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Cowboys Dan Quinn 'Having a Blast'; Could Coach Turn Down Offers to Stay?

Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn will have plenty of suitors for his services, but he is not rushing himself out of town.

FRISCO - Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn will for the second straight offseason be one of the biggest names in the upcoming NFL Coaching Carousel. The possibility of him leaving The Star naturally exists, but ...

"I'm having a blast here," Quinn told us in his presser here at The Star on Monday. "If down the line there's an opportunity that lights me up, we'll discuss it then."

"Until then, I’m right where my feet are.''

That latter remark is a DQ life philosophy; it's really about enjoying the moment but also about "choosing happiness.''

He will soon surely end up being a candidate for the head coaching vacancy of the Denver Broncos, as he was last year. And there will be other interviews as well.

Is the allure of Dallas and "The Star'' enough to cause him to pull his name out of contention as he did a year ago, done in conjunction with a "future promise'' from Cowboys owner Jones, as CowboysSI.com exclusively reported at the time?

"Right place and right situation'' do matter. And working in tandem with head coach Mike McCarthy while being paid like a head coach already can made Dallas a "right'' decision again in 2023.

What's he built here?

Quinn inherited a Cowboys defense that ranked near the bottom of the NFL (23rd in Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) in 2020 under then-coordinator Mike Nolan) ... but he has since transformed them into second-best

The Cowboys' defense is giving up 19.8 points per game, sixth-best in the NFL, while leading in takeaways and ranking third in sacks. 

The emergence of young stars Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs - both mentored by Quinn - has given Dallas a foundation defensively, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones won't be outspent when it comes to bringing out the checkbook to entice Quinn to spend another year in Dallas as he did last offseason.

Quinn told us on Monday that "there is nothing to report,'' which we take to mean there hasn't yet been official contact from other NFL teams that might have openings. He also made it clear that he doesn't wish to compartmentalize a bunch of issues ... meaning he is keeping his focus on the Cowboys' Week 18 season-finale at Washington and then the playoffs.

Offers to interview will come. Change may come, too.

But "I’m right where my feet are'' is really all Cowboys Nation can ask of Dan Quinn.


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