2. Dan Quinn, DC, Cowboys
Kellen Moore’s current colleague in Dallas — defensive coordinator Dan Quinn — is considered by many to be the early favorite for the Denver Broncos job.
Quinn will likely be considered for pretty much every job in this coaching cycle, and understandably so.
In addition to having head coaching experience already, Quinn has done an outstanding job with the Dallas Cowboys’ defense this season, helping coach rookie Micah Parsons to a borderline defensive MVP season and turning that unit around in a dramatic way.
He helped lead the Atlanta Falcons to the Super Bowl in the 2016 season and did such a good job with the Seattle defense before that that he nearly won back-to-back Super Bowls as the coordinator for the Legion of Boom.
Quinn’s got an impressive history, but can the Broncos really launch into the immediate future with a defensive-oriented head coach? George Paton will be looking for the best candidate with great leadership qualities regardless of which side of the ball they coach, but that could ultimately be the sticking point with a guy like Quinn.
Paton has stated that the coaches that come in are going to have to have detailed plans of how they are going to fix the Broncos’ offense.
It won’t be impossible for a defensive coach to sell Paton, but even for someone like Dan Quinn, it could be tough.
Still, you can’t help but think he’s going to be one of the top two or three guys in this race.