February 1 (UPI) — Dan Quinn, the Dallas Cowboys’ veteran defensive coordinator, will quit to become head coach of the NFC East division foe Washington Commanders, a league source informed UPI on Thursday.
Quinn, 53, has spent the previous three seasons as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator. This season, the Cowboys have allowed the sixth fewest yards and points. They finished seventh against the pass and sixteenth against the run.
Quinn will replace the gap created by previous Commanders coach Ron Rivera, who was sacked on January 8. Rivera guided the Commanders to a 26-40-1 record in four seasons.
The Cowboys defense was rated 12th in terms of fewest yards allowed in 2022 and 19th in 2021. They went 12-5 in each of the previous three seasons, but failed to move past the divisional round of the playoffs.
Quinn was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2015 to 2020. He finished 43-42 with the Falcons before being dismissed five games into the 2020 season, which began 0-5.
The Falcons finished 11-5 in 2016 and proceeded to Super Bowl LI. Quinn’s Falcons led 28-3 until late in the third quarter, when Tom Brady and the New England Patriots mounted the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.
The Commanders vacancy marked the end of this NFL head coaching hiring cycle, which began with eight jobs. The Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers, and Tennessee Titans have also expressed interest in Quinn.
The Commanders had previously indicated interest in Eric Bieniemy, Aaron Glenn, Ben Johnson, Mike Macdonald, Raheem Morris, Bobby Slowik, and Anthony Weaver.