Tag: Commanders HC Dan Quinn

Commanders’ Dan Quinn on coaching through struggles

Quinn discusses coaching through the difficult moments.

Three weeks ago, the Commanders were 7-2.

Practice must have been more fun; watching the film and seeing the successful wins was more enjoyable.

That was then and now is now.

Three weeks later, the Commanders have lost three consecutive games, bringing their record to 7-5. The film must not be enjoyable to watch. Seeing the missed opportunities and practicing is about correcting what is now on your next opponent’s film.

Dan Quinn was asked Wednesday if his week-by-week plan changes based on the recent struggles.

“For myself there’s always a bigger picture of things, what’s a trend and where do you want to go,” said Quinn. “I’ll express that to the staff and to the team. But you do dig into the team, and then you emphasize the things that you want to work on this time right now.”

Having lost three consecutive games, there could be a multitude of things a coaching staff observes needing lots of work. Yet, you can’t address each one of those concepts within a practice.

“And so, you don’t pick 15 different things to work in one week of practice. ‘This is something you want to improve on, let’s put the work in to do that.’ So, after three losses, it’s challenging. It’s the most challenged we’ve been so far. It’s confusing, frustrating, all of those things. That’s also part of competing and knowing how to handle those emotions and dig in on the things that you need to dig in on and that’s what we intend to do.”

Commanders’ Dan Quinn says what he’s thankful for

Dan Quinn expresses what he’s thankful for.

He had his opportunity to be an NFL head coach, and feared he may never get the opportunity again.

Dan Quinn worked for so long, for so many seasons, in so many locations. He coached college football at William & Mary, VMI, Hofstra, and Florida. His NFL stops were the 49ers, Dolphins, Jets, and Seahawks, and finally, he was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.

In only his second season, the Falcons won the NFC championship and led the Patriots 28-3 before losing in overtime 34-28. Four seasons later, he was fired from the Falcons at 0-5.

Quinn was then the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator for three seasons. Adam Peters and Josh Harris hired him as the Commanders’ head coach.

Wednesday with the media, Quinn was asked what he is thankful for this year.

“A lot, honestly,” replied Quinn. “And being here with this group at this time in my life is, I have a lot of gratitude for because those moments that you get to share in a locker room, a meeting room on the field, already in a short time, we’ve built a really strong bond.”

Hearing various players this season refer to their “brotherhood,” Quinn certainly has them playing for one another. Even more, racing off to a 7-2 start certainly didn’t hurt team bonding either.

Coming to a new city, a new team, a new franchise, for one more opportunity to be an NFL head coach was huge for Quinn.

“And so, for me to have all these new relationships from February to now has been really cool and I love seeing those grow and get even stronger as we’re hitting it. So, having this chance to be here in this city with this team, A number one.”

We all have things for which we can be thankful this Thanksgiving. Here’s hoping the Commanders’ players, coaches, and staff will take time to reflect on their many blessings.

May they find joy in counting their blessings from God and living to be a blessing to others.

Commanders were not competitive against Cowboys under Rivera

The Commanders were not competitive with the Cowboys last season.

Ron Rivera’s Washington teams were embarrassed by the Cowboys in 2023.

Rivera’s team was so overwhelmed in that 45-10 Thanksgiving Day snoozer. A few weeks later, in D.C., the Commanders were again embarrassed by the Cowboys, 38-10.

What about the three times Rivera did beat the Cowboys, going 3-5 against Dallas?

In 2022, Rivera announced he was returning to Taylor Heinicke for the season finale at home against Dallas.

The previous week, Rivera had been so confused following the game that he revealed inadvertently he actually did not even realize the Commanders could be eliminated from the playoffs, seeing they had just lost to the Browns.

Leading up to the finale against the Cowboys, Taylor Heinicke made himself clear to Rivera that the final game was time for Rivera to play rookie Sam Howell and that Heinicke was not playing.

The Cowboys were already in the playoffs, Washington had won, and Ron Rivera apparently drove home with his wife, gushing over Howell’s performance as a starting quarterback.

Rivera quickly announced Howell would be his QB1 when the team reported to training camp later that summer.

His other two wins against the Cowboys came in the 2020 season when Dallas starter Dak Prescott was injured, and the Cowboys’ offense became anemic. Washington won both contests easily.

Rivera’s team only finished 7-9 that season, but because of injuries, the Cowboys and Eagles fell down the NFC East ladder, and Washington took the division.

Rivera then mistakenly thought the team was better than they were, so he went out in free agency and signed aging quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to lead Washington. It was as if it had not appeared to Rivera that finishing first in the division disillusioned him into thinking his team was much better. In reality, the same 7-9 team finishing third in the division would not have resulted in anyone thinking they were a contender.

