The HC Dan Quinn Discussion Thread

[Riggo44]

I think the usage of “regret” in that example is more…if next season goes poorly or super averagely, and we cut bait on Quinn and his designs for this franchise. What are the odds someone else then hires him and makes us regret the choice? Is anyone bringing in the architect of that (in this hypothetical) failed operation and making us look silly?

And if not…then why would we worry that our instinct to move on is wrong?

"If he fails spectacularly then what?!"

90% of the posts here routinely bring up worst case scenarios, and want him gone, almost like they want him to fail so they're right.

At this point I'm uninterested and just tired of repeatedly addressing every hypothetical. If he wins 2 games, yeah, he's probably gone--as is any coach really. But I don't really think that will happen and I am more worried about free agency and the draft that predicting continued drama and misery. If that's your thing, have at it.

I'll worry about this discussion 9-10 months from now.

 

[Conn]

"If he fails spectacularly then what?!"

90% of the posts here routinely bring up worst case scenarios, and want him gone, almost like they want him to fail so they're right.

At this point I'm uninterested and just tired of repeatedly addressing every hypothetical. If he wins 2 games, yeah, he's probably gone--as is any coach really. But I don't really think that will happen and I am more worried about free agency and the draft that predicting continued drama and misery. If that's your thing, have at it.

I'll worry about this discussion 9-10 months from now.

That’s absolutely your right. But then quoting anyone who is speculating about it and taking umbrage is not very productive.

It’s a long offseason. We’re still hiring replacement coaches. It’s natural to project that into discussion about the successes and failures of this staff, and the future that could bring. FA will have its time, the draft will have its time. We don’t even have a full staff yet and just had a horrendous season. Nothing against you but people are pretty stuck on talking about that, for good reason.

 

[Riggo44]

But then quoting anyone who is speculating about it and taking umbrage is not very productive.

You're right, I don't react well to constant panic attack hypotheticals about what happens if we lose 15 games. I much prefer to look at solutions and thinking positively. I'm obviously an outlier in this thread.

 

[Conn]

You're right, I don't react well to constant panic attack hypotheticals about what happens if we lose 15 games. I much prefer to look at solutions and thinking positively. I'm obviously an outlier in this thread.

You have a distasteful habit of demeaning the entire thought process of people who write posts you disagree with, even when they lay out their logic for you calmly, and then shooting at that straw man, emptying the clip from your pedestal. Have at it, man. I think your frantic defenses to any negative speculation feels like watching someone rush around with sandbags as the wall continues to leak. We all have our viewpoints and assumptions about each others’ opinions. It’s not really productive if I say that you come across as a desperate homer, and it’s not really productive if you say that I seem like a panicked chicken little. We’re all more nuanced and complex than that. We’d both be wrong.

Having a respectful disagreement but then sneaking in little passive aggressive digs like that when you don’t like the rationale presented is just not cool. I backed off of a disagreement we were having last week and let you have the last word, because it was getting too heated (and the thing we were disagreeing about—the scourge of nepotism in this league—is at the end of the day not really about football) but you bait with these little comments while acting like your position is unimpeachable. You think it’s building your position up but it actually makes it harder to take the argument behind the attitude seriously.

It’s not personal, man. No one’s trying to harsh your vibe. There are definitely a few absolute haters who irrationally argue for everyone to be fired, no doubt. But the majority are voicing reasoned skepticism and laying out detailed reasons why, that I can see. If you’re right, it’ll play out. You don’t have to play defense on every play here if it’s so disheartening and you disdain the conversation so much.

 

[method man]

I think the usage of “regret” in that example is more…if next season goes poorly or super averagely, and we cut bait on Quinn and his designs for this franchise. What are the odds someone else then hires him and makes us regret the choice? Is anyone bringing in the architect of that (in this hypothetical) failed operation and making us look silly?

And if not…then why would we worry that our instinct to move on is wrong?

It’s actually completely separate from my point in the for stuff half of the post. Just more a great mental paradigm from a highly successful guy and perhaps the league’s best owner for when it comes to decisionmaking.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

It’s actually completely separate from my point in the for stuff half of the post. Just more a great mental paradigm from a highly successful guy and perhaps the league’s best owner for when it comes to decisionmaking.

