If Cowboys move on from Mike McCarthy, Dan Quinn is still a candidate to take over

As the dark cloud of uncertainty hovers over Dallas, many fans and spokespeople have speculated what big-name coach could be waiting in the wings to take over as head coach in Dallas, a job that currently hangs in the balance. While fans spent much of Sunday night speculating about high-profile names to take over for Mike McCarthy, if the Dallas Cowboys replace Mike McCarthy, could they look to someone already in the building? Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn could be in the running for one reason. Stephen Jones.

Executive vice-president Stephen Jones has a strong infatuation with Quinn, and has been vocal several times about how much of a good job he believes the Cowboys defensive coordinator has done for them since joining the coaching ranks in 2021. Quinn has now been requested for multiple interviews with other NFL teams, meaning if any changes were to happen at the top with Mike McCarthy then the decision needs to be made quickly.

The upsell of Quinn is going to be tough for the front office to pitch to the fans after witnessing the huge defensive blunder the Cowboys made in the Wild Card game against Green Bay. A game where running back Aaron Jones ran for an average of 5.6 yards and scored three touchdowns. All of this happening while Quinn seemingly refused to move his defensive alignment out of dime packages which allowed Green Bay to have a field day in the running game. On the 54 offensive plays run by Green Bay, Dan Quinn had six defensive backs or more on the field for 48 of them. And this isn’t his first defensive collapse in post-season games the nation has witnessed.

Some people looked to Jerry Jones for answers on the subject, but he remains silent and refused to make any comment on coaching changes in the near future.

“I don’t want to get into addressing any aspects of any part from coaching to the players to what’s around the corner”, Jerry told media after the game.

After going down 27-0 against the Packers on the weekend (at home), McCarthy is feeling the heat and his career is clearly on the line. Not only are the Cowboys the first two seed to lose to the seventh seed in the playoffs, they now have 13 consecutive playoff appearances without making it to a conference championship, that’s the most in the NFL. The issue now facing McCarthy is the amount of admiration Quinn has from a top Cowboys executive, and how his 1-3 playoff record now stands while serving as head coach for Dallas. Could his departure be followed with an elevation from within.