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

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

Make him the next head coach, or fire him altogether? Believe it or not,

that is the range of reactions supporters have had towards Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.

We all have our opinions on who deserves the greatest blame in Big D,

and Quinn appears on many people’s lists. But, before we throw up the towel on another coach,

we wanted to take a thorough look at all of the facts.

Quinn originally caught everyone’s notice with his remarkable work with the Seattle Seahawks.

He succeeded defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, who went on to become head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Quinn inherited a talented team including multiple young,

athletic defensive backs known as the Legion of Boom because to their ferocity.

While the table had already been set for Quinn in Seattle, what he accomplished was extraordinary.

The Seahawks’ defense was brutal. During his two seasons with Seattle,

the defense allowed the fewest points each year.

And in 2013, they allowed the fewest amount of points, yards, and generated the most turnovers in the league,

which has only been done once.

a feat that has only been done once before by the 1985 Super Bowl-winning Chicago Bears. 

Speaking of Super Bowls, the Seahawks went to the Super Bowl in each of Quinn’s two seasons with the team,

winning once when they absolutely destroyed Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos’ record-setting top-scoring offense, 43-8.

After dominating in Seattle, Quinn was offered the head coaching position in Atlanta the following season.

However, unlike in Seattle, he did not inherit a talented defensive unit.

Prior to Quinn’s arrival, the Falcons’ defense had allowed the sixth-most points in the league for the previous two seasons.

They weren’t good. They were frequently in the bottom ten in terms of points allowed,

and the Falcons’ defense has only been in the upper half of points allowed twice in the last decade,

both times under Quinn.

It is crucial to remember that Quinn did not overhaul the Falcons’ defense, but he did improve it.

Before landing in Atlanta, the defense lacked talent.

They had no defensive Pro Bowlers the year before he arrived,

as all of their talent was on offense (Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Roddy White, etc.).

But everything changed. Vic Beasley, Grady Jarrett, Deion Jones, Keanu Neal,

and De’Vondre Campbell were the only players chosen in Quinn’s first two selections.

Suddenly, they had some viable pieces,

and this youthful collection of players helped improve the Falcons’ defense enough to

let their high-powered attack compete.

In just Quinn’s second season with the team, the Falcons were in the Super Bowl as he beat his former team,

the Seahawks, and then Mike McCarthy’s Green Bay Packers in the playoffs to get there.

Despite Quinn being a defensive coach, the Falcons’ bread and butter was their offense.

The talent was on offense both in players and coaches.

Atlanta’s offensive coaching staff included Kyle Shanahan,

Mike McDaniel, and Matt LaFleur, all of whom are current head coaches in the league.

We all know what happened in the Super Bowl.

Quinn’s defense gets a lot of heat for allowing the New England Patriots to come back,

but we are also well aware that the Falcons offense couldn’t do hardly anything in

the second half to keep the ball out of Tom Brady’s hands.

Following the Falcons’ Super Bowl season, all the great offensive minds left,

but Quinn’s team still was competitive.

They lost a close divisional game to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles (puke) by a score of 15-10.

It was a game where the Falcons let things slip away as there

were some weird bounces and a huge four-down stand at the end of

the game where the Falcons’ offense couldn’t pull out the win.

In five years from 2013 to 2017, Quinn only has one championship to his name,

but he was so close to winning two more had he not been on

the wrong end of two of the most late-game collapses in Super Bowl history.

Quinn had a difficult time in the following seasons.

Injury and a general dearth of talent in Atlanta made things difficult.

Falcons owner Author Blank fired not only Quinn, but also the team’s general manager.

It’s been three years, and the Falcons have only gotten worse,

finishing last or second-to-last in a subpar NFC South division.

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

and he was a welcome addition to the Cowboys organization when he was hired as defensive coordinator in 2021.

Next, we’ll look back at his time in Dallas to see if he’s still one of

the game’s most feared defensive coordinators.

To be continued.

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