Coaching Candidate: Dan Quinn

Submitted by EGD on

Okay, here is my contribution...

Dan Quinn is currently the defensive coordinator for Pete Carroll and the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.  He’s known for being flexible with scheme and looking for ways to feature the talents of his best players.   Interestingly, in a 2013 article on NFL.com, Quinn and two other NFL assistants (Mel Tucker and Greg Roman) were named by anonymous NFL executives as being the most likely NFL assistants to make great college coaches. 

PROBLEM IS... Quinn is one of the most highly-regarded assistants in the NFL right now, and was apparently a top candidate for the Cleveland Browns job last off-season (but the Browns hired a different coach while the Seahawks were still playing en route to the Super Bowl).  He was also a finalist for the Minnesota Vikings job and reportedly considered for other NFL vacancies as well.  

Vitals:

Age: 44

From: Morristown, N.J.

College: Salisbury Steak, er, State (1993)

Coaching record:

1994

1995

1996–1999

2000

2001–2002

2003–2004

2005–2006

2007–2008

2009

2010

2011–2012

2013–present

William & Mary (DL)

Virginia Military Institute (DL)

Hofstra University (DL)

Hofstra University (DC/DL)

San Francisco 49ers (DQC)

San Francisco 49ers (DL)

Miami Dolphins (DL)

New York Jets (DL)

Seattle Seahawks (AHC/DL)

Seattle Seahawks (DL)

University of Florida (DC/DL)

Seattle Seahawks (DC)

Other coaches he has worked for/with include:

·         Kyle Flood (with Hoftsra)

·         Nick Saban (with Miami Dolphins)

·         Pete Carroll (with Seattle Seahawks)

·         Will Muschamp (with Florida Gators)

Pros:

·         Recent major college experience as DC with Florida

·         Super Bowl ring

·         Flexible and acquainted with modern schemes

Cons:

·         May be difficult to sign (or keep for long), given demand from NFL teams

·         No HC experience at any level

Comments

991GT3

September 29th, 2014 at 8:22 PM ^

but listing coaching candidates is an exercise in futility. As much as we all would love to see Hoke terminated IT ISN'T GOING TO HAPPEN. Brandon is not going to take action until the end of the season if then.

All we can do is show our displeasure by not attending games and show no interest in the program. I know of a life long Michigan enthusiast who stopped watching Michigan play after the ND beating. He said as long as Hoke is the coach he has no interest following Michigan football.

That will get their attention.

 

UMaD

September 29th, 2014 at 8:59 PM ^

2010: 29

2011: 33 (with Quinn)

2012: 1   (with Quinn)

2013: 20

That's a nice improvement under Quinn's direction, and an immediate dropoff after.  Some solid evidence to support him, albeit not for very long. Impressive candidate.

The question is: why would he come to Michigan?

I would add to the Cons that he has no local ties and almost no experience at elite/winning college programs.

 

EGD

September 30th, 2014 at 12:46 PM ^

I don't think the lack of experience at elite college programs is a big concern.  Quinn does have the two seasons as Florida DC.  Plus if you look at some other NFL assistants who have been successful in college ball in recent years, Bill O'Brien coached at places like Duke and Georgia Tech before going to the Patriots--not exactly big-time winning programs.  Jim Mora Jr. had literally no college coaching experience before going to UCLA, except for a stint as a GA with Washington in 1984.  

The lack of local/regional ties is a knock, no way around that, but it's not a huge fault in the grand scheme of things.

Quinn will certainly have opportunities for HC jobs in the NFL.  So if he strongly prefers the NFL, then yeah, Michigan probably doesn't have a shot.  But he did leave the NFL to take the Florida job in 2010, so maybe he's open to both?  (Granted, Florida was his first DC position--but he was Assistant HC at Seattle before he left; I don't know, but it seems likely Quinn could have gotten a DC gig in the pros).  It looks like HC salaries in the NFL are mostly in the $4-6 million range, so he would be expensive but I think M could afford him.

alum96

September 29th, 2014 at 9:08 PM ^

Wow, dude changes jobs every 1-2 years.

Well a lot of people say UF will have an open job at th end of the year  - since we was their DC for 2 years it will be interesting to see if he is considered. 

Good age.  No Big 10 footprint would be another con. 

Keep em coming.

 

bronxblue

September 29th, 2014 at 9:13 PM ^

These NFL assistants always look great, but as you noted he's already being talked about as a potential NFL HC selection, and it seems unlikely that UM could convince him to come to the school barring some ties to the University that nobody knows about.

Not surprisingly it will probably come down to the preference of whomever is the AD when the decision is due unless they can convince a Harbaugh to come back, and that doesn't seem likely.  So if it is Brandon my guess is it will be a Dan Mullen-type or a massive retread like Cam Cameron.  If it is a new AD then the doors open up, but even at its current fetid state UM is still a big-time program and you have to be confident that the guy taking over can handle the stress well.  That was one of the big selling points about Hoke; he worked the room well and made people believe he was up to the challenge from a personality standpoint.  So while guys like Stitt are fun in theory, no AD is going to risk his first big move on them.  

As Brian noted in the podcast, last year would have been a better year to make a change because of Strong and Peterson being available.  Nobody looks like as sure a fit unless a guy like Kirby Smart at Alabama or Mark Helfrich at Oregon become available and people are able to figure out (in Smart's case especially) whether or not they can sustain success away from Saban/Chip Kelly's offensive designs he's installed.