Yes, many here have said (and Conn pointed it out too in this conversation) the idea that if you let person “x” go, will someone pick him up and make you regret it? For this to be a regret, they would have to be in the same position (like picked up at the same position).

I think one thing many people really struggle with is looking coldly at past decisions they may somewhat regret. I don’t, it is just a data point. It irks a lot of people I know because they think of it as wallowing but I am not, I just believe I have to revisit sometimes to ensure the same decision process doesn’t reoccur.

Seattle probably knew DQ better than we did. They also interviewed him. They pounced on Macdonald. There were a few coaching positions open that offseason. DQ wasn’t high on anyone’s list (seemingly, based on reports but also timing importantly) for a while.

Someone like that may not get another HC chance. If that person has been in the league a long time too? It may be telling.

I think Blough had potential to give us regret. There was real interest. There is enough there to tell us (even in fan seats!) there is real talent. We will see if he can bring it together.

None of us regret (as far as I know) AP because at the time I think there was near universal agreement at that move being solid. I still think he is good. I suspect a lot of the most problematic moves (not all) may have been due to collaborating too much with coaches who aren’t so great (in particular defensively but certainly I look at the K position that way).

This regime has a franchise QB IMO and on a rookie contract. IMO they wasted 2025. They had a ton of cap room and spent the 15th most on the cap. It feels like they decided to prepare the team for when Jayden gets 60 million a year now, lets see how we can live on a tight budget, etc. Maybe that was via Harris, I don't know.

My guess is they would have gone 8-9, 9-8ish without all the injuries. But Peters doesn't have an out with me considering his lack of ambition in a year where they should have been all in and weren't. And Quinn ditto for treating the summer as one long walk though to ensure the team was rested for the playoffs. the weird combination of arrogance and complacency IMO made them both look really bad. And again as I explained I don't mean arrogance in the traditional sense, I think both come off like nice people, but their actions and some of their rhetoric just screamed arrogance to me and said so in real time.

But, I think people who work their ass off and are ambitious are likely to learn from an experience like that. Quinn said there are hundreds of lessons from the past season as for what he'd do differently.

I am going to give them a chance before I'd be out on both of them. And for me they need to make the playoffs assuming Jayden is Jayden. You can't have an arguably top 5 QB on a rookie deal and miss the playoffs two seasons in a row. I get there was context to last season. But for me there are no excuses for this coming season. Even if its about injuries again, I'd still want them gone.

I agree with a lot of what you said including your guesses on why they didn’t go all in.

I think it may work out better in the long run. This record fed into getting the coordinators better understood. Unfortunately I don’t think anything new happened this year in that sense. The coordinators- I feel- did the same things in 2025 that they did in 2024 and got fired. They had different pieces to play with, they had a ton of injuries, the variables changed underneath them.

It means DQ eval ability may not be that great. As many are saying, the org needs to see a good “attempt 2” here. Basically he is getting a mulligan.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

Are we getting that ‘force multiplier’ from the GM?

At HC and arguably OC and DC, the phrase that comes to mind is “whole greater than sum of its parts.” That is when you know you have it, but in particular when you feel many have been lifted.

I was going to write this, and now saw the phrase here:
"Are there eight first-round draft choices on this team? Probably not, no, there aren't," Cignetti said after the win. "But this team, the whole was greater than the sum of its parts."

^ While we could see a lot of issues in defensive coaching in 2024 I feel like based on results, you may feel like the whole was more than the sum of the parts. Again, this is DQ’s role to look beyond results but I can see 2024 being a tough year to make any big coaching changes after, even if he did see issues.

 

[Chris]

The question isn't whether he'll be given an opportunity to turn last season around (I have seen no one advocate for him being fired now). The question is, how long will he be given to turn last season around.

Fwiw, Keim (who is pretty conservative with his language) this morning characterized Quinn’s upcoming season as a ‘crucial year’ and ‘that you have a coach who is entrusting a lot of his future to some new hires or people elevated to new roles (inexperienced)’.

