Dan Quinn Q&A: 'I Have To Prove It,' Says New Cowboys Coordinator

'I'm enjoying it and honestly just want to be right where my feet are, and kicking ass and having a blast with this team and this organization' - New Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn

FRISCO - Dan Quinn addressed the DFW media for the first time right after the 2021 NFL Draft and offered a fine answer to a tough question: Are you the coach who helped win a Super Bowl in Seattle, or the coach who saw a Super Bowl lead disappear as Atlanta’s boss, or the coach who was fired by the Falcons five games into 2020. What are the Cowboys getting? 

“Well, much like a player, I guess, I have to prove it,” he said. “What you can count on from me is somebody that’s real specific in how we’re going to go about it and get after it and I’m very much looking forward to proving it. 

"The very best competitive moments in my life have come from prove-it moments.''

Here come the moments ... and the Dan Quinn Q&A:

ON THE APPEAL OF THE COWBOYS -- The reason I certainly chose to come here was the whole package of it. It's Jerry, it's Stephen, it's Mike, it's the defense. It's what I think the type of program and place that I'd like to be a part of. 

"So, it really was a no-brainer for me when the opportunity was presented to me to come and be a part of this. So, I was very much looking forward to it."

ON THE COWBOYS' PROCESS -- "Really impressed with the process here through Jerry and Stephen and Mike [McCarthy] and Will [McClay] and the scouts. I guess going on about 20 years for me in the NFL and seeing this process and what it looked like from start to finish, I was certainly impressed by it. 

"With that, I'm excited to get rolling with you (media) guys. So, let's let it rip."

HIS ASSESSMENT OF THIS DEFENSE -- "What we can do and help create an identity from a defensive standpoint is, about the ball, ballhawking, and the speed and mentality that we like to play with. First order of business is just obviously going through the team and through the roster and like you would do any year to make sure you can feature players in the very best ways.''

ON HIS BASE DEFENSE -- "I would say it's kind of a mixture because so much of the defense nowadays is played out of a nickel front. So, that's more of a four-down of what you play. As far as in the base packages go, it will look more like a 3-4 look, and that would have been consistent whether it was the team last year or my times with Atlanta as well. But more often than not, with most teams, the nickel packages, which teams play, I'd say, close to 60% or 70% of the time are more out of a four-down."

ON SIZE IN THE SECONDARY -- "You think about even in basketball. Somebody has to go out and defend to have that length to go defend. And, so, whether it's that corner where you can play right down on the line of scrimmage and make receivers go and release, or it's a safety or a linebacker that you have to guard, or tight ends that have length. When you have length, you can match some of that. 

"In the NFL, so many of the matchups are created on size or speed, so, you want to have the roster that has versatility.''

ON LEIGHTON VANDER ESCH AND JAYLON SMITH  -- "We'll been on the field some together. But what I can tell you is that both of these guys are really getting after it to have a fantastic year. So, we've added some other linebackers as well. And, so, that's why let's get out and work together. 

READ MORE: BREAKING: Dallas Cowboys Decline On Vander Esch

"There will be some competition where we're going, but one thing I do know is both of these guys are really good players. As opposed to where they're going to go, it's, 'How awesome is that that we've got more speed, more length, more run and hit players?' And to me, as a coach, I couldn't be more pumped for that."

ON MICAH PARSONS COMPARES TO ... -- "I recognize the question, but I think when we get to know each other more, you'll find out that I don't like to comparing a lot of players. For those who have kids, it's like comparing which kid do you like to talk about more. So, it's a real disservice at times to the young player, and I want Micah's identity to be Micah ... 

"He'll see plenty of tape of players that I've coached at different spots, but I think it's important for a player to develop their own identity and their own unique stuff that they have.''

ON NOT SITTING OUT A YEAR -- "That wasn't the option for me (following his 2020 firing as the Falcons head coach). I absolutely love what I do. ... I think what I learned most about my life is I like to do hard shit with a group of people, that more than anything. And, so, standing right on it, the game's on the line, 30 seconds left, I love that more than anything. And, so, not being a part of that connection and being a part of the team, that was as hard as anything of being out.''

ON GETTING GUYS TO PLAY HARD FOR YOU? -- "Well, I think, one, they play hard for each other first. And that to me where it always comes down to. The guys that you play together and you look back years later. It's like, 'Man, I covered kicks with that guy. I played defense with that guy.' Those are those connections. And that's to me where it stems. It's one thing to be close with their coach with me, but that connection that they have together on the field, on those game days, and playing so hard for one another, that's the accountability player to player that you look to.''

ON THE IDEA THIS WAS 'A DAN QUINN DRAFT' -- "It's a Dallas Cowboys draft.''

ON THE WATERMELON KICK? -- "It was playing (on TVs at The Star) when I first got here, and Zeke ran over one guy, and I was like, 'Hey, man, can we take this game off (the TV)?' I'm walking down the hallway and I'm like, 'Isn't (that Atlanta loss to Dallas in 2020) part of the reason I'm here?'''

ON HEAD COACH ASPIRATIONS  -- "I've learned be where your feet are. In the past, I've maybe, even as a D-line coach, I was chasing. I just wanted to be a D-coordinator. I've been a D-line coach in the NFL, and where I was a defensive coordinator, I've just way more fun and way more success when I was just trying to crush it where I was and having a blast. 

"So, where I'm at right now, I'm enjoying it and honestly just want to be right where my feet are and kicking ass and having a blast with this team and this organization."

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