Well, Cowboys Nation the bandaid has officially been ripped off, and Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn is now the head coach of the Washington Commanders.
My colleague Shane Taylor said it best, “Quinn leaving for Washington allows the Cowboys to move in a new direction with their defense”.
Will it be a new direction, though?
The Cowboys have a propensity to promote from within when it comes to most coaching changes.
We saw the natural elevation of Jason Garrett from offensive coordinator to head coach.
A few years later, Kellen Moore was promoted from third-string quarterback to quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator in three short years.
Surprise hires by the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders coupled with a few young coordinators recusing themselves from consideration left some big names left in the coaching free agency.
A couple of hot names were innovative offensive coordinators Bobby Slowik of Houston and Ben Johnson of Detroit.
Johnson was considered the favorite to land the job in Washington but removed himself from consideration following the Lions’ loss to San Francisco in the NFC Championship Game.
Today I’d like to talk about four names that could be possible replacements for Quinn, but it will be in an unconventional style.
You’ll see what I’m talking about. Let’s get into it.
Likely Candidates
As I mentioned above, the Dallas Cowboys are an organization that doesn’t make sweeping changes.
Ten years of Jason Garrett’s mediocrity is a testament to that, so as fans, we are aware that Quinn’s replacement is likely to come from within.
Joe Whitt Jr.
The first name that comes to mind is Joe Whitt Jr.
Whitt is the current passing game coordinator for the Cowboys, and has been a member of the coaching staff since 2021.
He was brought over to Quinn’s staff after being relieved of his duties as the secondary coach in Atlanta.
Whitt spent 10 years as a member of the Green Bay coaching staff under Mike McCarthy so that familiarity is what could get him promoted to defensive coordinator.
We are completely unaware if Quinn is going to try to poach some of the Cowboys’ coaching staff to take with him to Washington.
If he does so, Whitt is a guy who could decide to take the coordinator job there and remain on Quinn’s staff.
Al Harris
Defensive Backs Coach Al Harris is another long-standing member of the McCarthy tree.
Harris has the advantage of a relationship with McCarthy as both a player and a coach after spending five years playing cornerback for him in Green Bay.
He arrived in Dallas with no specific role as a secondary coach on the defense, but quickly made his mark.
Harris, using his veteran savvy as a player, helped bring out the best in All-Pro cornerbacks Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland.
The catch is Harris was quoted last week saying “If DQ (Dan Quinn) were to land a head coaching job somewhere, in whatever capacity he needs me, I’m there”.
Harris would seem to be a natural choice, but will he stay in Dallas?
Fan Favorites
This section is reserved for possible candidates that Cowboys Twitter/X will be clamoring for in the coming days.
In reality, there will probably only be one.
Mike Vrabel
Now that all of the head coaching vacancies have been filled, where does that leave the recently terminated head coach of the Tennessee Titans?
Mike Vrabel is a name that Cowboys fans should want to come to Dallas.
Vrabel isn’t part of the Bill Belichick coaching tree because he never served under him as a coach, but he did play eight seasons under him.
The linebacker won three Super Bowls in his time in New England but has yet to feel that glory as a coach.
Aside from coordinating tough defenses in Houston and Tennessee, Vrabel could know exactly what to do to strengthen the Cowboys at linebacker.
Vrabel was the linebackers coach and defensive coordinator in Houston and helped develop DeMeco Ryans, Brian Cushing, Whitney Mercilus, and Bernardrick McKinney.
Pipe Dream
This candidate is a defensive genius, but it would be extremely farfetched to expect him to come to Dallas.
Bill Belichick
Ok stop rolling your eyes for a second and hear me out.
I already explained that it would be farfetched to expect this move to happen, but would it really be that crazy?
Bill Belichick is arguably the greatest NFL coach to ever walk the sidelines, and it deserves at least a conversation.
Most will say there’s no way he would accept a coordinator position after winning six Super Bowls as a head coach, but my response to that would be “Did he tell you that?”
The writing is on the wall that this will be Mike McCarthy’s last year barring a Super Bowl appearance.
Could the prospect of being the next head coach of the Dallas Cowboys be enough for Belichick to shirk the head coaching responsibilities for one season?
The defense has blue-chip talent at all three levels and a generational player in Micah Parsons who constantly draws comparisons to Lawrence Taylor.
Coincidentally, Belichick coached Taylor as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants during the Bill Parcells era.
Other players like Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland could also entice Belichick to use his defensive genius in Dallas.
Only time will tell.
my opinion is this: The defense they ran under Quinn was awesome until a few key people went out. Leighton, Diggs(although Bland was really good) and tackles are lacking as well. If you went to a guy from outside, they might want to completely install a new scheme and one or two people that are really good look like they don’t fit anymore (see Williams, Ware,etc). In that sense Whitt or Harris would be the guys. If you did go outside, I think only Belicheck could improve on it but I doubt he would want to be just a coordinator. And Truthfully he is awesome HC but a year off would give him perspective to let go of new england and move forward with a really good opportunity which will of course open up next year.
Al Harris was already on record a week ago as saying he’d follow Quinn anywhere in a heartbeat if he asked. Not sure if he’s got the experience to coordinate the entire defense, anyway.
Jerry may want to make a little bigger splash than staying “in house.”, just to keep in the headlines.
Harris won’t do that, and Belichick won’t take a step down, so they are definitely not happening.
However, they are interviewing Ron Rivera. And Mike Zimmer is showing interest. Former Head Coaches would do the trick for Jerry.
looks like once gain jerry will be hiring rather than the head coach. More change. Same dysfunction.