Cowboys DC Dan Quinn wraps head coach interview with Indianapolis Colts, Arizona Cardinals requests permission to interview
Dan Quinn is once again a very busy man come January, as it pertains to his present and future job situations.
While the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator is trying to help the franchise get back to the Super Bowl, the defensive coordinator is hot on multiple radars to once again become a head coach in the NFL.
“Colts completed their HC interview with Cowboys’ DC Dan Quinn,” tweeted Adam Schefter of ESPN.
In addition to the Indianapolis Colts and Quinn’s prior interview with the Denver Broncos — who he also interviewed with last season — the Arizona Cardinals are also gauging his interest.
“Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn interviewed for a pair of head coaching openings on Friday and he could sit down with another team as well,” wrote Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the Cardinals have requested an interview with Quinn. He interviewed with the Colts and Broncos on Friday.
“Quinn has not scheduled an interview with the Cardinals at this point, so any conversation would likely come until after the Cowboys face the 49ers in Santa Clara on Sunday.”
Of course, Quinn’s sole focus is the San Francisco 49ers at the moment, but it looks like his time in Dallas could be coming to an end.
Dan Quinn is a sought-after coach who will be a head coach soon, it’s just a matter of when and where for the current Dallas Cowboys defensive genius.
Kyle Shanahan praises Cowboys DC Dan Quinn, Dallas pass rushers
Moreover, Dallas Cowboys face a red-hot San Francisco 49ers team on Sunday night and Dan Quinn’s defense is tasked with slowing down the fifth-highest-scoring offense in the league. Discussing the Cowboys’ defense this week, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan praised Dan Quinn and his work, particularly with the Dallas pass rush.
“The way (Quinn) gets those guys to move, they have some really good rushers,” Shanahan said. “Everyone knows about (DeMarcus) Lawrence and (Micah) Parsons, but there’s not one bad one there. The way they stunt, the way they can create one-on-ones, there’s a reason they’re No. 1 in getting to the (QB).”
Shanahan and Quinn are very familiar with each other’s coaching. The 49ers head coach served as Quinn’s offensive coordinator in Atlanta in 2015-16 where they led the Falcons to the infamous 28-3 Super Bowl versus the Patriots. The familiarity between the two coaches provides one more layer of difficulty to the matchup.
The Cowboys have an 8.9% sack rate this season but it will be a slog versus San Francisco. The 49ers’ offensive line is currently No. 3 in the league in pass-blocking efficiency.
In last year’s playoff matchup, the Cowboys didn’t bring down quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo a single time. It was actually Dak Prescott that found himself on the ground five times.
The 49ers are playing with a less experienced quarterback now with Brock Purdy, however, and the rookie has taken 12 sacks over the last seven games. He’s remained accurate throughout though, throwing just three interceptions and completing over 60% of his passes in each game.
On3’s Nikki Chavanelle contributed to this article.