The Dallas Cowboys couldn’t stand in the way of defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. following Dan Quinn to the Washington Commanders. Quinn hired Whitt to be his defensive coordinator with Washington.
The Cowboys wanted to interview Whitt to potentially replace Quinn as their defensive coordinator, but he chose to follow Quinn.
With Quinn so respected around the league, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he wanted others from the Dallas staff to follow him to Washington.
On Wednesday, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network revealed that the Commanders requested permission to speak to Cowboys tight ends coach Lunda Wells. However, Dallas denied the request.
The #Commanders put in a request to interview #Cowboys TEs coach Lunda Wells for their offensive line coach position under Dan Quinn, but Dallas blocked the request, sources say. Wells and DQ worked together for years.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 7, 2024
As Rapoport noted, Wells, 40, would be interviewing to be Washington’s offensive line coach. Wells has been with Dallas since 2020 and helped develop tight ends Dalton Schultz and Jake Ferguson. Before coming to Dallas, Wells spent eight seasons with the Giants, beginning as an offensive assistant, then moving to assistant offensive line coach, before finishing his time in New York as the Giants’ tight ends coach.
Dallas blocking Washington’s request means Wells is under contract for at least one more season. If the Commanders want Wells badly enough, they would need to offer him a promotion, such as attaching an assistant head coach/associate head coach title to the offer.
Wells is the first known candidate to interview for Washington’s offensive line coaching position.