FRISCO, Texas The Cowboys officially named Dan Quinn as their new defense coordinator on Tuesday. Here are five facts you may not know about 50-year-old Quinn:
He started as a kindergarten teacher. Before joining William & Mary’s coaching staff in 1994, Quinn was a prominent linebacker at Salisbury University of Division III in Maryland. He had 145 careers as a two-time captain for the Sea Gulls and was also a two-sport athlete who improved the record for the longest hammer throw (168 ’88 “).
He specializes in the D-Line. Like his playing days, Quinn has extensive experience in coaching the defensive line. He guided the position to three college programs – William & Mary, Hofstra and VMI (on the same staff as future Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin) – before entering the NFL as D-Line coach for the 49ers (2003-04) . From there, Quinn played the same role for the Dolphins (2005-06), Jets (2007-09) and Seahawks (2009-10). Along the way, he coached future Hall of Famer Jason Taylor (Dolphins) and worked with former Cowboys defensive line Michael Bennett early in Bennett’s rookie season in 2009 with Seattle as an unknown free agent.
He coordinated one of the greatest defenses ever. When Gus Bradley left the Seahawks to become the Jaguars’ head coach in 2013, Quinn returned to Seattle with a promotion to defense coordinator and helped the defense continue one of the greatest runs in NFL history. The Super Bowl champion, the Seahawks, in 2013 became the first team since the ’85 Bears – widely regarded as the best defense of all time – to score the league in takeaways, with the fewest points and the fewest yards allowed ( source). : Chicago Bears.com). Seattle reached the Super Bowl again in 2014 and lost in the final seconds against the Patriots. From 2012-14, they became the first defense since the Vikings 1969-71 to allow the fewest points in three consecutive seasons.
He worked in various defense schemes. Quinn is usually considered a 4-3 coach throughout his career, including his time working for Pete Carroll in Seattle. The Cowboys have used variations of the approach in the past under former defense coordinator Rod Marinelli and former coordinator Kris Richard, a former Seahawks assistant. But Quinn has also coached in various systems. The Jets ran a 3-4 during his time in New York. The Dolphins at the time had a mix of 4-3 and 3-4 under Nick Saban. Even in Florida, when Quinn returned to college as a defense coordinator from 2011-12, the Gators used a combination of three- and four-man fronts.
He’s another assistant to Mike McCarthy, head coach of the Cowboys, who has previous NFL coaching experience. (Special teams coordinator John Fassel and offensive coach Joe Philbin do the same.) From 2015-20, Quinn set a record of 46-44 in Atlanta in five and a half seasons. The Hawks and Quinn parted ways after a 0-5 start to this season, including a 40-39 defeat against the Cowboys in Week 2. But Quinn took Atlanta to the Super Bowl in 2016 and a thriller lost to the Patriots and only the second coach in the Falcons’ history to lead them to the playoffs in consecutive seasons. McCarthy clearly likes to have an experienced staff, and Quinn’s appointment as DC continues the trend in Dallas.