Dan Quinn must prove to Commanders faithful he is not Ron Rivera

The Washington Commanders finally have their new head coach. The team announced Saturday evening the official hire of Dan Quinn.

Forgive Commanders fans if they’re not too excited about Quinn. Yes, Quinn is a good coach. He deserves to be a head coach. However, Quinn’s resume has too many similarities to the guy he is replacing, Ron Rivera. Therefore, Washington fans are tepid.

Both Rivera and Quinn rose through the coaching ranks as defensive coordinators. Like Rivera, Washington will be Quinn’s second act as a head coach.

Rivera arrived at the Commanders in January 2020 after an up-and-down tenure as the Carolina Panthers head coach, which included a trip to Super Bowl 50 behind MVP quarterback Cam Newton.

Rivera stalled out with the Panthers and got let go midway through his fourth season after a Super Bowl loss.

For Quinn, he got his first shot as a head coach in 2015 with the Atlanta Falcons. After architecting the “Legion of Boom” with the Seattle Seahawks, Quinn guided the Falcons to a Super Bowl LI appearance behind MVP quarterback Matt Ryan.

Nobody can forget the Falcons blowing a 28-3 lead to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the largest comeback in Super Bowl history. Four seasons later, Quinn was dismissed by the Falcons.

The Dan Quinn hire seems like Groundhog Day for Washington fans. Both Quinn and Rivera are considered leaders. They are liked by players. They also represent an older guard.

Fans yearned for a young offensive-minded head coach. Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson emerged as a favorite. However, as the process continued, Johnson decided to stay with the Lions.

Even Bobby Slowik, who started his pro coaching career with Washington, opted to remain the Houston Texans offensive coordinator over the Commanders head coach gig. The focus shifted to Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald. Yet, he chose to become the league’s youngest head coach with the Seattle Seahawks instead.

Seemingly, the Commanders settled for Dan Quinn. It’s a notion hard to argue. If Quinn was Washington’s first choice, why wasn’t he hired sooner? Why did the Commanders wait to be the last of eight teams to fill their head coach opening this hiring cycle? Especially when Quinn was available weeks ago after his Dallas Cowboys got bounced out of the wild card round of the playoffs?

There are differences between Dan Quinn and Ron Rivera’s hires

Quinn appears to be a letdown, considering the options at the start of the Commanders’ search. Not to mention, his resume seems similar to Rivera’s on the surface.

However, there are differences in the hire that are worth mentioning. Firstly, Dan Snyder hired Ron Rivera and brought him into a coach-centric setup. Rivera was the defacto general manager.

He had the final say on personnel decisions. He also had to divert his attention toward off-the-field issues, including his health and the media circus Snyder enabled within the organization.

Quinn comes in with a GM in place. The Commanders hired Adam Peters in January. Quinn will have different ownership, majority owner Josh Harris and a host of prominent limited partners, including Magic Johnson.

Quinn won’t have to deal with GM duties. He certainly won’t have to endure the off-the-field headlines Snyder’s regime created nearly every week.

Rivera came to Washington straight off his firing from the Panthers. Quinn is not. Quinn got fired by the Falcons in 2020. He spent the past three seasons restoring his stock as the defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys.

Quinn transformed the Cowboys into one of the more respectable defenses in the league. This season, the Cowboys’ defense ranked fifth in both yards and points allowed, winning the NFC East division title with a 12-5 record.

Dan Quinn must hit on offensive coordinator and QB, something Ron Rivera failed to achieve

Quinn will partner with Peters and the rest of the Commanders’ front office to find a suitable quarterback to lead the franchise. Rivera failed to do so in his four seasons in Washington.

Rivera had the No. 2 overall pick in 2020, choosing defensive end Chase Young over quarterbacks Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa. In part, he inherited Dwayne Haskins. But understanding how Haskins’ tenure in Washington panned out, Rivera whiffed fresh out of the gate.

Young is no longer with the team. Rivera’s regime traded Young to the San Francisco 49ers in October.

Quinn’s Washington tenure begins with the second overall pick. His system predicates providing pressure off the edge. Yet, it’s highly likely the Commanders will use the No. 2 pick on a quarterback, whether the choice is Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, or Jayden Daniels.

Quinn also won’t be relying on rekindling his former Atlanta staff together. His assistants Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDaniel, Raheem Morris, and Matt LaFleur are all head coaches, so a reunion with Quinn won’t happen.

Rivera went haywire picking former Panthers coaches to create his staff in Washington, including offensive coordinator Scott Turner before he desperately turned to Eric Bieniemy this past season.

UCLA head coach Chip Kelly and former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury are two notable candidates for offensive coordinator under Quinn. With a young QB set to lead the new regime’s start, Quinn must hit on an offensive coordinator. Kelly and Kingsbury certainly are intriguing options.

Dan Quinn will have to do some convincing that he isn’t a remake of Rivera. Progress and winning will be his best method to win over the fans. Picking an appealing offensive coordinator and landing a QB that’s hopeful to be the long-term answer will be a great start.