Cowboys EXCLUSIVE: Owner Jerry Jones Gives Coach Dan Quinn ‘Substantial Raise’ to Stay in - Sources

Might Quinn not have wanted another job? It doesn’t matter now. He is “where his feet are,” and he is also where Jerry Jones’ wallet is.

FRISCO - Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is done interviewing for a 2022 head coach job, opting to stay another year at The Star.

Among the reasons? Owner Jerry Jones’ wallet.

Two informed league source state to CowboysSI.com that Quinn got a “substantial raise” to remain in Dallas for 2022.

In league circles it's well-known that he is a top candidate for not only 2023 NFL jobs but maybe for the Cowboys top job should Jones - presently angry about Dallas’ playoff loss and allowing the public to gossip about recent Saints retiree Sean Payton - move on from Mike McCarthy. 

For now, all this means is this: “Dan is staying in Dallas, that's it for this year and we'll see what happens next year,” a league source told us.

Quinn, 51, entered this offseason coach-search cycle as the 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 maybe the league's best play-making group. He supervised a breakout season from All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs, the league's interceptions leader, and from rookie linebacker Micah Parsons, the contender for Defensive Player of the Year, and did the same for an assortment of lesser standouts.

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 so-far one season in Dallas, as he was the head coach of the Super Bowl finalist Atlanta Falcons and the defensive coordinator of the Super Bowl Seattle Seahawks.

Quinn was drawing interest from the Giants, Broncos, Jaguars, Bears, Dolphins, and Vikings. But Denver is hiring Nathaniel Hackett and former Cowboys assistant Matt Eberflus is getting the Chicago job. (Worth noting: Quinn is still 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.)

Might Quinn not have wanted another job? Did he boomerang back to Dallas because the Denver and Chicago situations didn’t go his way? It doesn’t matter now. He is “where his feet are,” and he is also where Jerry Jones’ wallet is.

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