Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Cowboys DC a hot commodity in head-coaching vacancies yet again

Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is again one of the most highly coveted men in his post for various head-coaching vacancies.

The Los Angeles Chargers fired Brandon Staley as their head coach after their embarrassing 63-21 loss in Week 15 to the Las Vegas Raiders on "Thursday Night Football." The move came following a 5-9 start to the 2023 campaign and after two-plus seasons where the Chargers went 24-24 under Staley and earned one playoff berth.

The team went 10-7 last season and made the tournament, but lost 31-30 in the AFC wild-card round to the Jacksonville Jaguars after holding a 27-0 lead in the first half.

The Washington Commanders let go of Ron Rivera this week, as the 62-year-old was one of a few "Black Monday" victims.

The Commanders finished the season in last place in the NFC East for the second season in a row, going 4-13 and ending the year on a league-worst eight-game losing streak. 

Washington went 26-40-1 in its four seasons with Rivera at the helm and made the playoffs just once, winning the NFC East in 2020 with a 7-9 mark. The Commanders lost 31-23 in that season's NFC wild-card round to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who went on to win Super Bowl LV.

The Carolina Panthers fired head coach Frank Reich in late November 2023, just 10 months after he was hired and 11 games into his first season. The Panthers went an NFL-worst 1-10 under Reich and it was the second straight year where Carolina owner David Tepper cut ties with head coaches in the middle of a season.

Matt Rhule was fired in October 2022 following a 1-4 start and is now the head coach at the University of Nebraska.

After Reich's firing, interim head coach Chris Tabor led the Panthers to a 1-5 finish and the team was shut out in their final two contests. Tepper also fired general manager Scott Fitterer on Monday.

Quinn served as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2015-2020, compiling a 43-42 record in the regular season and a 3-2 mark in the playoffs. Quinn led the Falcons to the cusp of their first-ever Super Bowl title in 2016, only to see a 28-3 lead in the second half of the championship bout disappear against the New England Patriots.

The 53-year-old was fired from the Atlanta job after a 0-5 start to the 2020 campaign and has been with the Cowboys for the last three seasons.

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