Dan Quinn is set to become the Washington Commanders’ new commander-in-chief.
Washington is hiring Quinn, who spent the past three seasons as defensive coordinator of the rival Dallas Cowboys, to be their head coach, ESPN reported Thursday.
The 53-year-old Quinn fills the final NFL head-coaching vacancy, meaning unless another job opens, Bill Belichick will be left out of this offseason’s hiring cycle.
Belichick, who parted ways with the New England Patriots last month after 24 seasons, spoke with the Commanders about their opening and “had support from some decision makers” before the team chose Quinn, according to The Athletic.
Quinn spent parts of six seasons as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2015-20, going 43-42 and advancing to the Super Bowl in 2017. It was in that Super Bowl that Quinn’s Falcons surrendered a 28-3 lead and lost to Belichick’s Patriots in what remains the biggest comeback in the NFL title game’s history.
In all three seasons under Quinn, the Cowboys defense finished between fifth and seventh in terms of points per game allowed. His tenure ended on a sour note, however, as the Green Bay Packers torched the Cowboys for 415 yards in a 48-32 win in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
Washington fired Ron Rivera as its head coach after four seasons, including a 2023 campaign in which the Commanders finished 4-13. Frequently linked to the Commanders’ vacancy was Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who opted this week to return to Detroit for another run at a Super Bowl after advancing to last month’s NFC Championship Game.
Quinn’s addition marks another key decision in a pivotal offseason for Washington, which hired former San Francisco 49ers executive Adam Peters as general manager and enters free agency with an NFL-high $73.6 million in cap space, according to Over The Cap.
Washington holds the No. 2 pick in April’s draft, where it is expected to explore taking a quarterback. USC’s Caleb Williams, UNC’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels are among the touted prospects in what is considered a deep quarterback draft.
Belichick had two interviews with the Falcons before they hired Raheem Morris to be their head coach. The 71-year-old Belichick, who won six Super Bowls with New England, is 15 wins away from passing Don Shula for the NFL coaching record.
