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The Perfect Dan Quinn Replacement is Obvious, But Nobody Wants to Say It

It's never been more obvious who the perfect candidate for the Cowboys' defensive coordinator job is.

By Jason Schandl

Jan 8, 2020; Frisco, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones smiles as he answers questions
Jan 8, 2020; Frisco, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones smiles as he answers questions / Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
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The Dallas Cowboys' offseason has brought the opposite news fans wanted on the coaching front. Mike McCarthy is sitll here, and Dan Quinn is gone. So that leaves the Cowboys a little late to the game as they begin their search for a new defensive coordinator.

But the thing is, they shouldn't have to search very hard. All of the NFL's head coach openings are now filled, and that leaves the perfect name available.

The problem is, it feels crazy to say it out loud. But I'll give you a hint. It rhymes with Will Welichick.

Bill Belichick Should Be the Cowboys' Defensive Coordinator

Before you jump back up to the top of this article to send me an email criticizing me, let me try to preempt some of your pushback. I'll adress the "why not" before I really get into the "why."

The main arguments against the hiring, as far as I can see, are pretty straightforward:

  1. The game has passed him by, we don't want him
  2. The hiring would bring too much drama
  3. He'll be gone as soon as he has a chance at another head coaching job
  4. Belichick won't accept anything but a head coaching job

"The Game Has Passed Him By"

Probably the most common criticism of Bill at this point is that he's just not up to speed on what it takes in the current NFL. And frankly, I don't think that you or I know enough about how things operated in Foxborough to know for sure how much that is true or false.

But I'll even grant you that it's probably true in some areas. I don't want Belichick designing my roster. I don't want him drawing up an offense. I probably don't want him trying to force the "Patriot Way" on a group of young players who don't have the hard-nosed throwback mentality that he values.

But on defense? Come on.

Bill has overcome his own terrible roster-building decisions to consistently field elite defenses, even in his twilight years. In the last four seasons the Pats' D has been a top-10 unit in either yards or points allowed, or both. His secondaries have been top-10 in net yards per attempt allowed in each of the last three.

He knows enough about modern offenses to know how to stop them, and that's the extent that you need a defensive coordinator to be up to speed on the modern game.

And how about the rest of the questions?

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