The Denver Broncos have asked the Dallas Cowboys for permission to interview defensive coordinator Dan Quinn for their head coach opening, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Monday.
Quinn (then a defensive line coach) and Broncos general manager George Paton (then a director of pro personnel) worked together with the Miami Dolphins from 2005-2006. Ten years later, Quinn wanted to reunite with Paton as a GM-head coach duo.
Paton opted to remain with the Minnesota Vikings instead and Paton went on to become the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. They weren’t able to reunite in 2015, but another opportunity arose in 2022 when Denver had a head coach opening.
Paton and Quinn’s past relationship led many to speculate that Quinn was the favorite to fill the Broncos’ head coach position last year. Quinn was a finalist, but Denver ended up hiring Nathaniel Hackett instead, so Quinn remained with the Cowboys for another season.
Now that Hackett has been fired, Quinn is back in the mix for Paton and the Broncos. In addition to having a connection to the team’s GM, Quinn has also received an endorsement from quarterback Russell Wilson.
“I know him personally,” Wilson said Sunday. “He’s an amazing coach as well, an amazing person, an amazing soul, great leader.”
Quinn went 43-42 as a head coach with the Falcons before being fired five games into the 2020 season. He won Super Bowl XLVIII as a defensive coordinator with the Seattle Seahawks in 2013 and reached another Super Bowl with the Falcons in 2016, but Atlanta lost that game in embarrassing fashion.
After being fired by the Falcons, Quinn joined the Cowboys, where he has served as defensive coordinator over the last two seasons. Dallas ranked fifth in points allowed this season and seventh last year.
We are tracking all of the Broncos’ head coach candidates on this page.
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