Where is Commanders' Dan Quinn ranked among all 32 NFL head coaches?
· Yahoo Sports
Many people would agree that Dan Quinn may not have been GM Adam Peters' first choice as head coach for the Washington Commanders in 2024. However, Quinn proved Peters right, leading Washington to a 12-5 record and an appearance in the NFC Championship Game.
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Unfortunately, Washington stumbled to a disappointing 5-12 record in 2025. Injuries played a part in the Commanders' demise, but it wasn't the only thing. The roster needed work, and luck wasn't on Washington's side last season the same way it was in 2024.
Now entering year three of tenure, Quinn has a 17-17 regular-season record and a 2-1 record in the playoffs. After last year's tumble, Quinn understands how important 2026 to his future.
After one really good year and one bad year, where would you rank Quinn among NFL's 32 head coaches?
Patrick Daugherty of NBC Sports recently ranked all 32 NFL head coaches, placing Quinn at No. 20.
If the Commanders’ 2024 felt a little too good to be true, well … there’s no harm in letting someone have their moment. That felt especially apropos in Washington, where fans were desperate for anything to go right after the hellish Daniel Snyder years. So, it was easy to look the other way when everything went right, right down to Dan Quinn reaching 12 wins for the first time in his coaching career. Even though it felt flimsy, I wanted to believe in the power of positivity. It just goes to show. That free lunch was paid for and then some in 2025, where Washington again became the football town where every good deed promptly gets punished. That included on Quinn’s sideline, where his bet that 2024 was the birth of a new Kliff Kingsbury was quickly disproven. He was also forced to fire DC Joe Whitt, reaching deep into his bag of scapegoats just one year after it seemed like the good vibes would never die. In some ways, that was actually true, as Quinn was one of just two head coaches to earn an A+ grade in the NFLPA’s annual survey. Players have always loved Quinn. That has never been up for debate. 2025 was just a necessary reminder of the limits of personality(-based coaching) in a league where personnel and play-calling are everything.
This feels a little harsh. Not the ranking, but the comments. Quinn deserves credit for hitting the reset button in 2026. He moved on from successful OC Kliff Kingsbury to promote former assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough. The move wasn't made out of desperation. If the Commanders didn't promote Blough, he would've been hired elsewhere.
Quinn does deserve blame for Washington's defensive issues. He was hired for his success as a defensive coordinator, but his unit has been a liability for two seasons. So, was Joe Whitt Jr. a scapegoat? Yes and no. He struggled as a defensive playcaller, although talent was an issue. But instead of reaching into his deep Rolodex of connections to someone he knew and trusted, he hired former Vikings secondary coach Daronte Jones as the new DC. Jones interviewed elsewhere, reportedly impressing numerous teams.
Will these moves work? We shall see, but Quinn didn't stand pat after a difficult season.
As for the other NFC East coaches, Giants coach John Harbaugh is not ranked because it's his first season with New York. However, Harbaugh is a former Super Bowl-winning coach. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer is right behind Quinn at No. 21, while Eagles coach Nick Sirianni is somehow ranked No. 9.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Where is Dan Quinn ranked among NFL coaches?