Dan Quinn Done in Dallas? Can Jerry Jones' Wallet Keep Cowboys Coach?

Cowboys coach Dan Quinn is “where his feet are,” as he likes to say. And he is also where Jerry Jones’ wallet is. But another cycle is about to test that "love'' ... and maybe test that wallet.

As CowboysSI.com was first to report a year, the Dallas Cowboys and the Jones family provided Dan Quinn a "future substantial raise” to remain in Dallas for 2022 while also ''pledging allegiance'' to the defensive coordinator regarding his potential future as a head coach.

That was then. Here comes now. And soon, here come another series of interviews designed to both reward Quinn for his brilliance and to steal the standout coach away from The Star.

Is Cowboys boss Jerry Jones ready for the onslaught?

"We obviously did everything we could to keep Dan last year,'' Jones said. "And we feel the same way about it this year.”

In league circles it's well-known that Quinn is again a top candidate for 2023 NFL jobs. And of course, that "pledging allegiance'' can someday mean he gets interviewed for the Cowboys top job should Dallas ever move on from Mike McCarthy.

That's not at all in the cards at this point; as 11-4 Dallas plays at Tennessee on "Thursday Night Football,'' McCarthy and his staff once again have the Cowboys positioned as one of the NFL's top contenders ... and it seems both inane and unfair to suggest there is a "hot seat'' here. 

So we will leave the word "hot'' for what is about to happen to Quinn, 52, who entered last offseason's coach-search cycle as its hottest candidate after transforming 12-5 Dallas' defense from the NFL's worst in 2020 to the seventh-best (in points allowed) in 2021 ...

And he'll surely be at the same level this time around.

When we broke the story of him staying last year, Quinn told us simply, "We have unfinished business in Dallas.''

That still rings true. But at some point, maybe the 2022 Cowboys "finish that business'' with a Super Bowl ... or maybe a guy who was a Super Bowl head coach in Atlanta finds the right spot to try it again.

Quinn has an infectious leadership ability but is also an accomplished X's-and-O's guy, skills he put on display before spending his two seasons in Dallas, as he was the head coach of the Super Bowl finalist Falcons and the defensive coordinator of the Super Bowl Seattle Seahawks.

Last year, Quinn drew interest from the Giants, Broncos, Jaguars, Bears, Dolphins, and Vikings before the Jones got involved. This time around? The Broncos job is open again ... though it's a less attractive spot that is was previously.

Our understanding is that Quinn this year might still be working under the head-coaching contract he signed with Atlanta through the 2022 season, meaning that a Cowboys "raise'' would go into effect in 2023 - assuming, that is, he remains in Dallas.

So he's "being paid like a head coach'' already, with a raise to come. And he does "love it here,'' as he is quick to say about Dallas.

He is “where his feet are,” as he likes to say. And he is also where Jerry Jones’ wallet is. But another cycle is about to test that "love'' ... and maybe test that wallet.

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