Quinn clearly has been given the opportunity to turn things around, as he should. I hope for his sake that he does.

 

[method man]

Fwiw, Keim (who is pretty conservative with his language) this morning characterized Quinn’s upcoming season as a ‘crucial year’ and ‘that you have a coach who is entrusting a lot of his future to some new hires or people elevated to new roles (inexperienced)’.

Quinn clearly has been given the opportunity to turn things around, as he should. I hope for his sake that he does.

Basically means DQ is on the hotseat going into this year

Yes, many here have said (and Conn pointed it out too in this conversation) the idea that if you let person “x” go, will someone pick him up and make you regret it? For this to be a regret, they would have to be in the same position (like picked up at the same position).

I think one thing many people really struggle with is looking coldly at past decisions they may somewhat regret. I don’t, it is just a data point. It irks a lot of people I know because they think of it as wallowing but I am not, I just believe I have to revisit sometimes to ensure the same decision process doesn’t reoccur.

Seattle probably knew DQ better than we did. They also interviewed him. They pounced on Macdonald. There were a few coaching positions open that offseason. DQ wasn’t high on anyone’s list (seemingly, based on reports but also timing importantly) for a while.

Someone like that may not get another HC chance. If that person has been in the league a long time too? It may be telling.

I think Blough had potential to give us regret. There was real interest. There is enough there to tell us (even in fan seats!) there is real talent. We will see if he can bring it together.

None of us regret (as far as I know) AP because at the time I think there was near universal agreement at that move being solid. I still think he is good. I suspect a lot of the most problematic moves (not all) may have been due to collaborating too much with coaches who aren’t so great (in particular defensively but certainly I look at the K position that way).

I agree with a lot of what you said including your guesses on why they didn’t go all in.

I think it may work out better in the long run. This record fed into getting the coordinators better understood. Unfortunately I don’t think anything new happened this year in that sense. The coordinators- I feel- did the same things in 2025 that they did in 2024 and got fired. They had different pieces to play with, they had a ton of injuries, the variables changed underneath them.

It means DQ eval ability may not be that great. As many are saying, the org needs to see a good “attempt 2” here. Basically he is getting a mulligan.

What’s interesting is it took DQ 3 years to land a HC gig again despite a Super Bowl appearance as a HC. He obviously has a lot of friends in NFL media like Glazer and others but skinzplay always points out his real reputation in the league is worse than what NFL media would like for you to believe

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

Basically means DQ is on the hotseat going into this year



What’s interesting is it took DQ 3 years to land a HC gig again despite a Super Bowl appearance as a HC. He obviously has a lot of friends in NFL media like Glazer and others but skinzplay always points out his real reputation in the league is worse than what NFL media would like for you to believe

His real reputation frankly, at this point? I think logically we have to assume it is worse but unfortunately I think the Comms have made it the most obvious.

HC search: he was the last man standing in major available positions. Even if the Comms liked him, they were not enamored and others straight up passed
OC/DC hires, he is not getting the A+ candidates. We competed with the Raiders for Kliff. We competed with noone for Whitt. Blough, we competed with the Lions which is good, but was an internal hire so we had a leg up (but in terms of competition at least we had a good competitor for him).

That is typically telling; actions >> words. Guys can talk him up, including past associates, but when push comes to shove who joins him? Andy Reid pulls guys in all of the time.

I guess it is also fair to ask, is some of that the org? Snyder years, we blamed it all on Snyder. Is there any pushback to joining this org outside of DQ? Maybe it is not established.

I hope the DC role works out.

 

[Bulldog]

I don't know. Guys like Norv Turner and Josh McDaniels continued to get head coaching interviews after proving they were outstanding coordinators but didn't have the gravitas to actively manage a 53 man roster.

Didn't Raheem Morris get taken off the board pretty early a couple of years ago during the coaching carousel?

So, how the NFL yins and yangs in terms of giving head coaching interviews go - you can scratch your head at times as to why certain guys get play and others don't.

It appears to this point that Quinn has been acting more like a mentor/adviser figure to his coordinators and players instead of a boss who demands accountability.

