Quinn's Second Chance: 'Better Version of Me'

ASHBURN, Va. - Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn spoke about how things will be different during his second stint leading a franchise. He knows second chances to lead a football team are hard to come by and he's not taking it lightly.

As the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator, Quinn had time to reflect on how things went as the Atlanta Falcons head coach. A self-evaluation if you will, to better prepare himself for the next opportunity, should one come his way.

“I wanted to make sure I did a 360 to find what would be some potential blind spots that I did have and – in a good way, of trying to take on too much at times,” Quinn said during his introductory news conference on Feb. 5. “That's why for me, if I got another shot, there were a couple things that I wanted to find.”

When the Falcons fired him in 2020, Quinn took it in stride and though it did hurt him, it didn't break him. It just made him more determined to better himself.

“It's lonely, it's disappointing, it's depressing, but you don't want to just rinse and repeat,” Quinn said. “You want to make sure, ‘How do I take this, change it, and then make sure you get to prove it again?’ And so that was the silver lining in this. I'm a better version of me today than I was three and four or five years ago. And so that's why I get to prove that.”

This time around, Quinn understands that he can't spread himself as thin as he did in Atlanta. This is why he was determined to hire experienced coaches he could trust to help him as he worked to turn around a team and franchise marred in controversies off the field, and poor execution by their former coaches and players on the field.

Quinn is building a new culture of team unity and being the supportive coach his players and coaches need to succeed. His players and coaches are seeing how it's changing the culture, they have more work to do, but Quinn is determined to make sure it happens in D.C. with his second chance, with hopes of a better outcome.