FRISCO, Texas – The Cowboys officially named Dan Quinn as their new defensive coordinator Tuesday. Here are five facts you may not know about Quinn, 50:
He started out as a small school boy. Prior to joining William & Mary’s coaching staff in 1994, Quinn was an outstanding defensive line player in Division III at Salisbury University in Maryland. He had 145 career tackles as a two-time captain in the Sea Gulls and was also an athlete in two sports, breaking the school’s longest hammer throw record (168 ’88 “).
He specializes in D-Line. As in his gambling days, Quinn has extensive experience training the defensive line. He coached the position on three university programs – William & Mary, Hofstra and VMI (on the same team as future Steelers coach Mike Tomlin) – before joining the NFL as D-Line coach for 49ers (2003-04). From there, Quinn had the same role for the Dolphins (2005-06), Jets (2007-09) and Seahawks (2009-10). Along the way, he coached future Hall of Fame member Jason Taylor (Dolphins) and worked with former Cowboys striker Michael Bennett at the start of Bennett’s debut season in 2009 with Seattle as an uncontracted free agent .
He coordinated one of the greatest defenses of all time. When Gus Bradley left the Seahawks to become the head coach of the Jaguars in 2013, Quinn returned to Seattle with a promotion to defensive coordinator and helped the defense continue one of the greatest races in NFL history. Loaded with Pro Bowl talent, the 2013 Super Bowl champion Seahawks became the first team since the ’85 Bears – widely considered the best defense of all time – to lead the league in takeaways, fewer points allowed and fewer yards allowed (source: Chicago Bears.com). Seattle made the Super Bowl again in 2014, losing in the final seconds to the Patriots. From 2012 to 14, they became the first defense since the 1969 to 71 Vikings to allow the fewest points in three consecutive seasons.
He worked on different defensive schemes. Quinn is generally considered to be a 4-3 coach throughout his career, including his time working for Pete Carroll in Seattle. The Cowboys have used variations of this approach in the past under former defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli and former pass game coordinator Kris Richard, also a former Seahawks assistant. But Quinn also trained on a variety of systems. The Jets ran a 3-4 during their time in New York. The Dolphins had a 4-3 and 3-4 mix under Nick Saban at the time. Even in Florida, when Quinn returned to college as a 2011-12 defensive coordinator, the Gators used a combination of three- and four-man fronts.
He is yet another assistant on the team of Cowboys’ head coach Mike McCarthy, who has had previous experience as an NFL coach. (Special team coordinator John Fassel and offensive line coach Joe Philbin as well.) Quinn posted a 46-44 record in five and a half seasons with Atlanta from 2015-20. The Falcons and Quinn broke up after a 0-5 start this season, including a 40-39 loss to the Cowboys in Week 2. But Quinn took Atlanta to the Super Bowl in 2016, losing a suspense to the Patriots, and he became only the second coach in the history of Falcons to take them to the playoffs in consecutive seasons. McCarthy clearly likes to have an experienced team, and the signing of Quinn as DC continues this trend in Dallas.