6 days ago
Once known as the '28-3′ coach, Dan Quinn embraced his adversity and is back on top with the Commanders
The Patriots are the team that delivered those scars. While Quinn is at Gillette Stadium this week for practice and a preseason game, hanging on the scoreboard are reminders of two of his most painful experiences — the Patriots' banners from Super Bowls 49 and 51.
Quinn was the Seahawks' defensive coordinator in 2014 when they threw the Super Bowl away on the 1-yard line. And he was the Falcons' head coach in 2016 when they couldn't protect a 28-3 lead late in the third quarter, arguably the biggest meltdown in sports history when considering the stakes.
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'In three years, they were two hard ones,' Quinn said in an interview with the Globe. 'That's the life of a competitor. I'd much rather get your heart broke, fight back and go for it, than not.'
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Fight back. Two appropriate words for Quinn.
Many coaches would get crushed by the weight of the 28-3 game. It's not an easy thing to come back from.
But Quinn fought back. First with the Falcons, then the Cowboys, now with the Commanders. Quinn has done an admirable job of embracing and learning from his toughest losses, yet not being defined by them. He's not only a head coach again, but guiding one of the hottest teams in the NFL. With each success, the 28-3 game becomes a smaller part of his legacy.
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'You have to learn from it. That's coaching, that's life. What could have been a blind spot?' Quinn said. 'And as painful as it is, I'd much rather be in that environment every single time than not have the option to go do it, as much as it sucks when you're going through it.'
Quinn's tenure in Atlanta never recovered from that Super Bowl loss. Quinn went 43-42 over 5½ seasons, and
But that is only part of Quinn's story. His failures led to several impressive accomplishments.
Foremost was how he kept the Falcons together the season following their Super Bowl collapse. The Falcons 'ate the [bleep] sandwich,' as Quinn made the team's motto all year, and went 10-6 with a playoff win over the Rams.
'People ask what was something to be proud of, that's actually one,' Quinn said. 'You get your ass back up off the mat and you fight again. How do you fight back, as opposed to just making excuses or feeling badly about it? I was proud of that win through my time there only for that reason — learn to fight again.'
And Quinn has proven repeatedly to be an elite culture changer and program builder. He took over a 6-10 Falcons team and had them in the Super Bowl in Year 2. Immediately after Atlanta, Quinn became coordinator of a Cowboys defense that ranked 28th in points allowed, and finished seventh, fifth, and fifth in his three seasons. Dallas
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Now Quinn is building another strong culture in Washington.
The Commanders completed their first 12-win season since 1991 and
'Dan Quinn is just a real dude and a real coach,' pass rusher Dante Fowler said last year. 'A guy that just trusts and believes in me, so why not want to go and play for a guy like that?'
Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. said the players respect that Quinn 'keeps it real with us and allows us to be ourselves.' Quinn's energy and positivity are what the Commanders needed after 25 years of misery under
'Man, unbelievable human,' said cornerback Jonathan Jones, who joined the Commanders this offseason after nine years with the Patriots. 'Every day there's buy-in in the building. And he just gets it, from working hard to taking care of guys and just making sure that guys are prepared in every way possible. It's an honor to play for him.'
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Quinn said the key to the Commanders' remarkable 2024 season was a three-game losing streak in November that dropped them to 7-5. The Commanders then won seven straight before
'You lose three in a row, man, it's dark,' Quinn said. 'You don't want them to happen as you're building a team together, but you do need them — when the [expletive] is hard, and you figure out what you have and who's about it and you fight your way back into it. I hate that we had that, but I'm not sure we would have done as well had we not.'
Quinn knows something about that. He didn't choose to get punched in the gut twice by the Patriots in the Super Bowl. But fighting back and embracing those moments head-on is why he is still thriving as a coach.
'There's going to be adversity, so you better figure out how to come out the other end and learn the lessons from it,' Quinn said. 'Otherwise, if you just get pissed about it, the pain of going through it was kind of for nothing.'
Ben Volin can be reached at
