Christian Parker Could Create an Unexpected Reunion in 27'

Yes, I know. Christian Parker hasn’t called a regular-season defense for the Cowboys yet, and I’m already wondering what happens when he leaves.

Let’s call this hypothetical Sunday.

I want to give Parker his time first. Dallas hired the 34-year-old in January, making him the youngest defensive coordinator in franchise history and he’s installing his defense.

This comes with learning his players and trying to clean up a unit that gave every Cowboys’ fan a boatload to gripe about last season. I would hope one rough year wouldn’t have Jerry Jones shopping for another coordinator before Parker gets his feet under him.

I would like him to get two to three years to figure things out.

Now let’s get hypothetical.

Suppose Parker turns Dallas into one of the nastiest defenses in football. I’m talking about the run defense holding up, third-and-long stops making us hold out breath, young players develop, and the takeaways come back.

This type of 180 would get the league’s attention and create interview opportunities for the young coach. Stack two in a row and a deep playoff run, and someone will talk themselves into hiring the young defensive guru before another team beats them to it.

I can say that would sting, but it would be more than that. Coordinators don’t become hot commodities because things fall apart and that would leave Brian Schottenheimer with a problem.

Or would it, because Dan Quinn might be looking for a job.

Christian Parker answering questions at his introductory pres conference for the Dallas Cowboys.

Parker Will Get His Chance to Prove Himself

I don’t want this to get twisted into Parker being halfway out the door. He hasn’t earned anything yet.

I can be rough on defensive coordinators and I think most fans are with me. One week the new guy is a genius, and the next week, after a running back breaks loose for 140 yards, we all want him escorted out of The Star by security.

That’s the life of a coach for the Cowboys. The good is good, but bad is the worst in the league for us fans.

We can’t operate like that, but we do.

We need to give Parker enough time to build his defense instead of patching together someone else’s defense. If the first year is bumpy, we ride those bumps like driving on Oklahoma roads.

I want to see if the defense improves, and whether the young guys are developing. Let’s see if his plan makes sense in December, and if it does, keep building..

Dan Quinn, the head coach of the Washington Commanders smiling on the sideline.

The Dan Quinn Connection is a Whole Thing

This hypothetical only works if Washington falls apart, Quinn gets fired and Parker eventually takes a head coaching job.

I know that’s a lot of dominoes to fall.

Still, Quinn and Schottenheimer aren’t strangers who shared a hallway once. They coached together with the New York Jets in 2007 and 2008, then reunited in Dallas in 2022 and 2023.

Schottenheimer knows what Quinn looks like in a meeting room and how players respond to him. Most importantly, in my opinion, he understands the Cowboys circus, Jerry Jones and family included.

How many fans would hear Dan Quinn’s name and immediately think back to Green Bay running wild on us in that embarrassing playoff loss?

That would be fair, and I would be included in that thought.

But, I also remember a Dallas defense under Quinn that hunted quarterbacks, took the football away and changed the outcome of a game before the offense even took a snap.

Did Quinn’s defense have flaws? Absolutely, the run defense made me want to pull my hair out. Some offenses found soft spots. Oh, and that Packers loss. See, I can’t stop thinking about it now.

I also know acting like Quinn didn’t accomplish would be nonsense.

Would I Make the Call?

Well, my first choice would be to keep Christian Parker’s system in place.

Promote one of his assistants if one is ready. Don’t make all the defenders start over because Parker found a better job.

We also have to know sometimes that option isn’t there. Parker could take his assistants with him and promote them or the best internal candidate might not be ready. Dallas could look around and see the safe choice is the guy Schottenheimer has known for nearly two decades.

Would I welcome Dan Quinn back as the defensive coordinator?

Yes, but I wouldn’t be throwing parades. I would want to know what he’s learned, and how he plans to change his style to fix his porus run defenses and the big one would be, can his scheme fit the roster Parker left behind?

This wild thing may never happen. Washington could win, I hope not, but it could happen and Parker could stay in Dallas for years. I may be completely crazy and none of the pieces fall the right way.

But if Parker becomes good enough to get hired away, and Quinn becomes available, remember where you heard it first, and know Schottenheimer won’t have to search his phone long for Quinn’s phone number.