Cowboys Rumors: Ex-Falcons HC Dan Quinn Favored to Replace Mike Nolan as DC

Former Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn may not be out of a job for long.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter and Todd Archer, Quinn, who was fired after an 0-5 start to the 2020 campaign, "is the favorite to become the Dallas Cowboys' next defensive coordinator."

Quinn is on his way to Dallas for his first interview for the position that is vacant after the Cowboys fired Mike Nolan.

Quinn went 43-42 with the Falcons and led them to the Super Bowl during the 2016 season, but his tenure was trending in the wrong direction when he was fired. After going 29-19 in his first three seasons, the Falcons went 7-9 in both 2018 and 2019 prior to their abysmal start this year.

Still, Quinn has quite the track record when it comes to defense.

He was the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks during the 2013 and 2014 seasons when they led the league in both yards allowed and points allowed. Seattle made the Super Bowl both seasons, winning one.

Those defenses had players such as Kam Chancellor, Bobby Wagner, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman. Dallas' defense is largely missing those type of impact names, which is one reason it finished 23rd in the league in yards allowed and 28th in points allowed.

The result was a 6-10 record in head coach Mike McCarthy's first year at the helm.

Schefter and Archer explained hiring Quinn "would be a signal of a return to the scheme the Cowboys employed from 2013 to '19 under Monte Kiffin, Rod Marinelli and Kris Richard."

Quinn used a 4-3 scheme with a single-high safety during his time with Seattle, which resulted in plenty of success.

If he can use that design to turn around the Cowboys defense in 2021, they could return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2018 campaign.