For much of the Commanders’ head coaching search, Lions OC Ben Johnson appeared to be in pole position for the gig. After he bowed out of the running, Mike Macdonald and Dan Quinn remained as the favorites, and it was the latter who was formally hired earlier this month. 
Quinn is now in place for his second head coaching opportunity after a three-year run as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator. Further details on the hiring process have emerged, courtesy of a detailed piece from ESPN’s John Keim. Among the key takeaways is his report that Quinn was never considered a “Plan B” option for owner Josh Harris and the committee he assembled to find general manager Adam Peters and the team’s new coach.
That comes in the wake of serious interest shown by Washington in Macdonald, who turned a successful two-year stint as the Ravens’ DC into the head coaching position with the Seahawks. Multiple reports have stated the Commanders offered their HC spot to Macdonald before he ultimately joined Seattle on a six-year deal. Still, Peters has expressed confidence in Quinn’s candidacy irrespective of the other candidates looked at during the team’s lengthy search.
“Every time we spoke with Dan, it became more and more clear that he was the guy,” Peters said. “Both times it was like we were speaking the same language. It was really, really cool, had a great connection, had a great shared vision, so it was almost right away that I knew Dan would be a great coach for us.”
As Keim notes, Quinn received more votes of confidence from people outside the Commanders’ search committee than any other candidate. The 53-year-old has spent all but two seasons as a coach at the NFL level since 2001, earning a strong reputation as a defensive mind and leader along the way. He was viewed as being in the same tier for coaching options as Johnson, Keim notes, though the former ultimately received the highest score in the Commanders’ evaluation.
While those factors alone were obviously not the only ones informing Harris’ decision, they underscore how well-regarded Quinn was in the build-up to his hire. He will be tasked with replacing Ron Rivera and overseeing a rebuilding effort after Washington posted a 4-13 record in 2023. Given the nature of his arrival in the nation’s capital, it would not come as a surprise if he received a long leash as part of that process.
The Commies/Redskins have a huge amount of draft capital, lots of cap space, some decent QB’s on the roster. DE of course is a hole right now, as is at least one LB position. Otherwise the offensive line is a sieve. But with all that cap space and all those draft picks, firming up the defensive ends and solidifying the offensive line are achievable goals.
The big question is whether to join the QB sweepstakes at #2. Definitely take Drake Maye would be my move, pass on Caleb Williams. Let someone else have the undersized diva at #1.
Is there any point in Washington joining a QB sweepstakes when they never give these guys the proper support and time to develop? I think Howell can win for the Commies if they give him better support. They should use their top draft pick on that DE position you mentioned.
Lemon, I agree with you that Howell has potential. Even Brissett too could be a resurrection story like Geno Smith in Seattle.
If the Commies-Redskins were to choose to go DE, then they should definitely trade down four or five or eight spots and reap the draft capital from the 2nd pick in extra picks for this year and next year.
I think Quinn was the HC choice because he is a strong team player who can work well with others. He isn’t very innovative or creative but at this stage stability is probably more important to the new ownership group.
Quinn can build a defense, and he’s hired someone who knows how to build an offense. If you have both a shutdown defense and a dangerous offense, what’s the worst thing that could happen to your team?
With a team like that it’s not like you’d be up 23 points at the end of the first half of a Super Bowl and lose the Super Bowl or anything.
The worst thing that can happen to your team is losing a championship game 73-0 but Washington has already put a check mark beside that.