Dan Quinn has concluded his round of interviews with a decision that will keep him in Dallas as the Cowboys defensive coordinator for the 2023 season
FRISCO, TX — Huge news has just been delivered to the Dallas Cowboys. Dan Quinn, one of the most respected and sought-after football minds in the entire NFL, has notified head coach Mike McCarthy and the front office that he will remain defensive coordinator for the Cowboys in 2023.
"We're all extremely excited to have Dan back," said head coach Mike McCarthy on Thursday afternoon. "I spoke with Dan a short while ago, and this is big for us. It gives us continuity, definitely in what we established these last two years, to build off of that. And frankly, on a personal note, I can't tell you how thankful I am."
Quinn was involved in a second round of interviews this week with the Cardinals, Colts and Broncos, as he mulled each opportunity carefully prior to making the call to quite literally be where his feet are — in North Texas.
"I think it's a bunch of reasons," McCarthy said of Quinn's likely thought process throughout his discussions with other clubs. "I think it's the staff, I think it's the players and I think he's been a head coach so he understands — at this point in his life — how hard it is to win a Super Bowl. All of those things play into that.
"I think clearly Dan is in a position to be selective, and I'm extremely excited about the decision."
It's a massive retention for the Cowboys, who saw their defense go from worst to first in all major categories in Year 1 under Quinn (2021), only to improve on that stellar and franchise-setting production in Year 2 (2022); a trend that bodes very well for what might be on the horizon for Dallas' defense in the not-so-distant future.
It's not Quinn's first round of interviews for existing head coach vacancies, having also been a frontrunner to land the role with the Denver Broncos in 2021 before that organization opted to instead give former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who was fired prior to the end of his first season in the Mile High City.
For the Cowboys front office to boast a second consecutive year of retaining a talent like Quinn is nothing short of impressive and, despite some of the changes in the coaching staff this week, injects a massive amount of confidence in Dallas' potential to, at minimum, return to the level of defensive dominance they showed this past season.
Prior to joining the Cowboys, Quinn spent time as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and maestro of the famed "Legion of Boom" in Seattle, winning a Super Bowl as defensive coordinator of the latter.
It's clear he's hellbent on replicating that success in Dallas.
