A deep dive into Dan Quinn, Part I: Why he was one of the most respected DCs in the game

Shall we fire him completely or promote him to head coach next?

It may surprise you to learn that fans’ opinions of Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn span this spectrum.

Everyone has an opinion about who in Big D should take the most blame,

and Quinn seems to be on many people’s lists. However,

we wanted to carefully examine all of the available data before throwing in the towel on another coach.

Quinn initially caught everyone’s interest with his amazing work with the Seattle Seahawks.

Gus Bradley, the defensive coordinator who later became the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars,

was replaced by him. A number of youthful,

athletic defensive backs who gained notoriety as the Legion of Boom due to their physicality were part of Quinn’s gifted defense.

Quinn achieved something amazing,

even if the stage was already set for him in Seattle.

The Seahawks have a fierce defense. Over his two seasons in Seattle,

the defense gave up the fewest points per game on average. And in 2013,

they produced the most turnovers, gave up the fewest yards,

and gave up the fewest points in the league—a record that had only been accomplished once before,

by the Chicago Bears, who won the Super Bowl in 1985.

Speaking of Super Bowls, Quinn’s two seasons with the Seahawks included trips to the game,

which they won once, 43-8, against the Denver Broncos,

who had a record-setting high scoring offense led by Peyton Manning.

Quinn received an offer to become head coach of Atlanta’s team the next season after dominating in Seattle. However, he did not inherit a strong defensive group like he had in Seattle.

Falcons were coming off two straight seasons in which their defense allowed the sixth-most points allowed in the league prior to Quinn’s arrival.

They weren’t very good. The Falcons defense has just twice in the last ten years been in the upper half of the rankings for points allowed; both of those occasions were under head coach Dan Quinn.

They were frequently in the bottom ten in points allowed.

It’s crucial to remember that Quinn improved the Falcons defense but didn’t completely change it.

The defense lacked talent prior to moving to Atlanta.

The season before he arrived, they had no defensive Pro Bowlers since all of their talent (Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Roddy White, etc.) was on offense.

However, that was altered. They chose Vic Beasley,

Grady Jarrett, Deion Jones, Keanu Neal, and De’Vondre Campbell in just Quinn’s first two rounds.

All of a sudden, they had some strong components,

and these young guys helped the Falcons defense get better enough to support their explosive offense.

After defeating Mike McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers in the playoffs and his old team,

the Seahawks, in just Quinn’s second season with the team,

the Falcons advanced to the Super Bowl. Quinn coached defense,

but the Falcons’ main strength was their offense.

Both players and coaches had offensive talent.

Three current head coaches in the league, Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDaniel, and Matt LaFleur,

were part of Atlanta’s offensive coaching staff.

Everybody knows what transpired during the Super Bowl.

Although Quinn’s defense takes a lot of flak for letting the New England Patriots rally,

we also know that the Falcons offense was largely ineffective in the second half.

Quinn’s team was still competitive even after all the brilliant offensive minds left after the Falcons’ Super Bowl season.

They were defeated 15–10 in a tough divisional game by the Philadelphia Eagles,

who went on to win the Super Bowl.

The Falcons’ offense was unable to secure a victory during a crucial four-down stand in the closing moments of the game, as a result of some strange bounces.

Quinn just has one trophy in the five years between 2013 and 2017,

but he came very close to taking home two more if he hadn’t lost two of the most spectacular late-game collapses in Super Bowl history.

Quinn had a difficult couple of seasons following.

It was difficult because of injuries and Atlanta’s general lack of skill.

Quinn was let go, but the Falcons’ general manager was also let go by owner Author Blank.

The Falcons have only gotten worse over the past three years, placing last or second-to-last in the weak NFC South division.

He was a welcomed addition to the Cowboys organization when he was hired in 2021 to serve as the team’s defensive coordinator.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

order to determine whether he remains one of the most feared defensive coordinators in the league, we’ll next look more closely at his tenure in Dallas.

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