Cowboys' Jourdan Lewis Tweets Disbelief Dan Quinn Made NFC Title Game with Commanders

What head coach Dan Quinn has achieved with the Washington Commanders this year hasn't been lost on at least one prominent player from his last stop.

The Commanders upset the Detroit Lions 45-31 on Saturday to advance to the NFC title game. That prompted Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis to marvel at Quinn's work after leaving Dallas:

Quinn was the Cowboys defensive coordinator for three seasons before leaving for Washington last offseason. The Commanders' 12-5 record and playoff run is leading many to ponder what could've been if Dallas had fired Mike McCarthy and promoted Quinn from DC.

Those fans also see the contrast between the Cowboys' and Commanders' fortunes in 2024 as reflective of wider issues for Dallas:

Even when the team seemingly does something right, in this case moving on from McCarthy, owner Jerry Jones still somehow comes out looking ill-prepared at best and inept at worse.

The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported on her Scoop City podcast (via RJ Ochoa of Blogging the Boys) that Jones was expecting McCarthy to sign a new contract. The Cowboys "did not have a plan in place" for the event he left.

Jane Slater of NFL Network added that Jones had thrown around the idea of retaining McCarthy with the long-term goal of anointing former tight end Jason Witten as the "heir apparent of sorts."

It's hard to call McCarthy's tenure in Dallas a success. One postseason victory in five years doesn't cut it for a franchise and fanbase that have such high expectations every season. But coaching was far from the only problem and arguably not the biggest for the Cowboys.

Maybe giving Quinn the reins would've been a better choice instead of making McCarthy a lame duck heading into the 2024 campaign. But Quinn also would've had to navigate through the same organizational morass and work with the same roster that McCarthy did.

When the buck ultimately stops with Jones, the coach can only do so much to paper over the cracks.