I’m wondering what the long-game is here for Dan Quinn, who announced Thursday he is staying on as the Cowboys’ D.C. Clearly, Quinn could have landed a head coaching job with one of several teams, but chose to stay in Dallas for now.
My first reaction yesterday was that perhaps Quinn had been told by Joneses’ Incorporated that he would ascend to the coaching throne after Mike McCarthy got whacked sometime in the next few days. But as I type this at 3:11 a.m. Friday there are multiple media reports that McCarthy has kept his job. For now, I will presume those reports are accurate.
Quinn wants, expects and deserves to once again be an NFL head coach. And he almost certainly will be. With experience comes wisdom, and Quinn now knows now that among the 32 NFL head coaching jobs are some lemons.
But Dan is rolling the dice. He did a magnificent job with the Cowboys’ D this season, and is clearly a player favorite (on both sides of the ball.) But as they say in the financial industry, “Prior results are no guarantee of future success.” The Cowboy roster will look much different in 2022. Maybe Quinn’s decision to stay will help Dallas hold onto some key free agents. But maybe that defense slides back to the middle of the pack and Quinn becomes yesterday’s news.
Cue Jerry Reed. “When you hot, you hot. When you not, you not…”
Danny Q. just walked up to the craps table.
Could the Bears and Broncos have been any more predictable? Chicago just fired an offensive-minded head coach in Matt Nagy. So naturally the Bears replaced him with a defensive “guru,” now former Colts’ D.C. Matt Eberflus.
Denver just parted ways with Vic Fangio, who built a studly defense, but whose offense couldn’t score even on prom night. There was never a doubt that the Broncos would yank the steering wheel the other direction and go offense this time around. Enter Nathaniel Hackett, who comes to Denver after an impressive stint as the Packers’ offensive coordinator. The problem for the Broncos is that Hackett cannot play quarterback. Yeah..that’s a problem.
Yeah, but I can go conspiracy theory on you for a few minutes. Hmmm…could Aaron Rodgers wind up in the Mile High City? Or am I high for even thinking that?
I’m starting to think Brady is through. He is saying things he has never before said following a season.
Big Ben is now officially through. Three SB appearances, two rings. My lasting snapshot of his 18-year career with the Steelers? The throw he made to Santonio Holmes to beat the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, also known as 43. That was the single dangedest throw I ever saw.
We’ll start breaking down the conference championship games tomorrow morning. Happy Friday, all!
