LAS VEGAS - Some observers of the Washington Commanders' decision to hire Dan Quinn away from the Dallas Cowboys to serve as the new head coach have offered up lukewarm reactions.
"He's Ron Rivera with his hat on backwards'' ... that sort of thing.
Of course, most of those reviews come from critics who only know Quinn and his work based on what they see on TV. But another guy "on TV'' offers up a different and deeper view.
“I think that was a home-run hire," said Tony Romo, the CBS Sports lead voice and of course a former Cowboys star very much plugged in to all things Dallas. "He’s one of the rare coaches who taught me ... I’ve learned so much about the game. I’m always inquisitive. I want to learn.''
In Romo's CBS work, he's allowed ample time to pick the brains of coaches and players leading up to their teams' appearances on the network. Between the Cowboys appearing on CBS and Romo's access here inside The Star, he has rare access and a rare perspective.
"When I retired,'' he said, "I knew coverages, I knew fronts, but I didn’t know why they were in a five high, six high, why it’s an over or an under front, I just know that they’re in that and here’s how to attack it.''
And so Romo asked, and cited Quinn and Bill Belichick among his most helpful teachers.
"I love learning, and for me, to be able to learn from a coach is a gift,'' Romo said. "Dan was one of those guys. They hit a home run there.”
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