Cowboys Rumors: Jerry Jones Adjusted Dan Quinn’s Contract but DC Wants to Be HC Again

Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn “wants to be a head coach again,” according to ESPN’s Todd Archer.

Archer wrote team owner Jerry Jones has “adjusted” Quinn’s contract in order to fend off outside interest but posited the former Atlanta Falcons head coach might now be tempted “if the right opportunity presents itself.”

The Cowboys rank fifth in defensive efficiency, per FTN Fantasy, and they’re also fifth in both yards (187.4) and points (18.5) allowed in the regular season. Dallas continued to have an elite defense despite two of its regular starters, Trevon Diggs and Leighton Vander Esch, combining to make seven appearances.

Especially if the team makes a deep run in the postseason, this would be an ideal time for Quinn to cash in his chips.

Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz reported the 53-year-old is highly regarded both because he’s a good defensive mind and somebody who communicates well with his players:

From the moment they hired Quinn, the Cowboys had to know the day might come when he grows a bit restless. Giving him more and more money doesn’t change the fact he’s still under Mike McCarthy in the organizational hierarchy.

Quinn is probably eager to have something else be the defining image of his head-coaching career, too. The Falcons started 0-5 when they fired him in 2020, and their collapse in Super Bowl LI is probably the one thing fans most remember of his tenure there.

Being regarded as a great defensive coach is nothing to scoff at. That earned Dick LeBeau a spot in the Hall of Fame.

But nobody can blame Quinn if he aspires for something a little bigger.