Dallas Cowboys BREAKING: Dan Quinn Hired as Washington Commanders Coach

Dan Quinn engineered a massive turnaround of the Dallas Cowboys defense in his three years at The Star. And now a decision has been made as the Washington Commanders have hired their new head coach.

FRISCO - Dan Quinn has earned the passionate support of every player in the Dallas Cowboys locker room as a result of his notable three years of work in engineering a massive turnaround at The Star.

And on Thursday, the Washington Commanders made their hire for a head coach ...  and the Cowboys defensive coordinator Quinn is the guy.

dan quinn and mike mccarthy

Quinn interviewed for an assortment of openings again this offseason, and was considered a finalist in both Seattle and Washington, the final two openings. The Seahawks, however, opted to hire Baltimore defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald to replace long-time Quinn mentor Pete Carroll.

That happened on the heels of Quinn completing a second interview with the Commanders, this time in D.C. ... while at about the same time the Commanders' premium choice, Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, pulled out, opting to stay with the Lions.

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Sources told CowboysSI.com that Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Baltimore associate head coach Anthony Weaver and Quinn were the finalists, with ex-Titans coach Mike Vrabel and Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy mentioned by some.

As CowboysSI.com has long reported, there was all along a mutual feeling that if Quinn didn't land a head coaching job, he'd return to head coach Mike McCarthy's staff.

The Cowboys have been patient in the process, in part because there is trust that Quinn's top aide, secondary/passing game coordinator Joe Whitt Jr., could step up into the Dallas coordinator job. Whitt has coaching tree ties to both McCarthy and Quinn.