Dan Quinn to complete second interview with Indianapolis Colts on Saturday
Following reports that Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn would have a second interview with the Colts later in the week, the former Falcons head coach has set a date. Quinn will travel to Indianapolis for his second-round interview on Saturday, according to NFL reporter Albert Breer. He completed a second interview with the Arizona Cardinals on Wednesday.
Quinn is considered among the frontrunners in the head coaching searches in Indianapolis, Denver and Arizona, although he hasn’t don’t a second in-person interview with the Broncos just yet.
The Denver Broncos job seemed to pique his interest last offseason, however, they opted to hire Nathaniel Hackett. To reward him for sticking around, Jerry Jones gave Quinn a “substantial raise,” but it’s unclear if there’s anything Dallas can do this time around with several teams now in the hunt for his services.
Before coaching in Dallas, Quinn was most recently the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. He took them to the 2015 Super Bowl and lost in the infamous 28-3 collapse at the hands of Tom Brady and the Patriots. His Falcons run was all downhill after that debacle and he was eventually fired during the 2020 season.
With the Cowboys, Quinn turned the defense around rapidly. They led the league in takeaways in 2021 and 2022.
Quinn gets major endorsement from Larry Fitzgerald for Cards gig
Former Arizona Cardinals legend Larry Fitzgerald gave Dan Quinn a glowing endorsement in October when it was clear his former squad would hunt for a new skipper.
“He’d be No. 1 in my opinion,” Fitzgerald said on the Let’s Go Podcast. “There’s no question about that [with] what he’s done. Obviously his experience, he did really good in Atlanta and had he run the football a little bit more, he’d have a Super Bowl championship. I don’t think it’ll be much longer until Dan Quinn is back on the sidelines as a coach in the National Football League.
“But I think for him most importantly it’s finding the right situation. You don’t want to go to a team where you don’t have a quarterback, you don’t have a chance to win. You want to be in a place where you have a legitimate shot and those type of jobs are difficult to come by. They don’t turn over often.”
Quinn is the only coach the Cardinals have interviewed twice already. However, they’re bringing in former Saints head coach Sean Payton on Thursday.
Dallas part ways with six staff members
As Quinn is exploring and weighing his options, the Dallas Cowboys are going full steam ahead on cleaning house.
Five assistant coaches learned Wednesday that their contracts will not be renewed and now a sixth coach is on his way out.
According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, offensive assistant Kyle Valero is leaving the team after nine years on staff in varying roles. Valero mainly worked with receivers as a member of the quality control group.
Initial reports on Wednesday revealed two key exits – senior defensive assistant George Edwards and running backs coach Skip Peete. Further reports on Wednesday indicated that offensive line coach Joe Philbin, defensive line assistant coach Leon Lett and assistant head coach Rob Davis are also leaving the organization.
Coaches still under contract past the offseason, according to Archer, are Mike McCarthy, Dan Quinn, Kellen Moore, John Fassel (ST), Joe Whitt Jr. (pass game coordinator), Al Harris (DB), Jeff Blasko (asst. OL), Robert Prince (WR), Rayna Stewart (asst. ST), Harold Nash (strength), Lunda Wells (TE), and Aden Durde (DL).