Possible 2024 Cowboys replacements for Mike McCarthy with Sean Payton off the board
By Jerry Trotta
1. Dan Quinn, Defensive Coordinator
The offseason is very young, but Dan Quinn spurning head coaching opportunities to return to Dallas for a third year as the defensive coordinator is without question the biggest win for the Cowboys thus far. If retaining Quinn wasn’t the biggest W of last offseason, it was right up there with re-signing Jayron Kearse.
In any event, Quinn deserves to top this list. He’d never admit this, but you get the feeling he returned to the Cowboys with one eye on taking the head coaching job in 2024 if the Mike McCarthy play-calling experiment goes up in flames.
Quinn has the most familiarity of any of the aforementioned candidates (duh), and was successful in his only other stint as an NFL head coach. He’s 43-42 (29-18 in his first three seasons) overall, including 5-2 in the playoffs, and he coached the Falcons to a Super Bowl appearance back in 2016.
Keeping Quinn long-term would be a sound decision by Dallas. The defense has become one of the best in the NFL under his tutelage, and players love playing for him. Finally, the Cowboys love promoting from within, and Quinn would have three years under his belt by the time he’s under consideration to replace McCarthy.
Honorable mentions: Mike Kafka (Giants OC), Brian Callahan (Bengals OC), Ejiro Evero (Broncos DC), Frank Smith (Dolphins OC).
