Former Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn is the favorite of the new Dallas Cowboys DC, sources say

FRISCO, Texas – Dan Quinn is the favorite to become the Dallas Cowboys’ next defensive coordinator, according to sources.

Quinn will take over from Mike Nolan, who was fired last week by coach Mike McCarthy, and will inherit a defense that had one of the worst seasons in Cowboys history.

Quinn, who is flying to Dallas for his first interview, according to a source, was fired as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons after five games in 2020, after taking the 2015 position. He set a 43-42 record and took the Falcons at the Super Bowl in the second season.

Going with Quinn would be a signal of a return to the scheme that the Cowboys hired from 2013 to ’19 under the leadership of Monte Kiffin, Rod Marinelli and Kris Richard.

Quinn, 50, was the Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator in 2013-14 before becoming Atlanta’s head coach. He used a 4-3 scheme that mostly used a unique safety aspect and helped the Seahawks to consecutive Super Bowl appearances. The Seahawks finished 1st in yards and points allowed in its two seasons.

Owner and CEO Jerry Jones was keen to move away from the scheme used by the Cowboys in McCarthy’s freshman year because he thought it was too simplistic. Nolan brought in a hybrid defense that would use more cover-ups and disguises that would confuse crime, but that never happened.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Nolan and the defensive staff had to implement their new defense practically, without any benefit from working in the field, until a shortened training camp began. The early results were disastrous, with the Cowboys allowing at least 34 points in five of the first six games.

Nolan simplified the scheme at the beginning of the season, but the defense didn’t really start. The Cowboys awarded the most points in the franchise’s history (473) and finished 31st.

Part of the problem was not adapting the scheme to the players. Defensive players accustomed to attacking the field to disrupt games have now been asked to withstand the blockers. Defenders did not play down and were often late in making decisions or were swallowed by larger offensive lines.

During his two years as Seattle coordinator, Quinn had a team that was built on defense, such as Chan Chancellor, Bobby Wagner, Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman.

He wouldn’t inherit that kind of talent in Dallas. DeMarcus Lawrence is the highest paid Cowboy and performed well in 2020, although he had only 6.5 bags. Jaylon Smith led the Cowboys in approaches, but there are some questions about his future with the team due to potential salary cap issues. Leighton Vander Esch, a selection from the first round in 2018, missed six games with a broken collarbone and a high ankle sprain.

Three members of the secondary – security Xavier Woods and defenders Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis – are set to become free agents. So is Aldon Smith, the passenger.

Cowboys feel in the corner of Trevon Diggs and defensive striker Neville Gallimore, their second and third round picks in 2020 have high ceilings, and second-year safety Donovan Wilson played when he moved to the starting line.