With a new head coach in Dan Quinn and a rookie quarterback in Jayden Daniels, the Washington Commanders have reached the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1992. Quinn is no stranger to Super Bowl appearances, leading the Atlanta Falcons to Super Bowl 51 as a head coach.
Eight years later, Quinn is back on the cusp of a Super Bowl berth, this time as the first-year head coach of the Commanders. With a victory over the Eagles, Quinn can return to football’s biggest stage, Super Bowl 59.
Quinn has over 30+ years of coaching experience, leading him to a successful career. From starting at William & Mary as an assistant defensive line coach to becoming the Commanders’ head coach, how did Quinn get to this point?
Dan Quinn’s Coaching Career
1994-1995: William & Mary and Virginia Military Institute, Assistant Defensive Line Coach
While in college, Quinn attended Salisbury University. He played defensive lineman for the NCAA Division III school from 1989 to 1993. Right out of college, Quinn was a part-time assistant defensive line coach at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
After one season at William & Mary, he spent the 1995 season at the Virginia Military Institute, where he worked with future Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin on the defensive side of the ball.
1996-2000: Hofstra, Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Line Coach
After leaving VMI, Quinn finally got to coach his own defensive group. He spent four seasons as the defensive line coach at Hofstra before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2000. In his five seasons with Hofstra, the team went 42-18 and reached the NCAA Division I-AA quarterfinal round twice.
2001-2004: San Francisco 49ers, Defensive Line Coach and Defensive Quality Control
In 2001, Quinn made the move to the NFL. He joined the San Francisco 49ers as a defensive quality control coach. He was promoted to the defensive line coach for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. While with San Francisco, the 49ers held a 31-33 record under head coach Steve Mariucci and Dennis Erickson.
2005-2010: Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, and Seattle Seahawks, Defensive Line Coach
After four seasons with the 49ers, Quinn joined several NFL teams over the next five years. During the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Quinn worked as the Miami Dolphins defensive line coach under head coach Nick Saban.
In the 2007 and 2008 seasons, he relocated to East Rutherford, N.J., serving in the same position for the New York Jets under head coach Eric Mangini. In the 2009 and 2010 seasons, he joined the Seattle Seahawks as the assistant head coach and defensive line coach under Jim Mora and Pete Carroll.
2011-2012: Florida Gators, Defensive Coordinator
In 2011, Quinn returned to college as a defensive coordinator for the Florida Gators under head coach Will Muschamp. In his first season, Florida finished 7-6 after defeating Ohio State, 24-17, in the Gator Bowl. Quinn’s defense held opponents to 20.31 points per game, tied for 20th in the nation.
The following season, Quinn helped guide the Gators to an 11-2 season with four wins over teams that ranked among the top 12 in BCS standings at the end of the regular season (including Texas A&M, LSU, South Carolina, and Florida State).
Dan Quinn is really giving me the 2012-2013-2014 Seahawks vibes with that he is building in Washington.
Might be not enough for a Super Bowl year one, but they’ll get one soon.
Also, so happy for Bobby Wagner. What a smart player to bring in 🥹 pic.twitter.com/itFDcMF9Jv
— Sami ON Tap (@SamiOnTap) January 24, 2025
2013-2015: Seattle Seahawks, Defensive Coordinator
After finding success again at the college level, Quinn moved back to the NFL. He served as the defensive coordinator under head coach Pete Carroll. In Quinn’s first season, the Seahawks led the league in fewest points allowed, fewest yards allowed, and turnovers forced. They became the first team since the 1985 Chicago Bears to rank first in all three of those categories.
Dan Quinn captured his first Super Bowl victory in Seattle, winning Super Bowl 48 with a victory over the Denver Broncos, 43-8.
Quinn continued the momentum the next season, allowing the fewest yards and fewest points in the league. Seattle returned to the Super Bowl but lost to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Carroll and Quinn were credited with developing the Seattle Cover 3 defense, leading the Legion of Boom.
2015-2020: Atlanta Falcons, Head Coach
Quinn finally received his first head coaching opportunity at any level when he accepted the Falcons head coaching position on Feb. 2, 2015.
While the team started 5-0 in his first season, Atlanta slipped over its final 11 games, finishing 8-8 and missing the playoffs.
Quinn and the Falcons rebounded the following season, finishing the regular season 11-5 and winning the NFC. Atlanta met the Patriots in Super Bowl 51, and Atlanta was on the verge of its first-ever title. However, Quinn fell short of victory.
Brady and the Patriots came back from a 25-point deficit with just 2:12 remaining in the third quarter. Quinn’s loss was widely considered the best NFL comeback of all time. Brady completed 43 of his 62 passes, tallying 466 yards and two touchdowns. Atlanta’s defense ranked 27th in points allowed that season and 25th in yards allowed.
Many teams would have suffered from the dreaded Super Bowl hangover after that collapse, but not Quinn and the Falcons. Atlanta had another productive season finishing 10-6 and advancing to the divisional Round, losing to the eventual champions, the Philadelphia Eagles.
Atlanta stumbled the next few seasons, finishing 7-9 in each of the next two campaigns and missing the playoffs each year. Quinn was fired after the Falcons started the 2020 season with an 0-5 record. He finished his tenure as the head coach in Atlanta with a 43-42 regular-season record and a 3-2 postseason record.
2021-2023: Dallas Cowboys, Defensive Coordinator
After his split with the Falcons, Quinn was hired by the Dallas Cowboys as their defensive coordinator under head coach Mike McCarthy. In his first season as the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator, the team finished 12-5 and won the NFC East.
Quinn helped improve the Cowboys’ defense after the Cowboys allowed a franchise-record 473 points and the second-most rushing yards in franchise history the season before. Quinn’s defense ranked 19th in the league in yards allowed per play, eighth in points per game, and first in turnovers forced. He won the AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year Award after that season.
In 2022, Dallas finished 12th in yards allowed, fifth in points allowed, and once again first in takeaways. The Cowboys went 12-5 again, and Quinn got his revenge on Brady in the playoffs by defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the quarterback’s final NFL game.
The Cowboys finished 12-5 for the third straight season in 2023, finishing fifth in yards and points allowed. During the 2023 offseason, Quinn jumped ship after multiple offseasons of coaching buzz, taking the lead role with Washington.