Account
Cowboys Rumors: DC Dan Quinn Withdraws from HC Consideration to Stay with Dallas
January 27, 2022
Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is staying put.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported Quinn withdrew his name from consideration for head-coaching vacancies Thursday and will return to Dallas in 2022. Six teams requested interviews with the former Atlanta Falcons coach, who was responsible for the Cowboys' 180-degree defensive turnaround this season.
Dallas finished the regular season with an NFL-high 34 defensive takeaways. Eleven of those came on Trevon Diggs interceptions, with the second-year cornerback emerging as a first-team All-Pro. The Cowboys also hit a home run with Defensive Rookie of the Year favorite Micah Parsons, who moved all over the field in Quinn's defense.
While Quinn's work in revamping the Dallas defense made him a hot name in coaching circles, it's fair to wonder whether he'll have the same cachet a year from now. Forced turnovers tend to be a high-variable statistic year-over-year, and a regression to the mean with takeaways could hurt a defense that ranked in the middle of the pack in yards against.
The Falcons went 43-42 in Quinn's six seasons as Falcons coach, and few teams were beating down his door a year ago for head-coaching jobs. It's possible Dallas will make a deep run to the playoffs in 2022 and Quinn stays in the must-hire category, but teams may look at his resume with more scrutiny if the defense regresses.
