Cowboys coaching rumors: Denver Broncos officially request permission to interview Dan Quinn

The Dallas Cowboys are officially set to visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round on Monday night. Needless to say we have all been waiting for this since the team was bounced by the San Francisco 49ers at the same point of the postseason a year ago.

A lot has happened since then and whether or not the Cowboys are successful against the Bucs will justify or undo a lot of it. One thing that did not happen over the last 525,600 minutes though was a Dan Quinn departure from The Star in Frisco.

The Cowboys had one of the best defenses in the NFL a year ago and rebounded with a very impressive season this year. Both years have been overseen by defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, and if you are somebody who has success with a star on your helmet (or in this case polo and/or sweatshirt) you are going to generate a lot of attention across the league.

The Denver Broncos have requested to interview Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn for their head coach position

You are not experiencing deja vu, the Denver Broncos have requested to interview Dan Quinn for their opening at head coach. This is the second year in a row in which this has been the case. The Broncos are in quite the mess after not even a full season of Nathaniel Hackett (who they did wind up hiring). Much of the problem there has to do with Russell Wilson, but it is possible that a new head coach could right the ship. Maybe Dan Quinn is that person.

At the time of this writing there are three other non-Broncos openings in the NFL as far as the head coach spot goes. Both the Indianapolis Colts and Carolina Panthers fired their head coaches during the season like Denver did, and as the regular season wrapped up on Sunday night, the Houston Texans parted ways with Lovie Smith.

It is possible that other teams join this list (there has been speculation about the Arizona Cardinals and/or Los Angeles Rams situations) but it would obviously have to feel like the right opportunity for Quinn to leave the Cowboys. As a former head coach, one who was fired midseason as well, Dan Quinn is unlikely to get a third head coaching opportunity which means this has to be one where he has success.

Quinn obviously has a relationship with Russell Wilson from their time together with the Seattle Seahawks. Quinn was the defensive coordinator of those teams so it’s not the biggest variable, but it is not insignificant either. Wilson does seem to be fond of him.

The Broncos have been connected to the largest number of candidates to this point in the process of coach movement across the league. In addition to Dan Quinn they have been linked to Sean Payton and Jim Harbaugh, time will tell who they ultimately bring in.