Dan Quinn Clarifies His Commanders Shirt That Featured a Nod to Controversial Logo

Quinn tried to diffuse controversy over the shirt he wore last week.

Feb 5, 2024; Ashburn, VA, USA; Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn speaks at his introductory / Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Commanders never seem to be far from controversy and even their new head coach isn't immune from it. On Tuesday, Dan Quinn had to explain why he wore a shirt that included a nod to the team's former, highly controversial logo.

On Saturday, Quinn wore a shirt that featured the team's large "W" logo, with "Commanders" under it. But two feathers hung off of the "W" in connection to the franchise's old name and logo.

Interesting shirt … pic.twitter.com/SMutHEMQhI

— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) May 11, 2024

It wasn't shocking that the shirt created a decent amount of controversy. On Tuesday, Quinn addressed it head on.

"I think one of the parts of me taking this job, I was excited to bridge the past and the present. What a cool privilege that is to do," he said, per Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post. "I also recognize there's a lot of layers to that. So, it was a great lesson for me. What I really hate is that any attention that would've been taken away from these rookies and this awesome crew. Nobody wants to do that."

I have a feeling we won't be seeing that shirt on Quinn again.

The 53-year-old is entering his first season in Washington after spending the last three years as the defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys. Prior to that, he spent six seasons as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Under Quinn, Atlanta went 43–42 and reached Super Bowl LI, where the team took a 28–3 second half lead over the New England Patriots. No need to discuss what happened next—Falcons fans have been through enough.

Let's just say Quinn handled the shirt controversy much better than he did the closing minutes of that Super Bowl.