Just days after losing their defensive coordinator to a division rival, the Cowboys are now doing some defending of their own against Dan Quinn.
The Cowboys have reportedly blocked a request from the Washington Commanders to interview tight ends coach Lunda Wells for a position on their offensive coaching staff. That development comes courtesy of NFL insider Ian Rapoport, who cited sources.
Shortly after arriving in Washington to take over his new team, Quinn moved quickly to hire away Joe Whitt Jr. from Dallas. The former secondary coach and defensive passing game coordinator will join Quinn’s staff as the new defensive coordinator.
Quinn also named former Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury as his new offensive coordinator, ousting Eric Bienemy from the role. Now looking to rebuild a staff under Kingsbury, the Commanders had come to the Cowboys requesting permission to interview Wells about becoming Washington’s new offensive line coach.
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
While assistant coaches cannot be blocked from interviewing with other clubs for promotions to coordinator positions, employing teams do reserve the right to decline an opponent’s request to speak to their assistants about assistant-to-assistant moves, which are considered lateral.
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The 40-year-old Wells was an assistant O-line coach with the Giants for several years before taking over their tight end room for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. He joined the Cowboys staff as tight ends coach in 2020, where he has overseen the development of Blake Jarwin, Dalton Schultz, and Jake Ferguson, who was named to his first Pro Bowl for the 2023 season.
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