# Dan Quinn (American football)

Daniel Patrick Quinn (born September 11, 1970) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks from 2013 to 2014, helping craft a Cover 3 defense that featured the Legion of Boom secondary. Under Quinn, Seattle made two consecutive Super Bowl appearances, winning the franchise's first in Super Bowl XLVIII.
Quinn then served six seasons as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2015 to 2020, with the team appearing in Super Bowl LI in 2016. Quinn would make the playoffs only once following that, resulting in his firing in early 2020. He was hired as defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys in 2021, with his unit leading the league in takeaways for three consecutive seasons. Quinn was named head coach of the Commanders in 2024, leading them to an appearance in the NFC Championship Game in his first year.

## Early life

Quinn was born on September 11, 1970, in Morristown, New Jersey. He grew up in nearby Morris Township and played football at Morristown High School before graduating in 1989. Quinn attended Salisbury University, an NCAA Division III school, and played defensive lineman on its football team from 1989 to 1993. He also held the school's hammer throw record (168.8 feet) until 2012. Quinn was inducted into Salisbury's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.

## Career
### Early coaching (1994–2012)

Quinn began his football coaching career as a defensive line coach with the William & Mary Tribe in 1994 and the VMI Keydets in 1995. From 1996 to 1999, Quinn served as the defensive line coach for the Hofstra Pride and their defensive coordinator in 2000. He was hired as a defensive quality control coach by the San Francisco 49ers in 2001. He was promoted to defensive line coach in 2003, later working the same role for the Miami Dolphins (2005–2006), New York Jets (2007–2008), and Seattle Seahawks (2009–2010). He also served as defensive coordinator of the Florida Gators in 2011 and 2012.

### Seattle Seahawks (2013–2014)

On January 17, 2013, Quinn was hired by the Seahawks as their defensive coordinator under head coach Pete Carroll. In his first season, the Seahawks led the league in fewest points allowed (231), fewest yards allowed (4,378), and turnovers (39), to become the first team since the 1985 Chicago Bears to accomplish the feat; the Seahawks went on to win Super Bowl XLVIII over the Denver Broncos 43–8. The Seahawks returned to Super Bowl XLIX the following year, losing to the New England Patriots 28–24. Carroll and Quinn were credited with developing the Seattle Cover 3 defense, which was led by a strong secondary known as the Legion of Boom.

### Atlanta Falcons (2015–2020)

On February 2, 2015, Quinn was hired as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. He won his first game as head coach on Monday Night Football. The Falcons started 5–0 before finishing the season 8–8 and missing the playoffs. In the 2016 season, the Falcons won the NFC South with an 11–5 record. In the Divisional Round, the Falcons defeated the Seattle Seahawks 36–20 before defeating the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship, advancing to Super Bowl LI. In the Super Bowl, the Falcons gave up a 28–3 lead in the third quarter, the largest in Super Bowl history. Quinn won the 2016 Salute to Service award at the 6th NFL Honors.
In the 2017 season, the Falcons finished the year 10–6, which was only good enough for 3rd in the NFC South, but also good enough for the 6th seed in the playoffs. In the Wild Card Round, the Falcons defeated the 3rd seeded Los Angeles Rams by a score of 26–13 and advanced to the Divisional Round. In the Divisional Round, the Falcons lost on the road to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 15–10. In the 2018 season, the Falcons were injury riddled throughout the season, losing seven starters to injured reserve and more for at least a game. Ultimately, the team finished 7–9, which placed the Falcons at second in the NFC South, and as the eight seed in the NFC, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Following the firing of defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel, Quinn took on the position of defensive coordinator for the Falcons.
In the 2019 season, the Falcons started the first half of the season going 1–7 with growing speculation that Falcons owner Arthur Blank would fire Quinn sometime during or at the end of the season. However, after a defensive turnaround with Quinn distributing some of the defensive play-calling duties to assistants, the team finished the season at 7–9, again placing second in the NFC South and missing the playoffs for a second consecutive year. Blank announced that Quinn would return for the 2020 season after the season. The Falcons began the 2020 season with a 38–24 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. This loss marked Quinn's 40th loss of his head coaching career including playoff losses. On October 11, 2020, after an 0–5 start to the season, the Falcons' first since 1997, Quinn, along with general manager Thomas Dimitroff, was fired by the Falcons. The team named defensive coordinator Raheem Morris as the interim head coach. Quinn finished his tenure in Atlanta with a 43–42 (.506) regular season record, 3–2 (.600) playoff record and a 46–44 (.511) career record.

### Dallas Cowboys (2021–2023)

On January 11, 2021, Quinn was hired by the Dallas Cowboys replacing Mike Nolan as defensive coordinator under head coach Mike McCarthy. Quinn stepped in as acting head coach in a game against the New Orleans Saints after McCarthy had tested positive for COVID-19. In Quinn's first season as the Cowboys' defensive coordinator, the team finished atop the NFC East with a 12–5 record. A year after the Cowboys allowed a franchise-record 473 points and second-most rushing yards in franchise history, Quinn's defensive unit ranked 19th in the league in yards allowed per play (5.5), eighth in opponent's points per game (21.2) and first in turnovers (34). He was named the season's Assistant Coach of the Year. Quinn agreed to a contract extension with the team in January 2022. Under his tenure, Quinn's defenses led the league in turnovers from 2021 to 2023.

### Washington Commanders (2024–present)

On February 3, 2024, Quinn was named head coach of the Washington Commanders. He hired former Texas Tech and Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator and Cowboys secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr. as defensive coordinator. Quinn and general manager Adam Peters selected quarterback Jayden Daniels with the second pick in the 2024 NFL draft, who would have the most rushing yards and highest pass completion rate by a rookie quarterback in NFL history. The season also featured the Hail Maryland, a Hail Mary pass play thrown by Daniels as time expired to win against the Chicago Bears.
The Commanders finished the 2024 season with a record of 12–5, their highest win total since 1991 and most by a head coach in his first year with the team. In the 2024–25 NFL playoffs, the team defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions before losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game.

## Head coaching record

| Team | Year | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Postseason | Postseason | Postseason | Postseason |
| Team | Year | Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result |
| ATL | 2015 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in NFC South | — | — | — | — |
| ATL | 2016 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 1st in NFC South | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost to New England Patriots (Super Bowl LI) |
| ATL | 2017 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3rd in NFC South | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to Philadelphia Eagles (Divisional Round) |
| ATL | 2018 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 2nd in NFC South | — | — | — | — |
| ATL | 2019 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 2nd in NFC South | — | — | — | — |
| ATL | 2020 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 | Fired | — | — | — | — |
| ATL total | ATL total | 43 | 42 | 0 | .506 | — | 3 | 2 | .600 | — |
| WAS | 2024 | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 2nd in NFC East | 2 | 1 | .667 | Lost to Philadelphia Eagles (NFC Championship) |
| WAS total | WAS total | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | — | 2 | 1 | .667 | — |
| Total | Total | 55 | 47 | 0 | .539 | — | 5 | 3 | .625 | — |

## Personal life

Quinn met his wife Stacey while attending Salisbury University. He is Catholic.