The Washington Commanders are starting a new chapter this offseason by deciding to hire the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator as their new head coach. The decision to fire the previous coach, Ron Rivera was not shocking, given the team’s recent performance and the fact that he was hired in the first place by the Washington Commanders’ previous owner, Dan Snyder.
The team’s sale, which took place last July, was unanimously approved by the other NFL franchise owners, which meant that ownership would shift from Dan Snyder to a new ownership group led by Josh Harris, who famously also owns the Philadelphia 76ers. Now, after completing his first season as owner of the Washington Commanders, Josh Harris’s long-term project to fix the Washington, D.C. football franchise officially seems to be underway.
What to know about the new Washington Commanders new head coach – Dan Quinn
Dan Quinn is a highly successful defensive-minded coach and he’s been actively coaching in the NFL since 2001 when he started as a defensive quality control coach for the San Francisco 49ers. Since then he’s worked with several franchises in a variety of defense-focused roles, predominantly as a defensive coordinator, most notably with the Seattle Seahawks when he oversaw their Superbowl-winning defense in 2013.
As a head coach, Dan Quinn has six years of experience, all of which were with the Atlanta Falcons between 2015 and 2020, during that tenure he went an overall 43-42. Notably, in just his second season as the head coach of the Falcons in 2016, the team reached the Superbowl, but ultimately went on to lose dramatically, losing what was at one point a 28-3 lead over the Patriots to a final score of 28-34.
Is this a good hire?
There is some concern about whether or not this hire was the best available choice, particularly considering the number of notable available head coaches who are currently unemployed, like Mike Vrabel or Bill Belichick. That being said, it’s a decision that means the Commanders’ front office has a lot of confidence in their current offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy, who has only been with the team for one season so far, as he will have increased responsibilities leading the Commanders’ offense.
Overall, the decision to hire Dan Quinn seems to be something that informed Commanders fans are optimistic about, so while the jury will be out until next season starts, for now, we are excited about what the future of Washington football has to offer.