Dan Quinn has agreed to bring Joe Whitt with him to Washington, moving the former Dallas secondary coach up to defensive coordinator. The Cowboys are not allowing their former DC to poach other assistants for lesser roles.
The Cowboys have now prevented the Commanders from interviewing two of their staffers. They are blocking the Commanders from interviewing defensive backs coach Al Harris, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer tweets. This comes after the team nixed a Washington meeting with tight ends coach Lunda Wells, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.
Quinn sought Wells as his next offensive line coach, per Rapoport. Wells, 40, was in place as the Cowboys’ tight ends coach before Quinn arrived in 2021. Mike McCarthy hired Wells in 2020; he previously worked on the Giants’ staff under multiple head coaches.
Harris, 49, also predates Quinn in Dallas. McCarthy brought the former cornerback in as his DBs coach in 2020 as well. Harris had previously worked as a six-year Chiefs assistant under Andy Reid, making a transition into the coaching ranks after a lengthy playing career.
Harris has drawn consideration for the Cowboys’ DC post, but in the days since his name emerged in that mix, the Cowboys have interviewed bigger names. Ron Rivera, Mike Zimmer and Rex Ryan have met with the team about its defensive play-calling gig. They join D-line coach Aden Durde and Jets safeties coach Marquand Manuel in the mix for that position. Whitt was believed to be the Cowboys’ initial DC choice, but he opted to follow Quinn elsewhere in the NFC East.
The NFL has moved to prevent teams from blocking staffers at moves to the coordinator ranks in recent years, but while the team could not block Whitt from leaving for Washington (a move that is now official), clubs can still prevent assistants under contract from making lateral moves. Whitt will call the Commanders’ defensive plays, putting Quinn in place as a CEO coach in Washington.
The Cowboys are not standing in the way of multiple other assistants following Quinn, however. They will not nix Commanders interviews with assistant defensive line coach Sharrif Floyd or quality control staffer Pete Ohnegian, Archer adds. A former first-round Vikings draftee, Floyd joined McCarthy’s Cowboys staff in 2023.