Commanders fans hope Dan Quinn can deliver them from Ron Rivera’s confusing era, during which Rivera never produced a winning team.

Commanders’ captains this week is no coincidence

Dan Quinn’s choice for captains were very deliberate.

Well, it was certainly no coincidence when Dan Quinn announced the Commanders’ captains for their game Sunday.

Quinn’s Commanders are playing host to the Cowboys on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Northwest Stadium. Consequently, Quinn named not one, not two, but all three captains to be former Dallas Cowboys, adding, “And all three of these guys have really had different ways they’ve made their impact with their teammates and on the team.”

Center Tyler Biadasz, DE Dante Fowler and CB Noah Igbinoghene were named the Commanders captains for the Week 12 contest against the Cowboys.

Biadasz spent his first four NFL seasons (2020-23) in Dallas, three of which were when Quinn served as defensive coordinator. Quinn brought Biadasz to Washington to add a veteran to the inside of the line and give rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels NFL experience. Biadasz has started all 11 games for the Commanders this season.

Fowler has been with Quinn while playing for the Florida Gators, Atlanta Falcons (2020), and the Cowboys (2022-23) and is now in Washington in 2024. Previously, Fowler was with the Rams (2018-2019) and played for the Jaguars (2016-18) after they drafted him third overall in the 2015 NFL draft.

This week’s captain representing the special team units is cornerback Noah Igbinoghene. Drated 30th overall in the 2020 NFL draft by the Dolphins, he played three seasons in Miami (2020-2022) before moving on to Dallas for the 2023 season. He followed Quinn to Washington, signing a one-year contract with the Commanders. Prior to coming to the Commanders, he had started only five games in his four seasons. But with Emmanuel Forbes struggling, Mike Sainristil often has to play outside corner, leaving the slot corner spot to Igbinoghene.

Dan Quinn: ‘Former Cowboys have been effective Commanders’

Multiple former Cowboys are helping turn around the Commanders in 2024.

When Dan Quinn came to Washington, he knew he needed help on the line of scrimmage.

Sunday, in a Week 12 contest, the Dallas Cowboys (3-7) come to town to face the Washington Commanders (7-4).

Quinn was asked by the media on Wednesday why he wanted to sign former Cowboys such as C Tyler Biadasz, DE Dorance Armstrong, and LB Dante Fowler.

“Yeah, I think the line of scrimmage is a big deal and I saw firsthand with Tyler, and Dorance and Dante and what they could do and how they could affect the game,” Quinn said.

Quinn continued that he also saw maturity in those players, which he felt could be an asset in explaining to other players Quinn’s reasoning for some things he wants.

“I knew having some people along those lines to maybe look around the corners as I was just getting started. ‘What Dan’s trying to say here might be X, Y, or Z.’”

Having worked in practice against WR Noah Brown during the 2021 and 2022 seasons for the Cowboys, Quinn wanted him when the Texans released him on their last cuts to their 53-man roster. The Commanders certainly needed a receiver with size.

“Then, the addition of Noah, as well, was somebody that although we didn’t spend years together, I did get a sense of what the worker was, the competitor was. And he really just wanted a chance to compete, and that’s something that he knew he would get the opportunity with us here, saying that was going to be kinda the central theme of what we were going to do. So, that’s kinda the backstory there.”

Consequently, some former Cowboys will lead this Commanders team in its preparation to face the Cowboys Sunday at Northwest Stadium in Landover.

 

Dan Quinn announces Commanders’ captains vs Eagles

The Eagles will see a familiar face as one of the Commanders’ captains.

Dan Quinn Wednesday named his captains for Thursday night’s Commanders game in Philadelphia.

The game is big, as the Eagles (7-2) host the Commanders (7-3) from Lincoln Financial Field.

As has been Quinn’s custom this season, he named three captains, one each for offense, defense, and special teams.

Talking with the press, Quinn announced the Week 11 captains would be TE Zach Ertz and CB Mike Sainristil, and on special teams, it will be RB Jeremy McNichols, whom Quinn has been heard to call “J-Mack.”

“And all these guys, man, they bring a lot to our team in lots of different ways and standards and competing. And so we’re all pumped to see these guys get this up.”

Ertz is the second-leading receiver for the Commanders this season, with 37 receptions for 381 yards and one receiving touchdown. More importantly, Ertz has 19 receptions, which have converted 19 first downs.

McNichols has filled in nicely for Brian Robinson when Robinson has been ailing with knee and hamstring issues. McNichols has four rushing touchdowns and 190 yards on 38 carries for a 5.0 yards per carry average.

Sainristil has shown flexibility and adaptability when playing both slot and outside corner. The rookie from NCAA champion Michigan recorded the first Commanders’ interception of 2024 against the Ravens.