FRISCO, Texas — Reports came down on Monday and early Tuesday that Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and vice president of player personnel Will McClay were receiving interest from other NFL teams and that requests had been sent to the Cowboys to speak with them as the hiring cycle kicks into high gear.
Quinn received requests from the Washington Commanders, Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Chargers for their head coaching vacancies while McClay received requests from the Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders for their general manager vacancies.
When asked about the requests on Tuesday morning on 105.3 The Fan, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said that multiple coaches have received interest over the last few days and that it is an effect of the team playing well over the course of the last few seasons.
"We don't have to give permission anymore under most circumstances, but we've had several of our coaches receive letters of requests," Jones said. "That's what happens when you have success. Your coaches become available for elevations and opportunities. It happens throughout your organization. That's just part of it. The league is built so that it promotes advancement of coaches and executives that have been a part of a successful team."
While he did not offer any other names that have been mentioned in vacancies, Jones said he expects the interest to ramp up on Tuesday.
"We have had over a handful, and by the time the day is over, we may have three handfuls of requests to talk," he said. "Will [McClay] definitely is one of the ones that will get talked to, but we'll have as many as 15 or 20 by the time we're through. It's very common nowadays because of the turnover you have around the NFL."
Quinn has gone through two hiring cycles as defensive coordinator in Dallas and has remained with the Cowboys each time. McClay is a usual name that gets brought up around this time of year for general manager vacancies, but has chosen to remain with Dallas to work with the Joneses.
Whether it be Quinn, McClay or any other staffer, Jones expects that he will lose a few coaches and/or executives to other teams this offseason.
"We'll probably have several vacancies this year."
