BREAKING: Broncos Fire Vic Fangio; Cowboys Coach Dan Quinn 'Top Candidate,' Says Source

Dan Quinn, the highly coveted defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, is being connected to the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks.

FRISCO - Dan Quinn, the highly coveted defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, is a "top candidate'' for the Broncos job now that as of early Sunday morning Denver has dismissed Vic Fangio, a source tells CowboysSI.com.

And Quinn, a key to Dallas' 12-5 playoff-bound season, will be a top candidate if Seattle parts ways with Pete Carroll as well.

Denver just finished Year 3 under Fangio and is not making the playoffs, finishing 7-10. Seattle is 6-10 and finishes Sunday against favored Arizona.

There is also sourced information about Quinn going back to Seattle, where he was once the defensive coordinator under head coach Pete Carroll. But Carroll, an institution in Seattle, isn't on the same thin ice, it seems, as Fangio was.

Conventionally, teams don't replace one defensive-minded head coach with another. Fangio, like Quinn, has a background in being a defensive coordinator. But this is more about agents and power-brokers - and of course, Quinn's talent as a coach and a leader, with his Falcons Super Bowl and now the Dallas turnaround on his resume - than it is about "convention.'' 

Quinn, 51, is a forceful presence who can command a room. He is also someone who NFL people believe can recruit players - among the many reasons the Jones family in Dallas hopes he somehow does not leave.

And at the risk of burying the lead: Is Quinn's draw so powerful that he could lure Seahawks QB Russell Wilson to Denver? Or, for that matter, keep him happy in Seattle?

Broncos general manager George Paton was a personnel guy in Miami in the mid-2000's when Quinn spent two seasons as the Dolphins defensive line coach, so there is that connect-the-dots factor. Additionally, Paton inherited Fangio, so like most GM's, he is likely interested in at some point bringing in "his hire.''

Denver is the second prospective suitor connected to Quinn, as the Jacksonville Jaguars sought to interview him (along with Moore). Quinn, however, denied the request - not necessarily because of disinterest but rather because he has opted to put off all job inquiries until playoff-bound Dallas’ season concludes. 

But now? Eventual phone calls to Quinn's agent are coming.

Follow FishSports on Twitter

Follow Cowboys / Fish on Facebook

Subscribe to the Cowboys Fish Report on YouTube for constant daily Cowboys live-stream podcasts and reports!