NFL Rumors: Warriors’ Steve Kerr, Falcons’ Blank Endorsed Dan Quinn as Commanders HC

An eclectic mix of people from the sports world reportedly threw their support behind the idea of the Washington Commanders hiring Dan Quinn as their new head coach this offseason.

According to ESPN’s John Keim, the search committee responsible for making the hire were told by Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank that Quinn was the right man for the job.

Kerr and Quinn are friends and their agents work for the same agency, while Blank was responsible for both hiring Quinn as the Falcons’ head coach in 2015 and firing him in 2020.

Although Kerr’s involvement may seem somewhat strange due to his status as an NBA coach, there were multiple people involved in the Commanders’ hiring process with NBA ties.

Commanders owner Josh Harris is also owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, and former Warriors general manager Bob Myers has been acting as an advisor for the Commanders.

Per Keim, Kerr gave Quinn a massive endorsement, as he texted Myers: “He’s your guy; you’ve got to hire him.”

Keim noted that Blank’s endorsement may have been the “biggest” in Quinn’s favor, with one source saying: “To have Atlanta endorse Dan was powerful.”

Potential future Hall of Fame cornerback Richard Sherman reportedly had great things to say about Quinn as well after being part of his Legion of Boom defense in Seattle.

After Quinn enjoyed enormous success in two seasons as the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive coordinator, including winning a Super Bowl, the Falcons named him their head coach prior to the 2015 season.

Quinn led the Falcons to an 8-8 record in his first season before going 11-5 and winning the NFC South in 2016.

Quarterback Matt Ryan won NFL MVP that season and the Falcons went to the Super Bowl where they held a 28-3 lead over the New England Patriots. Infamously, the Falcons blew that lead and lost to New England in overtime.

The next season, Atlanta went 10-6 and got ousted in the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs. The Falcons went 7-9 in each of the next two seasons, and Quinn was then fired after an 0-5 start in 2020.

Quinn landed on his feet, enjoying three solid seasons as the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator before getting his second head coaching opportunity in Washington.

The Commanders finished .500 or worse in each of the past seven seasons, and they bottomed out at 4-13 in 2023, leading to the firing of head coach Ron Rivera.

That led to a lengthy and extensive head coaching search that saw the Commanders interview several candidates multiple times.

In what was Harris’ first huge move as the Commanders’ owner, they went with Quinn, and the decision likely had plenty to do with so many well-respected people both within and outside the NFL signing his praises.