Dan Quinn is headed to Dallas.
Quinn, the former Atlanta Falcons head coach, was hired by the Cowboys to serve as the team’s next defensive coordinator. It will be a three-year deal, according to ESPN. Quinn will replace Mike Nolan, who spent one season on head coach Mike McCarthy’s staff.
It will almost certainly be an upgrade.
Quinn’s tenure as the head coach of the Falcons, the job he was fired from midway through the season, will be first to come to mind for Cowboys fans. And rightfully so. But it’s important to recognize Dallas is not bringing him in for that role.
Instead, the organization is hoping Quinn will be able to duplicate what he has accomplished while solely a defensive coordinator. It’s a good résumé in that regard. Quinn was the defensive coordinator of the Legion of Boom Seattle Seahawks during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Seattle finished first in both yards and points allowed during those two seasons and won one Super Bowl.
Quinn, however, has more DC experience where he didn’t have as much success. The 50-year-old Quinn had the defensive coordinator title with Atlanta in 2019 when the Falcons ranked 20th in yards allowed and 23rd in points allowed. But again, this time around Quinn won’t have the added stress of being head coach, so maybe he will be able to do what he did eight, nine years ago? That’s what owner Jerry Jones and Co. are hoping.
One question mark arises, however, when considering the Cowboys do not have pieces that resemble the Legion of Boom. Not many teams do. Cornerbacks Richard Sherman, Byron Maxwell and Brandon Browner, or safeties similar to Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor are not walking through the door at AT&T Stadium. Sherman and Thomas, as you may recall, were named first-team All-Pros in both 2013 and 2014 while Chancellor was a Pro Bowler both seasons.
The Cowboys are young in the secondary with 2020 second-rounder Trevon Diggs and second-year safety Donovan Wilson headlining the group. They also have the No. 10 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, which potentially could be used on a defensive back since three players — safety Xavier Woods, cornerbacks Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis — are set to become free agents.
Cowboys fans should be happy about one specific thing, though. Quinn was the best of the three options — Joe Whitt Jr., Jason Simmons and Quinn — who were in the running. Whitt Jr. was the Falcons passing coordinator, and was coming off a season when Atlanta allowed the most passing yards per game. Simmons served as the passing game coordinator of the Carolina Panthers. Carolina finished 18th in passing yards and points allowed per game. Both worked with McCarthy on the Packers’ coaching staff, but neither were deserving of the promotion.
Quinn’s return seems to depict the Cowboys will return to a 4-3 scheme. They did the same from 2013 to 2019 under Monte Kiffin, Rod Marinelli and fellow Legion of Boom assistant Kris Richard. The Cowboys finished in the top-10 in points allowed twice during that span and top-10 in yards allowed three times. It’s not exactly marks that resemble Seattle, but it’s quite the contrast to the 2020 Cowboys which allowed the most points in franchise history (473) and finished with the league’s 28th-ranked defense.
Quinn will serve as an upgrade to Nolan. He’s a Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator, and the Cowboys will be better off with him than they were last year.