That is ironic as you usually see defensive coordinators that get promoted are the ones that become the stereotypical hard asses.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

It appears to this point that Quinn has been acting more like a mentor/adviser figure to his coordinators and players instead of a boss who demands accountability.

Recently the media has pushed the idea that DQ goes for collaboration among his coaches. I like it, personally. You can’t simply guarantee success. There are too many variables.

What you can do is agree on process and ensure that agreement is followed. I think Kliff was not collaborating enough with DQ, point blank. Too much disagreement.

As for Whitt, I mean, we could see all of the issues. I don’t think we know all that DQ did to try to help, but I am betting he tried.

The real “mentor” was Rivera; he talked about it a lot, smugly to me, in pressers. How he always lets his coordinators make mistakes and learn, basically go their own way. He name dropped McDermott a couple of times too, he seemed pretty proud of Sean.

 

[Bulldog]

Really? I got the strong impression that Kingsbury balked at that kind of 'collaboration' and wanted to run the offense largely unchecked or would go elsewhere, which is what he did.

I think Quinn gave Kingsbury a good amount of rope in 2024 and the team did well enough that Kingsbury developed a veil of invulnerability until the offense started to come untracked in 2025.

Things were worse on the other side of the ball where Whitt tried to install a defense where the players didn't fit the scheme in 2024 and where a more significant makeover was needed for 2025.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

Really? I got the strong impression that Kingsbury balked at that kind of 'collaboration' and wanted to run the offense largely unchecked or would go elsewhere, which is what he did.

I think Quinn gave Kingsbury a good amount of rope in 2024 and the team did well enough that Kingsbury developed a veil of invulnerability until the offense started to come untracked in 2025.

Things were worse on the other side of the ball where Whitt tried to install a defense where the players didn't fit the scheme in 2024 and where a more significant makeover was needed for 2025.

Aren’t we saying the same thing?

I think DQ hired someone who didn’t share his philosophy on collaboration. Why? I guess a failure in hiring.

I don’t think DQ wants to dictate strongly. Unlike Rivera he doesn’t want to be completely hands off though. He wants to have some inputs and back-and-forth. Yes it sounds like he didn’t get that from KK.

 

[Bulldog]

It's funny, if you go back to 2021-22 you see the same things on offense with Kingsbury that you saw here.

In 2021 the Cardinals were 11-6 and made the playoffs. Kyler Murray was running the ball a lot and was in shotgun more than any other qb in the league and took a lot of shots with blocking schemes that regularly utilized 5 man protections, but he managed to stay healthy.

In 2022 the Cardinals were 4-13 and Murray suffered successive injuries and was finally put on IR with a torn ACL in early December.

It seems from what Kliff does on offense, he runs an offense which is great for college, with the turnover of players year to year.

But it's not built for sustainability in the NFL where ensuring your franchise quarterback plays 10-12 years plus is the priority goal.

If there is fault in hiring Kingsbury I think the responsibility was split between Peters and Quinn. Yes, Quinn brought Whitt and Co. but he didn't bring anyone on offense and there was no Kyle Shanahan here already, so when Kingsbury became available my guess is Quinn asked Peters and Peters had a vote in saying 'yes'.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

If there is fault in hiring Kingsbury I think the responsibility was split between Peters and Quinn. Yes, Quinn brought Whitt and Co. but he didn't bring anyone on offense and there was no Kyle Shanahan here already, so when Kingsbury became available my guess is Quinn asked Peters and Peters had a vote in saying 'yes'.

I take them at their word so far.

My belief is Kliff was on DQ. DQ had a lot to say about it, and it was kind of specific.

He said that people who are waiting for their next shot develop a little list of guys who they'd call to fill positions. Kliff was on his list.

He said why. He said that he would sort of notice who felt tough to play against, who felt like you would worry about. So he said Kliff fit the bill.

I actually kind of believe him there too, and it would make sense how he would miss the boat in a large margin on their philosophical differences. Again, regardless of whether this is right or wrong here... we do know... poor hiring.

AP said very little about "why Kliff" that I recall, wasn't really asked... I really think DQ is in charge of hiring the coordinators and there's very little direct responsibility on AP there. He said, if DQ asks him questions, of course he helps. He defined his role pretty clearly as an advisor if needed, and I believe that too.

