Dan Quinn is already in rare company.
With the 20-19 Commanders’ win over the Saints in Week 14, Dan Quinn reached his ninth win of the season.
The franchise has been led so poorly from the top that this 2024 season is the first nine-win season since Jay Gruden was the head coach, Kirk Cousins was the starting quarterback, and Sean McVay was the offensive coordinator in 2015. The only current player from that 2015 season was punter Tress Way.
Also, with that ninth win of the season, Quinn becomes only the second Washington head coach to have won nine games in his first NFL season with the franchise.
George Allen came to Washington in 1971, taking over a team that had finished 6-8 in 1970. Allen made numerous trades in the offseason but lost his starting quarterback, Sonny Jurgensen, to a broken shoulder in the preseason and Charley Taylor in the fifth game to a broken ankle. Yet the Redskins finished 9-4-1 and were the fourth and final team to make the NFC playoffs before losing in the first round to the NFC West champ 49ers in San Francisco 24-20.
The great Joe Gibbs came to Washington in 1981, taking over a team that was 6-10 in 1980. Gibbs lost his first five games and has often told of how then-owner Jack Kent Cooke asked to meet with Gibbs. Gibbs has commented that he thought he might get fired before winning even a single game.
Gibbs wasn’t fired, but he did manage to get the team to play his brand of football. They won eight of their final 11 games, finishing the season at 8-8.
Marty Schottenheimer came to Washington to succeed Norv Turner, whom owner Daniel Snyder had fired during the 2000 season in which the Redskins finished 8-8.
Schottenheimer inherited Jeff George as his starting quarterback, whom Snyder had brought to the team. Marty’s 2001 team started miserably, so miserably George was not only benched, he was released. The Redskins started 0-5, finished strongly at 8-8. But Snyder fired Schottenheimer.
How many games did Boston / Washington first-year head coaches win in their inaugural seasons?
- 2020 Ron Rivera 7-9
- 2014 Jay Gruden 4-12
- 2010 Mike Shanahan 6-10
- 2008 Jim Zorn 8-8
- 2004 Joe Gibbs (2.0) 6-10
- 2002 Steve Spurrier 7-9
- 2001 Marty Schottenheimer 8-8
- 1994 Norv Turner 3-13
- 1993 Richie Petitbon 4-12
- 1981 Joe Gibbs (1.0) 8-8
- 1978 Jack Pardee 8-8
- 1971 George Allen 9-4-1
- 1970 Bill Austin 6-8
- 1969 Vince Lombardi 7-5-2
- 1966 Otto Graham 7-7
- 1961 Bill McPeak 1-12-1
- 1959 Mike Nixon 3-9
- 1954 Joe Kuharich 3-9
- 1952 Curly Lambeau 4-8
- 1950 Herman Ball 3-9
- 1946 Turk Edwards 5-5-1
- 1944 Dudley DeGroot 6-3-1
- 1943 Dutch Bergman 6-3-1
- 1936 Ray Flaherty 7-5
- 1935 Eddie Casey 2-8-1
- 1933 Lone Star Dietz 5-5-2
- 1932 Lud Wray 4-4-2