Giant Leap: Coach Dan Quinn ‘Package Deal’ to Leave Cowboys for New York?

Are the Cowboys poised to lose their top two defensive coaches to a division rival?

FRISCO - Dan Quinn is very much on the New York Giants radar as they search for their next head coach. And as the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator quietly prepares to build his staff - in Denver or Chicago or New York or wherever - it would make sense that Dallas assistant Joe Whitt Jr. might follow him.

One report in New York states that the Giants have requested an interview with defensive passing game coordinator/secondary coach Whitt Jr. for their defensive coordinator position. Another report out of New York disputes that assertion. But this we can say for certain: Whitt Jr. is coveted as a coordinator, as the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens are both interested. And his ties to Quinn would make that "Giant leap'' from Dallas a natural ... a package deal of sorts.

Whitt Jr., 43, has been with the Cowboys for one season - and interestingly, his ties go back to two different Dallas coaching trees. Prior to the 2021 season, Whitt Jr. coached for the Atlanta Falcons, when Quinn was the head coach there. Prior to that, though, he worked for the Green Bay Packers, and present (and future?) Dallas coach Mike McCarthy was his boss there.

The Giants, Dallas' NFC East rival, interviewed Quinn for their head coaching vacancy on Monday, with the Morristown, N.J. sitting down with, among others, co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch, player personnel boss Chris Mara and new GM Joe Schoen. There are reports that Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll might be the Giants front-runner, just as Quinn, we're told, figures to be a front-runner in Denver. (Quinn has a second interview with Denver.)

The Cowboys would surely like to retain Whitt Jr., and could elevate him to defensive coordinator in Dallas. George Edwards, already on staff, would be a strong candidate for the job, and former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer also merits mention.

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