Dan Quinn Hired as Next Dallas Cowboys Defensive Coordinator

A weekend after parting ways with defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, the Dallas Cowboys and Mike McCarthy have hired former Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn to be their new defensive coordinator. Quinn was also formerly the Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator during the Seahawks back to back Super Bowl appearances.

Quinn has been in coaching since 1994 and has worked in the NFL and at the collegiate level including a two-year stint as the Florida Gators defensive coordinator leading into his time as the Seahawks DC.

I've been told I should like this move from the Dallas Cowboys but for the life of me, I cannot get excited about it. I know McCarthy won't be consulting Quinn on game management but to hire somebody so bad at it, after it being McCarthy's worst trait in 2020 is bananas to me. Again, Quinn will be focused on the defense in his new role but what makes anyone believe he can immediately recapture the legion of boom vibes he had during his run with Seattle when he makes his way to Dallas.

The Falcons had the most success under Quinn early in his tenure and it wasn't because they were defensively dominant. It was the offense led by Kyle Shanahan that lit the world on fire getting them to the promised land before they collapsed against Tom Brady in the Super Bowl.

In Seattle, you could argue it was the defense that led them to the Super Bowl victory when they dominated Peyton Manning and the Broncos. It's not so much his recent successes that impressed the Cowboys though, it's as basic as him employing the preferred Jerry Jones scheme. The 4-3. Quinn used that scheme skillfully in Seattle where the Seahawks finished number one in yards allowed and points allowed in his two seasons in charge.

Those Seahawks teams had Kam Chancellor, Bobby Wagner, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman. The Cowboys, do not have those players. They haven't had those types of safeties in decades and they haven't put effort into acquiring them either. While other teams build from the inside out, the Cowboys have focused on building the defense from the left and diagonally, which means they have zero focus.

If that doesn't change, the Cowboys could hire the ghost of Buddy Ryan and it wouldn't improve. The easiest way to tell if the Cowboys are truly investing in the defense will be the draft in April.