Dan Quinn Leaving Cowboys as 'Package Deal' with Chip Kelly for Seahawks? Rumor

Dan Quinn Leaving Dallas Cowboys as 'Package Deal' with Chip Kelly for Seattle Seahawks? Rumor

FRISCO - Chip Kelly's time as a head coach in the NFL was ... eventful. But he is surely still seen by some as an innovative offensive coordinator candidate - and maybe that's why there is now a rumor that he might leave UCLA to jump to the Seattle Seahawks as a "package deal'' with Dallas Cowboys top assistant Dan Quinn.

Quinn, we already know, is a coveted candidate for a head coaching job, and the Cowboys are already preparing for a likely departure.

Kelly and Quinn

Who's idea is it that he would team up with Kelly, the former Eagles and Niners head coach, in Seattle, where Quinn was once a Super Bowl coordinator? That we do not know. But a tweet from a reporter in the Seattle region suggests a connection.

"Hearing that not only is an NFL-return likely for former Oregon coach Chip Kelly, but that it could take the form of a "package deal" with Cowboys DC Dan Quinn,'' writes Shane Hoffman. "The Seahawks are a likely destination.''

There is speculation that Kelly would be walking away from a great deal of UCLA money - about $6 million annually - to make the move. But Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports has noted that Kelly’s name has “been on the lips of candidates and teams alike in recent weeks” as a possible NFL offensive coordinator, so unless Kelly is simply floating this out there as a way of getting a raise to stay with the Bruins, it could have legs.

Cowboys Could Lose Coaches Dan Quinn & Joe Whitt Jr.

Kelly and the Bruins are coming off an 8-5 campaign that included a 4-5 record in Pac-12 play. Over his six years with the Bruins, Kelly's record there is 35-34.

Kelly spent four years as an NFL head coach, with a record of 26-21 with the Eagles from 2013 through ’15 before going 2-14 with the 49ers in ’16.

Maybe most telling about the rumor/report: While Quinn - the overseer in Dallas of one of the NFL's best takeaway teams ever - is certainly a guy with some Seattle-area ties, Kelly has a similar resume item, as from 2009 to 2012 he coached Oregon to an impressive 46-7 record.