 

[skinsinparadise]

Fwiw, Keim (who is pretty conservative with his language) this morning characterized Quinn’s upcoming season as a ‘crucial year’ and ‘that you have a coach who is entrusting a lot of his future to some new hires or people elevated to new roles (inexperienced)’.

Quinn clearly has been given the opportunity to turn things around, as he should. I hope for his sake that he does.

True. And while he didn't say Peters is on the spot, too he somewhat hit the point indirectly referencing how the other 2024 rookie Qbs in the playoffs had rosters that can offset bad QB play if needed. And referenced all the money that NE spent in FA. And said again that Jayden last season offset much of the glaring holes on the roster.

 

[Bulldog]

Well, then Quinn failed to understand Job #1 for a head coach - protect the franchise quarterback.

Kingsbury's offense is based on creating mismatches and flooding zones but the players to do that come at the cost of pass protection for the quarterback and over time they take a lot of hits in the pocket - again, I went back to Arizona and what they were saying at the time Kliff had gone from 11-6 to 4-13 and there were reservations, similar to a lot of ours, about whether his scheme is sustainable in the NFL.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

True. And while he didn't say Peters is on the spot, too he somewhat hit the point indirectly referencing how the other 2024 rookie Qbs in the playoffs had rosters that can offset bad QB play if needed. And referenced all the money that NE spent in FA. And said again that Jayden last season offset much of the glaring holes on the roster.

I differ from some on the board here in this, but not sure how much I differ from AP/org/DQ based on what has transpired:

1) I agree that in 2024 Jayden did a lot of Superman to get us to the NFCCG.
2) I think the offseason had a lot of issues, but I don't think upgrading the OL was a bad call at all.
3) Here is where things get interesting. I think the emphasis on all of those fixes - the inherent VALUE - was not maximized by Kliff and Bobby. That simple truth, that we had investment in an area that was under-utilized... could be what made them expendable in the end. That may be direct or indirect, but in the end - it's like, we had health in a couple of units but those units weren't leaned on enough.

Yes there is work to do (obviously), but some schematic changes may decrease the look of that work. A gamble because it hasn't been tried, but it kind of fits with a lot of what we are seeing.

 

[skinsinparadise]

IMO the reasons why Quinn deserves another chance,

1. The 2024 season. It was special. Some of his haters discount that season and think Quinn should be just defined by this past season alone but that IMO is silly

2. I don't think the culture building stuff is BS. I think he really is good at it. It might be overplayed as a big deal but to me its not nothing

3. This isn't Rivera as to his reputation. What happened this season is likely driving Quinn crazy and is thinking nonstop as to how to rebound. And by reputation he's flexible and works his ass off. I used the Rocky 3 analogy with this team starting last summer. So Mr. T kicked Rocky's ass. Rocky deserves the rematch before being written off IMO.

4. Led the league in injuries. Yes, that happened, too. Did he coach poorly this season? IMO yes. But you can't just ignore injuries. And everyone who cites SF as proof that injuries aren't important. Look at SF in the 2024 season with those injuries that included McCaffrey it fell apart. Look at how the mightly Andy Reid did this season when he lost Mahomes, etc.

5. I don't think Peters gave him a good roster

IMO the reasons why Quinn doesn't deserve another chance if the 2026 is bad or even mediocre

1. Firing both coordinators has Quinn owning up to blowing his two most important hires

2. If this coming season goes south chances are his new coordinators weren't good -- so are we going to forgive those same mistakes twice?

3. He's been giving a template based on his own admission as to what not to do, and what to do differently. So if he fails regardless again, that's telling

4. You have an elite QB (if Jayden plays back to 2024 form) and you don't have the time to fart around and squander this shrinking window

5. If the team isn't good again I suspect the defense is a big part of it. He's had then 3 years as a defensive guru to fix the defense and failed anyway. That's damning.

6. IMO part of why Quinn failed in 2025 is a combination of arrogance and lack of urgency. He couldn't have been given a better fire up his butt than what happened this past season. if that doesn't drive him to excellence, I just have too many doubts that more time would do it.