‘The Next Level!’ What Sarah Hogan Coach Hire Means for Dan Quinn’s Commanders

Washington Commanders coaching chief of staff Sarah Hogan was thought to be an integral piece for Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris.

The Washington Commanders officially announced their coaching staff Thursday - and included a surprising addition from an NFC foe.

Washington hired Sarah Hogan, previously the Atlanta Falcons' director of coaching operations, to be its coaching chief of staff under Dan Quinn.

Hogan spent nearly nine years with the Falcons, first joining the organization in May 2015 - some three months after Quinn was hired as head coach.

She started as a scouting administration coordinator before transitioning into the coordinator of head coach operations less than a year later, forming a close relationship with Quinn.

Now, Hogan joins Quinn once more - and the move surely comes as a shock to new Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, who gave impromptu praise to Hogan.

"Sarah (is) going to absolutely take us to the next level," Morris said during his introductory press conference Feb. 5. "What we want to do and how we collaborate and how we go about our business."

Morris is in his second stint with the Falcons - the first came during Quinn's tenure. When Quinn was fired after an 0-5 start in 2020, Morris was the team's interim head coach, going 4-7 over the final 11 games.

In essence, during his six-year run in Atlanta, Morris worked with Hogan ... and evidently viewed her as a valued commodity.

But Quinn gave Hogan her first NFL opportunity, and her promotion in 2016 allowed her to directly support him and the coaching staff in their communication efforts throughout the organization.

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As such, Hogan has particularly strong ties to Quinn - and she'll now aim to take the Commanders to the next level, offering the same value Morris thought she'd bring to Atlanta's staff.