Dan Quinn —- what might have been —- for Cardinals

What happened two years ago during Dan Quinn’s 2nd interview in Arizona?

This past week the Las Vegas Raiders made one of the smartest moves imaginable by hiring Pete Carroll as their new head coach.

Here is the best reason why:

Since Michael Bidwill took over the daily operations of the Cardinals in 2013, he has hired 4 head coaches in 12 years, none of whom had ever been a full-time NFL head coach. Bruce Arians had some success as the Colts’ interim head coach and had helped the Steelers win a Super Bowl as their OC in 2008. Therefore, Arians was the most qualified of Bidwill’s hires, which could account for him having the most success in Arizona.

• Bruce Arians (2013-2017): 49-30-1 (.619) —- 1-2 in playoffs (.333) —- NFC West Title 2015
• Steve Wilks (2018: 3-13 (.188)
• Kliff Kingsbury (2019-2022): 28-37-1 (.432) —- 0-1 in playoffs (.000)
• Jonathan Gannon (2023-now): 12-22 (.353)

This past hiring cycle with a new GM in Monti Ossenfort, Michael Bidwill had an opportunity to tab a head coach with valuable head coaching experience. Curiously, on the same day as Bidwill’s and Ossenfort’s interview with Brian Flores (24-25, MIA 2019-2021), no sooner than Flores had left the building the Cardinals announced they were rushing Dan Quinn (55-47, 5-4 in playoffs) back for a 2nd interview.

Second interviews typically mean that the team and the head coaching candidate are there for the express purpose of hammering out the details of a contract.

There was some national speculation at the time that Dan Quinn may have been using the 2nd interview with the Cardinals as leverage in trying to get the Broncos to make him their hire —- just as it appeared Sean Payton’s one interview in Arizona was an effort to do the same.

Perhaps Dan Quinn never had any intention of signing with the Cardinals.

But what if Dan Quinn was keeping an open mind? He admitted to the FOX crew over the weekend that he feared he would never get another head coaching job in the NFL.

If Quinn did have an open mind, what might have turned him off about the Cardinals’ job? The Falcons hadn’t really ever been good for several years when he signed there and then proceeded to take them to their 2nd Super Bowl in franchise history. The Seahawks hadn’t really ever been good before, when as their DC, he helped them go to consecutive Super Bowls, winning the first of the two and coming within an ill-fated one-yard pass of winning the second.

Could the job offer to Dan Quinn from Michael Bidwill have come with conditions? Was Quinn being asked to:

1. Keep Vance Joseph as DC?
2. Commit long-term to Kyler Murray?
3. Accept a lowball head coaching salary?
4. Accepting a full scale rebuild in year one?
5. Some of the above?
6. All of the above?

The point is —- whenever a team has a head coaching candidate in for a 2nd interview, the organization has a golden opportunity to offer the candidate everything he could want in order to be successful —- from staff hires, to having a key say in personnel decisions, to being given a highly competitive budget and head coaching salary.

If salary was an issue —- particularly in light of Bidwill having to pay 4 more years of Kliff Kingsbury’s salary —- isn’t it consummately ironic that Dan Quinn winds up in Washington with a brand-new owner and GM and hires Kliff Kingsbury to be his OC —- and, as Quinn insisted to the FOX crew that when asked about coming into a complete rebuild, Quinn said, a “reconfiguration, never a rebuild.”

Was there ever then a more fitting karma for what happened this year with Quinn in Washington? And a more caustic irony for the Cardinals? On so many levels?

The FOX crew went to great lengths to show how “every player we spoke to who had been coached at one time by Dan Quinn or is now being coached by DQ said that he is tremendous joy and inspiration to play for.” That he “lifts everyone up” especially with his “anybody, anywhere, anytime” mantra.

Is there a better NFL head coaching qualification than that? Especially on top of the sterling success he’s had everywhere he has coached (Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas and now Washington)?

Michael Bidwill could have said to Quinn something to the effect of how he and Monti believe he is coach to turn the Cardinals into perennial winners —- just tell us what you want and what you need —- no conditions otherwise.

For a coach who feared he might never get an NFL head coaching gig again imagine how bad his 2nd interview with the Cardinals must have been for him to prefer to stay as the Cowboys’ DC instead of becoming the Cardinals head coach.

Dan Quinn —- what might have been —- in Arizona —- and what never was.

NFC West Coaching Updates:

• The 49ers have hired Robert Saleh to return as DC.
• The Seahawks have hired Klint Kubiak as their new DC. (Drew Petzing’s offense was chiefly inspired and conceived by Gary Kubiak, Klint’s father —- which makes perfect sense because we know that Mike Macdonald fired Ryan Grubb because Macdonald wants a full commitment to the team’s running game).

Meanwhile:

Klayton Adams is arguably the best coach on the Cardinals’ current staff. His offensive line has been the key to the Cardinals’ offensive success in ways we have not seen as long as the Cardinals have been playing in Arizona. Adams’ work this season helped the Cardinals manifest one of the NFL’s most formidable running attacks —- one that achieved the 2nd highest yard per carry average in the NFL at 5.3 and the #1 NFC West rushing game stats in in all major categories. Plus, on top of that, this year the Cardinals were ranked #4 in the NFL in pass blocking. When have we seen anything remotely like these achievement from a Cardinals’ offensive line?

Will the Cardinals have the creative solution and financial commitment (to outbid Jerry Jones) in order to keep Klayton Adams in Arizona?