Former Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn is favorite to be the new Dallas Cowboys DC, sources said

FRISCO, Texas – Dan Quinn is the favorite to become the next defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, according to sources.

Quinn would take over from Mike Nolan, who was fired last week by coach Mike McCarthy, and inherit a defense that had one of the worst seasons in Cowboys history.

Quinn, who is flying to Dallas for his first interview, according to a source, was fired from the position of coach of the Atlanta Falcons after five games in 2020, having held the position since 2015. He reached a record of 43-42 and took Falcons to the Super Bowl in its second season.

Going with Quinn would be a sign of a return to the scheme that the Cowboys employed from 2013 to 19 under Mount Kiffin, Rod Marinelli and Kris Richard.

Quinn, 50, was the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks in 2013-14 before becoming the Atlanta head coach. He employed a 4-3 scheme that mainly used a unique, high security look and helped the Seahawks make consecutive appearances in the Super Bowl. The Seahawks finished first in yards and points allowed in their two seasons.

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones was eager to move away from the scheme that the Cowboys used in McCarthy’s first year because he found it too simplistic. Nolan brought a hybrid defense that would use multiple covers and disguises that would confuse the offenses, but that never really happened.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Nolan and the defense team had to implement their new defense virtually, with no benefit of fieldwork until a reduced training ground began. The first results were disastrous, with Cowboys allowing at least 34 points in five of the first six games.

Nolan simplified the scheme early in the season, but the defense never really caught on. The Cowboys allowed the most points in the franchise’s history (473) and finished in 31st position in the defense ranking.

Part of the problem was not adapting the scheme to the players. Defensive line attackers used to attack on the field to interrupt play and were now asked to hold on to blockers. Linebackers did not play downhill and were often slow to make their decisions or were swallowed up by larger offensive line players.

In his two years as Seattle coordinator, Quinn had a team built in defense with names like Kam Chancellor, Bobby Wagner, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman.

He wouldn’t inherit that kind of talent in Dallas. DeMarcus Lawrence is the highest-paid Cowboy and performed well in 2020, although he only had 6.5 bags. Jaylon Smith led the Cowboys in the tackles, but there are some doubts about his future with the team because of potential salary cap problems. Leighton Vander Esch, a choice in the first round in 2018, missed six games with a broken collarbone and a high ankle sprain.

Three high school members – safety Xavier Woods and cornerbacks Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis – are expected to become free agents. Pass-rusher Aldon Smith too.

Cowboys feel like cornerback Trevon Diggs and defensive tackle Neville Gallimore, their choices for the second and third rounds in 2020, have high ceilings, and second-year safety Donovan Wilson made moves when he moved to the starting lineup.