According to multiple Thursday morning reports, the Washington Commanders planned to hire Dan Quinn as their next head coach.
The Commanders confirmed the hire on Saturday.
As NFL.com notes, Quinn, 53, makes the move from Dallas, where he'd spent the last three seasons as a lauded defensive expert overseeing the Cowboys to two top-12 finishes in total defense (including a fifth-place finish in 2023) and attracted plenty of head-coaching interest.
A year ago, he elected to withdraw from all searches, returning to Dallas to spend a third season working under Mike McCarthy. This time, the former NFC Championship-winning head coach of the Falcons is taking the opportunity while it still exists.
Atlanta won a combined 10 games in two seasons before Quinn's arrival. The Falcons went 8-8 his first season and a combined 29-19 in his first three. But Atlanta was 14-23 in his final two-plus seasons, and Quinn was fired during the 2020 season. He finished 43-42 overall and 3-2 in the postseason during his five-year tenure with the Falcons.
Before his time in Atlanta, Quinn was the coordinator for two seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. There, his defenses ranked first in points and yards each season. Dallas ranked fifth in yards and scoring this season. The Cowboys have been top 10 in scoring defense in each of Quinn's three years.
Washington's hiring of Quinn, the 2021 Assistant Coach of the Year, marks the second straight instance in which the club chose a defensive-minded candidate with previous head-coaching experience for its top job, following former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera, who was fired in D.C. after a 4-13 finish in 2023.
This hiring appears to address the Commanders' glaring problems on the defensive side, where Washington finished dead last in total defense in 2023, a season in which they traded not one but both of their young edge rushers at the deadline. That said, the Commanders were said to have tremendous interest in Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson before he decided to remain in Detroit on Wednesday.
The Commanders hired Adam Peters as general manager on Jan. 12. The moves represent the first significant hires on the football side for new owner Josh Harris, who finalized the purchase of the team in July.
Fantasy Impact in Washington
Quinn will oversee a Commanders team needing a firm answer at quarterback. Second-year passer Sam Howell finished 2023 on a low note, leading many to wonder whether he has a future with the team. The Commanders own the No. 2 pick in the 2024 draft, where they can draft their quarterback of the future and will make five picks in the top 100. As ESPN.com's John Keim notes, they also have approximately $70 million in available cap space and can create at least $15 million more by releasing various players.
Who Quinn selects as his offensive coordinator will be a considerable factor here. According to SI.com's Albert Breer, had Quinn taken a head coaching job last year, he'd have taken Brian Schottenheimer with him as offensive coordinator. That would be more complicated this time around because Schottenheimer has the coordinator title in Dallas now. It's fair to wonder if the Cowboys would let him leave to call plays for a division rival. There have been multiple reports in Los Angeles that Chip Kelly would leave his job as UCLA's embattled head coach to become Quinn's next offensive coordinator.
Also worth noting, as The Athletic's Matt Barrow pointed out, Quinn had success with a Shanahan-tree offensive coordinator the last time he was head coach. In fact, Kyle Shanahan (offensive coordinator), Matt LaFleur (quarterbacks coach), and Mike McDaniel (offensive assistant) were all on the Falcons coaching staff in 2016.
Could he tap into that tree again?
Whatever the case, from personnel on both sides of the ball to Quinn's staff, Washington is in massive flux. Fantasy managers in Dynasty leagues should get a feel for how it plays out before making decisions.
Fantasy Impact in Dallas
The Cowboys finished in a three-way tie (with the Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins) for the most fantasy points and points per game among team defenses in 2023. Under Quinn, the Cowboys led the NFL with 93 forced turnovers. They'll still have plenty of disruptive play-making talent on that side of the ball, but scheme matters. This is another situation to keep a close eye on before investing or making major moves.
