The Cowboys waited until offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was out of the running for the Panthers’ head coaching job a year ago before they announced they were parting ways. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is a candidate for five head coaching vacancies.
Will the Cowboys do the same thing with Quinn that they did with Moore last season if Quinn doesn’t get another job?
Ed Werder of ESPN reports that Quinn is expected back as the team’s defensive coordinator if he doesn’t get a head coaching job. Quinn has completed two of five scheduled interviews.
The Cowboys announced Mike McCarthy will return for the final year of his contract, but the team’s head coach was not definitive on Quinn’s future.
“Dan is a highly-valued member of our coaching staff. We’ll go through the process here,” McCarthy said, via Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press.
Receivers coach Robert Prince is the only position coach not under contract next season.
It has been widely thought that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones would replace McCarthy with Quinn whenever the time came, but Quinn would be a hard sell to the fan base after the Packers’ loss.
As the Monday morning quarterbacks have pointed out on social media, Quinn’s defense played more zone against the Packers than they had this season. The Cowboys allowed a playoff-franchise-worst 48 points, including a pick-six and a 19-yard drive after Dak Prescott’s other interception, and had no takeaways and no sacks.