Leaders intend to recruit Cowboys DC As the new head coach, Dan Quinn

The NFC East isn’t even necessary for the 2021 Assistant Coach of the Year to ascend back up the ladder to a location he is comfortable with.

Dan Quinn is expected to become the next head coach of the Washington Commanders, according to sources cited by NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.

Quinn, 53, is leaving Dallas, where he had been a highly regarded defensive specialist for the previous three seasons. He had led the Cowboys to two top-12 total defense finishes (including a fifth-place showing in 2023) and garnered a lot of interest from head coaches. He opted to return to Dallas and work under Mike McCarthy for a third season a year ago, withdrawing from all searches. On this occasion, the erstwhile NFCThe Falcons’ championship-winning head coach is seizing the chance while it’s still there.

Quinn’s selection by Washington makes it the second time in a row that the team selected a defensive-minded candidate with head coaching experience for the position. The first was former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera, who was sacked in D.C. following a 4-13 record in 2023. Before being let go before the 2020 season, Quinn led Atlanta for more than five seasons.

Though Washington finished dead last in total defense in 2023—a season in which they surrendered not one, but both of their young edge rushers at the deadline—this hiring aims to rectify the Commanders’ obvious defensive shortcomings.

During the 2023 season, Rivera fired defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio due to the Commanders’ well-documented troubles, leaving the coachto assume control of the play-calling. However, the outcomes didn’t really lead to an improvement, so Washington is hopeful that Quinn’s hiring will provide the much-needed results.

Quinn will be in charge of a Commanders squad that is in dire need of a reliable quarterback. Sam Howell, a second-year passer, had a dismal 2023 season, which made many question if he would stay on the squad. With the second overall pick, they will have a great chance to choose one of the best quarterbacks available in the 2024 class, should they so choose.

In Washington, where new owner Josh Harris has finished his first head coach hiring process, there is still much work to be done. If everything goes as planned, he won’t have to do it for a while.