In just his second year as a head coach, Dan Quinn led the Atlanta Falcons to the Super Bowl. Quinn would’ve reached legendary status in Atlanta if he had led the franchise to its first Super Bowl victory, but the Falcons blew a 28-3 lead to Tom Brady and the Patriots and haven’t been close since.
That loss sticks with Quinn, who would coach the Falcons from 2015-20 before he was fired and spent the past three seasons as the defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys. During Quinn’s time in Dallas, he quickly turned the Cowboys into a top-five defense and led the NFL in forced turnovers.
During Quinn’s time away from being a head coach, he has focused on finding ways to get back to the Super Bowl and not repeat some of the mistakes he made during his six seasons in Atlanta.
After Quinn led the Falcons to the Super Bowl in the 2016 season, he returned to the playoffs the following season but lost in the NFC Divisional round. Quinn never took Atlanta back to the playoffs.
Now, Quinn is the head coach of the Washington Commanders and has a different challenge in front of him. How long will it take for him to lead his new team to the playoffs?
CBS Sports recently ranked all NFL head coaches based on their big-game resumes. Eighteen of the 32 coaches didn’t make the cut because they were inexperienced on the big stage. Quinn came in at No. 14—last among the ranked coaches—with the following explanation.
Quinn is revered for his defensive mind, fresh off a nice run with the Dallas Cowboys, but as a head man, he hasn’t overseen a playoff appearance since 2017. His Atlanta Falcons went a combined 14-23 from 2018-2020, and his one Super Bowl appearance included an infamous blown lead.
Those are certainly fair criticisms. As a defensive coordinator, Quinn is better than anyone right now. Can he repeat his early success from Atlanta in Washington? If so, can he maintain that success?
Quinn has a few things going for him. First, he has a general manager (Adam Peters) who hired him. They came in together and picked the quarterback (Jayden Daniels) together. They will all have time.
If Daniels hits, there’s a good chance Quinn will be around a long time. One of the biggest questions facing Quinn was what type of offensive staff he would hire. He responded by hiring former Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator and former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson as the pass game coordinator.
Everything Quinn has done in Washington in a short time has been smart. But so much of his success depends on the quarterback. If the quarterback position is solved, you can bet Quinn will win some big games in the future and move up these types of lists.