'It's So Rare' To See Washington Commanders Coach Dan Quinn's Authentic Leadership

Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn was hired for his ability to build a staff, but it's his willingness to be authentic that is the bedrock of it all.

Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn (center-left) with running backs Chris Rodriguez (left), Brian Robinson (center-right), and Austin Ekeler (right). / Washington Commanders

Everyone wants a fair boss who treats them well and communicates clearly. Washington Commanders are no different.

Being an outside observer many might think a member of the Commanders or any other NFL organization should be a professional and one of the best in their craft. And some are. But it might turn out that most aren't.

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Coaching isn't easy, but most will tell you that being an effective one comes with how well you connect with your players, fellow coaches, and how much they can trust you. In Washington, that last part has been a hard one to manufacture and arguably the most important missing component of team's in the past.

"I can't overstate how important it is, and obviously the coach doesn't need to be mean about it, but I want the coach to be honest with me," Commanders team analyst Logan Paulsen said on the Locked On Commanders podcast when asked about the impact of coach Quinn's authentic leadership style. "I want the opportunity as a player - if you're unhappy with something I'm doing, I want the opportunity to correct it. And if you like what I'm doing, I want to continue to do more of that."

Those requests of any player sound feasible, right? So why is it then so many find themselves on the short end of receiving that honest and upfront leadership they crave? Part of it, Paulsen said, is due to the professional environment coaches find themselves in, in today's NFL.

Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn (center-left) with running backs Chris Rodriguez (left), Brian Robinson (center-right), and Austin Ekeler (right). / Washington Commanders

"I think that's something that's so, so rare in the NFL now because position coaches are worried about pissing people off," he said. "They're worried about getting fired, they're worried about their own thing. And so I think when it comes from the top down like that with Dan...I do appreciate that. ...Good players want to know. They want to know. When you talk to (fellow former Washington players) Santana (Moss), when you talk to Fred (Smoot), they're like, 'I want to know where I'm at,' and I think it's so rare to see that. And I think it's great that Dan is trying to do that at a high level, and he's learned from some really good coaches or talked with really good coaches about the best way to get that done. So I think that's great."

One of those coaches is recently retired Alabama Crimson Tide legend Nick Saban. A recent article by Ben Standig of The Athletic dove into Quinn's experiences working under Saban where he said, "It was like going to get your PhD in Football."

Quinn has been fired, so he knows what it's like to walk that line. It's apparent that one lesson he's learned from that is the need to be even more honest and be even more deliberate in how he attacks this second opportunity.

One he admitted he'd been looking forward to since being fired by the Atlanta Falcons during the 2020 NFL season.

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