Report: Dan Quinn expected to bring Joe Whitt to Washington Commanders as defensive coordinator

The Dallas Cowboys have officially lost defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to the Washington Commanders, but more change could be ahead. According to NFL reporter Steve Wyche, Cowboys secondary coach and passing game coordinator Joe Whitt is expected to join Quinn in D.C. as his defensive coordinator.

“I would expect Quinn to bring along secondary coach/passing game coordinator Joe Whitt to be his defensive coordinator,” Wyche reported after the news broke on Thursday.

Whitt is considered a top in-house candidate to take over for Quinn in Dallas if he doesn’t opt to roll with the new Commanders head coach. He has worked under both Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy and Quinn in the past with the Packers and the Falcons.

McCarthy is now on the hunt for his third defensive coordinator in five years with the Cowboys. He began his tenure with Mike Nolan in 2020 before moving on to Dan Quinn in 2021.

Another in-house candidate to watch in Dallas is defensive line coach Aden Durde. Three teams requested to interview Durde this week for their open coordinator positions, according to ESPN reporter Todd Archer. Durde, in his third year with the Cowboys, has interest from the Green Bay Packers, L.A. Rams and the Atlanta Falcons.

The defensive line coach joined the Cowboys staff with Dan Quinn from the Atlanta staff in 2021. He also previously worked with new Falcons head coach Raheem Morris. In Atlanta, he was an outside linebackers coach.

A London, UK native, Durde played football in Europe with the London Olympians before making the practice squads for the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs.

Quinn lands second head coaching gig

Quinn, 53, has served as Cowboys defensive coordinator for the past three seasons. Dallas’ defense took a big jump in 2023, finishing as the No. 5 ranked unit in the league. Before joining the Cowboys, Quinn spent five-plus seasons as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Quinn went 43-42, leading Atlanta to a Super Bowl defeat in 2016. The Falcons relieved him of his duties after an 0-5 start to the 2020 season. Quinn famously coached the “Legion of Boom” defense in Seattle, helping lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory in 2013.

Quinn turned down head coaching opportunities last offseason in favor of returning to the Cowboys this past season. He now becomes the 31st head coach in Commanders/Redskins history, succeeding Ron Rivera, whom the organization fired after the season ended. With Quinn hired, all eight head coaching vacancies have now been filled.

Washington appeared to be zeroed in on Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Ben Johnson, scheduled to interview him this week following Detroit’s 34-31 NFC Championship Game loss to the San Francisco 49ers this past Sunday. Johnson informed Washington he was staying with the Lions as they were in the air en route to Detroit.