Jerry Jones: 'Yes, I'd Hire Dan Quinn' as Cowboys Head Coach
FRISCO - This is going to be interpreted, and misinterpreted, any which-way one pleases.
And Jerry Jones probably already knows that. So, here goes ...
“He’s very qualified,'' the Dallas Cowboys owner answered when asked at the Senior Bowl whether he'd hire Dan Quinn as a head coach. "Yes, I would consider.
"If I didn’t have a coach, I would have been interviewing him for coach.”
The Cowboys owner already has himself have a head coach in 2022 in Mike McCarthy, and Jerry has not only confirmed that the team will bring back McCarthy for another season, but that Jones is fully supportive of McCarthy in charge.
Additionally, Jerry has made it clear that he's fully supportive of Quinn's decision to pull himself off the coaching carousel, ending his pursuit of a head coaching job elsewhere to instead stay on in Dallas for a second season as the defensive coordinator, a role in which he excelled in charge of the Cowboys' 2021 unit.
As CowboysSI.com was first to report, Jones incentivized Quinn to stay with a "futures'' package that is likely about a pay raise should Quinn opt to remain with the club in 2023.
But obviously, Jerry making noise about Quinn's qualifications as a head coach - undeniable though they are - will cause some observers to assume that McCarthy's seat just got a bit hotter.
Already smoldering: Jerry's personal affection for "retired'' coach Sean Payton, who says he might re-enter the field in 2023.
And now this?
Jerry added: "(Quinn) stays here because there always has been, with every coach, every one of those three coaches, have said they'd love to be the head coach of the Cowboys. Every one. Every one.
"So my point is that has, in my mind, a lot of logic as to why they might not take a job now rather than one or wait and see how the cards go in the future."
We can only hope it with Payton but we know it with Quinn, especially after our recent exclusive visit with him in which he explained his reasons for and delight in staying at The Star: This is not a backstabbing kind of guy. The loyalty that Dan Quinn, a Super Bowl-level head coach in Atlanta, is given by the people who work under him is reflective of the loyalty he pays to those for whom he works - and that includes McCarthy.
For now, all this really means is that Jerry is acknowledging the obvious: His coaching staff includes at least two guys who are highly qualified to run their own programs. But McCarthy does run this one. Quinn will someday get the chance to again run one as well.
Still ...
"Mike knows that someday, somebody other than him will be coach of the Cowboys," Jones added. You know, just in case we all wish to interpret it, and misinterpret it, any which-way we all please.
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