How the Washington Commanders hired Dan Quinn as head coach

DAN QUINN WAITED anxiously for his phone to ring.

It was Feb. 7, one day after he had interviewed to be the next coach of the Washington Commanders, and the silence, in this case, was not golden.

Four years after being fired as the Atlanta Falcons head coach, and following a successful stint as Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2023, Quinn believed the time was right to have a team of his own again. The phone, however, would not cooperate. So, instead of just letting him pace around his Dallas home, his wife, Stacey, suggested they ease the tension and go for a drive.

Meanwhile, in Mobile, Alabama, Commanders general manager Adam Peters was at a dinner with team scouts fielding call after call as he and Washington’s hiring committee finalized its decision about the franchise’s next coach.

Finally, that night, Peters called Quinn.

But there was no answer. Quinn had fallen asleep on his couch.

“He made me wait so long,” Quinn joked at his introductory news conference. “I’m not answering on the first ring.”

He did quickly return the call and Peters delivered the good news. After listening to the excited GM’s job offer, Quinn responded with two words: “F— yeah!” Then he hugged Stacey.

After four weeks and 14 interviews with potential candidates, Washington had its man and Quinn his team. Quinn had sold the Commanders’ hiring committee — consisting of Peters, owner Josh Harris, longtime NFL general manager Rick Spielman, former Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers and front office veteran Martin Mayhew — on his leadership traits, willingness to learn from failure and desire to work hand-in-hand with the front office. Aiding Quinn’s case were a flood of endorsements received on his behalf, including from Warriors coach Steve Kerr and Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who had fired Quinn in 2020.

Washington’s coaching search was not without intrigue. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was in the running before pulling out to remain in Detroit. Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinators Mike Macdonald and Raheem Morris were also considered, multiple team sources said, before Macdonald picked the Seattle Seahawks and Morris chose the Falcons. But according to sources heavily involved in the hiring process, Quinn — who led the Seahawks’ vaunted Legion of Boom defense as coordinator, guided Atlanta to a Super Bowl appearance as head coach and transformed the Cowboys’ defense into a top-10 unit — was never considered a Plan B.

“Every time we spoke with Dan, it became more and more clear that he was the guy,” Peters said. “Both times it was like we were speaking the same language. It was really, really cool, had a great connection, had a great shared vision, so it was almost right away that I knew Dan would be a great coach for us.”