plus seasons as the Commanders head coach.
However, he led the franchise to a 12-5 record in his first campaign with a rookie QB in Daniels under center. They played their way to the NFC Championship game that postseason, but have gone 6-15-1 in the 22 contests since without a return to the playoffs.
Quinn, 56, was also the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons for five-plus seasons between 2015-20. He was 43-42 in that role and led the team to a Super Bowl appearance following the 2016 campaign, where they collapsed in the second half and lost the title to the New England Patriots after taking a 28-3 lead in the middle of the third quarter.
All told, Quinn has a record of 61-62-1 as the lead man on an NFL coaching staff. He has also served as a defensive coordinator for five years, two with the Seattle Seahawks (2103-14) and three with the Cowboys (2021-23).
Commanders Expected to Soon Make Big Changes Atop Franchise