Cowboys DC Dan Quinn Father’s The Replacement Of A Coach…
RENTON, Wash. – With Pete Carroll stepping aside as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, the team will embark on the search for a new coach for the first time since 2010.
General manager John Schneider will be tasked with finding Carroll’s replacement as he takes full control of the front office after working in tandem with Carroll for the last 14 seasons.
One of the names most easily connected to the opening is a fairly familiar one for Seahawks fans: Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.
Quinn spent four years on Carroll’s coaching staff with the Seahawks over two different stints with the team. He was one of a few holdovers from Jim Mora’s coaching staff when Carroll was hired in 2010. Quinn served as Carroll’s assistant head coach/defensive line coach for two years before leaving to become the defensive coordinator at the University of Florida. Quinn returned to Seattle in 2013 as Carroll’s defensive coordinator after Gus Bradley left to become head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. In his two years as defensive coordinator, the Seahawks made back-to-back trips to the Super Bowl and won their first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history.
Quinn left to become head coach of the Atlanta Falcons in 2014 and made it to the Super Bowl in 2016. After being let go by the Falcons after the 2020 season, Quinn was hired as the defensive coordinator in Dallas.
Quinn obviously knows many people in the Seahawks’ building, including Schneider and VP of Player Personnel Trent Kirchner. The Cowboys have been a top 10 scoring defense in each of Quinn’s three seasons as defensive coordinator, and improved from 19th in total defense in 2021 to fifth this season.
But Quinn likely won’t be the only candidate on the Seahawks’ radar.
The “Rooney Rule” requires each NFL team to interview at least two external minority candidates for available head coaching positions. So the team will be mandated to at least speak with two such candidates.
The process is just starting for the Seahawks, so none of the following names are anyone officially connected to the vacancy. However, they are candidates that would make sense for the team to consider for one reason or another. No insider knowledge (yet) on these possibilities.
– Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel
If Pete Carroll leaving the Seahawks is the most shocking coaching change of the offseason, Vrabel’s departure from the Titans would be a close second.
Vrabel won the AP NFL Coach of the Year Award in 2021 for leading the Titans to the AFC Championship game. But after consecutive losing seasons, owner Amy Adams Strunk decided to go a different direction. In six seasons with the Titans, Vrabel went 56-48 overall, including a 2-3 record in the playoffs.
– Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald
With the Seahawks needing to fix multiple issues on the defensive side of the ball, going after the coordinator of the top defense in the league would obviously make sense.
The Ravens under Macdonald held six opponents – including the Seahawks – to 10 points or fewer this season. Their 16.5 points per game allowed bested the 17.3 and 17.5 points per game allowed of the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, respectively.
– Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson
If we’re going to mention one of the top defensive coordinators, we might as well mention one of the top coordinators on the offensive side, too.
Johnson has been the offensive coordinator in Detroit for the last two seasons and has helped quarterback Jared Goff deliver the two best seasons of his career. The Lions have ranked fifth in points per game over the last two years, with two top five finishes in total offense as well (4th – 2022, 3rd – 2023).
– University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh
The Seahawks hit a home run by hiring a college coach in Carroll in 2010. Speculation remains constant about Harbaugh looking for NFL opportunities after winning a National Championship with Michigan earlier this week.
It would be a really ironic hire for the Seahawks in some ways, with Harbaugh being the former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers early in Carroll’s tenure in Seattle. Throw in the animosity that Carroll and Harbaugh had towards each other going back to their time coaching at USC and Stanford and Harbaugh replacing Carroll in Seattle would be rather comical.
But Harbaugh is unquestionably a tremendous coach. And despite his background as a quarterback in the NFL, his teams have always had strong defensive units as well.
– University of Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer
If the National Championship winning head coach wouldn’t have any interest in the job, perhaps the runner-up head coach would.
DeBoer has had two brilliant seasons as head coach of the Washington Huskies since taking over the job in 2022. DeBoer had led UW to a 25-3 record over that span as Washington won the final Pac-12 Championship in December before advancing to face Harbaugh’s Michigan team in the title game.
DeBoer may not want to leave Washington or move to the professional game, but given his track record of success and strong offensive background, he’d be a compelling candidate for the Seahawks. And if he did make the jump, maybe he could continue coaching Michael Penix Jr. at the next level as well.
– Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores
It’s much easier to find cutting-edge ideas coming from offensively-minded coaches, but Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores may be one of the more innovative options currently on the defensive side of the ball.
As detailed by Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com, Flores brought a version of a collegiate defensive scheme to the Vikings that he adapted from University of Pittsburgh’s head coach Pat Narduzzi. It helped the Vikings play extremely well defensively for a large portion of the season after a feeling out process with the new scheme. Then injuries piled up at quarterback and the play of the whole team suffered.
Flores had a three-year stint at head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019-2021 as well, but reportedly was fired after failing to comply with owner Stephen Ross’ tanking edict. Flores is suing the NFL over that situation, which could deter other teams from considering him as a head coach.