Commanders' Dan Quinn Looking to 'Make the Pain Worth It'

Arriving to the Washington Commanders with some baggage from his past coach Dan Quinn is looking to make his history work for him, not against him.

The Washington Commanders had a list of coaching candidates that excited a lot of people.

Not on the list of exciting options for many observers was the idea that the Commanders would start their new fresh era of football by hiring a coach who had not only been fired from the top position once before but had also been part of the worst Super Bowl collapse of all-time.

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Public excitement be damned, Washington hired Dan Quinn to lead the team and he recently told Chick Hernandez of WUSA9 that he plans to turn his failures with the Atlanta Falcons into production for his new team.

"I knew I wanted to make the pain worth it," Quinn said. "I wanted to get the lessons so I could make sure when this lap came again, not only would I know what some blind spots were, I'd be better for it ... It probably took that L that I took in Atlanta, to learn these lessons to make sure when I get here to Washington, I'm a better coach than I ever was in Atlanta, and that's what I get to go prove."

Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn looks on during the second quarter against the New England Patriots during Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium / Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

He's not doing it alone, however, because he's bringing ousted Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury in to be his offensive coordinator.

Many scoffed or speculated the move to hire Kingsbury to lead the Cardinals was a short-sighted one when it happened in 2019 but the coach was able to build his team into a double-digit winner by year three.

Then, the proverbial wheels fell off and he was out of a job just one season later.

Now, Kingsbury will get the chance to redeem and re-establish himself as one of the brighter offensive minds in the NFL, potentially leading to his second chance just as Quinn has gotten here. 

The defensive coordinator isn't looking to prove his doubters wrong as Joe Whitt Jr. comes with Quinn from the Dallas Cowboys for a chance to prove the success there was no fluke, but a sign of even better things to come.

Quinn and the Commanders have even added to their offensive staff since his interview with Hernandez by bringing former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson aboard with his title yet to be announced. 

But this story, built largely on the foundation of redemption, isn't coming in with blind motivation. Quinn studied eight years of his rise and fall through the NFL ranks before taking the Cowboys defensive coordinator job in 2021. 

And as he sat there and re-watched his glory days with the Seattle Seahawks 'Legion of Boom', his rise to the Super Bowl with the Falcons, and his ultimate demise just four seasons later, he digested all the good and bad that came with his journey to make sure the next stop was the best yet.

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That stop just so happens to be in Washington, with a fan base who may be skeptical but is hungry for the opportunity to forget their concerns and inability to trust after decades of being led astray.

"Every once in a while you find the right person, for the right spot at the right time. That's here for me," Quinn told Hernandez. "I know I can't do anything about the past ... but from here moving forward, I'm going to go for it as hard as you've ever seen anybody go for it." 

See the full interview with coach Quinn, here.