“It’s probably more nostalgic for me than for them.”
That was Dan Quinn Tuesday, meeting with the media when asked about coaching in the NFC East.
Quinn was born in 1970 in New Jersey and grew up in Jersey, playing his high school football at Morristown High School. So, one can understand why being a head coach in the NFC East and facing the Eagles in Philadelphia in a nationally televised Thursday night game can be “nostalgic” for him.
“It’s closer to home for me, because I grew up watching the NFC East and the battles that took place. So, for me, loving football and growing up and to see these matchups, it’s really cool for me because it does hit closer to home where I grew up. Like I said, falling in love with the game and seeing it all.”
In his first season as Washington’s coach, he must remember as a kid (age 10) that the Eagles won the NFC Championship Game over Dallas before losing to the Raiders in Super Bowl XV.
Wilbert Montgomery scores on the #Eagles second play from scrimmage in the 1980 #NFC Championship #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/Ve9tuytruD
— Old Time Football 🏈 (@Ol_TimeFootball) July 13, 2023
From 1982-84, it was Joe Gibbs and the Redskins who won the division, went to Super Bowls XVII (beating the Dolphins) and XVIII (losing to the Raiders). When in high school playing football, it was the Giants who won Super Bowl XXI over the Broncos and again the Redskins in Super Bowl XXII, defeating the Broncos.
Now, one of the team advisors is Doug Williams, who quarterbacked Washington to that Super Bowl XXII victory. Perhaps Quinn even remembers such defensive forces that day as Dave Butz, Darryl Grant, Charles Mann, Dexter Manley and Darrell Green.
Head coaches like Dick Vermeil, Joe Gibbs, Bill Parcells and Tom Landry were men he watched on the sidelines growing up in New Jersey. Now, he is on the sidelines coaching in these great rivalries in the same division.
“To be part of this division, it’s really cool. So, it’s probably more nostalgic for me than for them, but I do know that it’s a really cool division, and the fan bases are awesome.”
Quinn sounded like he would rather be nowhere else in the NFL. “Taking our show on the road to go up and have another division battle, Thursday night in November? Like come on, what are we talking about?”