Mike McCarthy’s future in Dallas is known, but what’s unclear is if he’ll have Dan Quinn with him in 2024.
The Cowboys‘ defensive coordinator is in the midst of five head coach interviews in the week after the team’s early playoff elimination, ESPN reported. If Quinn isn’t selected for any of those five opportunities, he’s expected to remain with the Cowboys as their defensive coordinator, according to the report.
Quinn already held interviews with two teams earlier this week, speaking with the Panthers and the Titans on Wednesday. He’ll reportedly hold two more interviews Thursday, speaking with the Commanders and the Seahawks before interviewing with the Chargers on Friday.
Of those five teams, Seattle is the one Quinn has been linked to the most. Quinn came to prominence as a coach during his two-year stint as defensive coordinator with the Seahawks in 2013-14, helping them win a Super Bowl and reach another. Quinn was viewed as a “strong candidate” to become the Seahawks’ next head coach shortly after Pete Carroll’s tenure ended, NFL Media previously,y reported.
Quinn’s tenure in Seattle ended when he became the Falcons‘ head coach in 2015. He helped the Falcons reach the Super Bowl in 2016 and the playoffs in 2017. But after two straight losing seasons and an 0-5 start to the 2020 season, Quinn was fired by Atlanta.
A few months after his dismissal, Quinn joined McCarthy’s staff in Dallas, becoming the Cowboys defensive coordinator in the 2021 offseason. Quinn’s defenses with the Cowboys have improved in each of the past three seasons, ranking fifth in total defense this season.
But Quinn’s defense mightily struggled in the Cowboys’ wild-card loss to the Packers on Sunday. The Cowboys gave up 415 yards and the defense was responsible for allowing 41 points in the 48-32 loss.
Despite the blowout upset at home, the Cowboys surprisingly announced Wednesday that they would keep McCarthy as their head coach for the 2024 season.
“I believe this team is very close and capable of achieving our ultimate goals and the best step forward for us will be with Mike McCarthy as our head coach,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement Wednesday. “There is great benefit to continuing the team’s progress under Mike’s leadership as our head coach. Specifically, there are many layers of success that have occurred this season as a result of Mike’s approach to leading the team, both with individual players and with our team collectively.
“Mike has the highest regular season winning percentage of any head coach in Cowboys history, and we will dedicate ourselves — in partnership with him — to translating that into reaching our post-season goals. Certainly, Mike’s career has demonstrated post-season success at a high level, and we have great confidence that can continue.”
Jones didn’t address the future of Quinn in his statement.
“We will start our process of review and decision-making regarding everything that impacts our team and roster and, while we’re not going to address specific players and extensions or free agents at this point, it deserves our deepest review and consideration, and it will get it,” Jones concluded his statement.
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