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NFL may have handed Dan Quinn a golden runway to Coach of the Year

Originally posted on Riggo's Rag | By Ryan McCafferty | Last updated May 16, 2025 10:00 AM ET

The Washington Commanders' 2025 regular season schedule has been officially released, and it comes with several interesting wrinkles. One of which could propel head coach Dan Quinn to a prestigious accolade when it's all said and done.

Some of the noteworthy matchups include five prime-time contests and two additional standalone games, one in Madrid against the Miami Dolphins in Week 11 and the other on Christmas Day against the Dallas Cowboys.

That Christmas game against Washington's most hated rival will be sandwiched between two matchups against the fellow NFC East foe Philadelphia Eagles to close out the campaign. The week before their first meeting with the defending Super Bowl champions, the Commanders will play yet another divisional contest versus the New York Giants.

That's four consecutive games against division rivals to conclude the season. For a team with high hopes to not only make the playoffs but compete for a Super Bowl, this stretch could make or break Washington's year. Quinn has to enter it with the mindset that it must be the former.

Commanders' home stretch could give Dan Quinn the NFL Coach of the Year accolade

Let's suppose that in Washington's first 13 games, the team goes 8-5 or 9-4, or perhaps even 10-3. If the Commanders won out from there, they would enter the playoffs as arguably the NFL's most dangerous team. They would have beaten the Eagles twice, including on their home turf, and would almost certainly be NFC East champions.

For Quinn, who missed out on winning NFL Coach of the Year honors in 2024 despite his team's improbable playoff surge, it would be a shot at redemption.

Taking a team from the basement to contention is hard enough. Taking that next step forward into being a legitimate Super Bowl favorite is arguably even harder, especially when the team with the target on its back is in your division.

If the Commanders can make a statement down the stretch by sweeping their rivals up north and entering the 2025 playoffs as the class of the NFC East — perhaps even the conference's No. 1 seed — there's no doubt that Quinn would be considered a heavy favorite to win the award.

The humble Commanders' bench boss will be the last person to say it himself. Given the crucial role he's played in turning around the culture in Washington and injecting a passionate energy back into this franchise, he'll have more than earned it.