Even though he is a veteran NFL Coach Anthony Lynn still brings a notebook and pen to weekly team meetings.
the Washington leaders The running game coordinator never knows when his old friend and head coach Dan Quinn will drop some words of wisdom that he might want to reflect on later.
“These things don’t happen by accident,” Lin told Fox Sports regarding the unlikely shift in Washington. “He does a really good job of maintaining it [the players’] Caring and expressing this vision of brotherhood and trust to each other. He constantly emphasizes that.”
Last year, the Commanders went 4-13, and the team hasn’t had a winning record since 2016. On Sunday, Washington will play Philadelphia Eagles For a spot in the Super Bowl.
“the [Commanders] “It was seen as a joke, let’s be honest,” said a rival coach who requested to remain anonymous. “In an instant, he got the franchise back on track, winning games in prime time and being one win away from winning the Super Bowl. Bowl.”
In his first season of his second stint as an NFL head coach, the 54-year-old Quinn has demonstrated his ability to create new messages and connect authentically with players. He masterfully balances an old-school, detailed approach with the communication skills he picked up from Pete Carroll during his time as defensive coordinator with the team. Seattle Seahawks.
“He’s the best cultural builder I’ve ever seen,” Lin said of Quinn. “When he’s done with the NFL, he can just travel and teach people how to build good cultures, because he does it very well. That comes very naturally to him. It’s something he has a passion for. You can see it. And I think that authenticity is what makes guys They trust him and buy into him very quickly.
“He’s a very good football coach. But as a culture builder, he’s the best I’ve ever seen.”
Quinn entered the league more than 20 years ago as a staff assistant San Francisco 49ers. Before the start of the 2001 season, then-49ers defensive coordinator Jim L. Mora was tasked by head coach Steve Mariucci to hire an assistant to control defensive quality.
“This guy from Hofstra kept pestering me,” Mora told FOX Sports. “Maybe that was the wrong word. He was persistent, calling me every day, getting other people to call me. We ended up connecting through a co-worker of my wife’s work.”
“This was probably a six-week ordeal. I interviewed a bunch of people and couldn’t find a real match. I felt like it was a long way to get a guy. And I didn’t know him. I didn’t know Hofstra, but I finally got him to San Francisco, and he was wearing a coat and tie.” “And he took him off the chair and sat on the board. ‘I’m going, this is the guy. This guy is special.'”
The two became good friends, Mora said, spending late nights planning the game. They still talk regularly. Moura, now the head coach at Yukonflew to visit Quinn shortly after he was appointed by the leaders.
Mora noted Quinn’s tendency to create deep relationships with players, which allows him to coach them stronger.
“You can only do that if they know you’re personally invested in them,” Mora said. “To me, that’s exactly who Dan Quinn is. He can train them hard. He can train them hard because he never gives them a reason to doubt the validity of his intentions.”
Jayden Daniels and Dan Quinn have built a winning culture in Washington
Another reason for Quinn’s success in Washington is his ability to bring together an experienced coaching staff that includes two former head coaches in offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and Lynn. The staff also includes former offensive coordinator in Brian Johnson, former defensive coordinators in Ken Norton Jr. and John Pagano, and former NFL players Bobby Ingram (receivers coach), Darrell Tabb (defensive line coach) and Larry Izzo (special teams coach). ).
Former Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck took a close-up look at Quinn’s detailed approach to team meetings when Quinn was Seattle’s defensive line coach.
“house [Carroll] “It was a lot about getting the ball out and turnovers,” Hasselbeck said. “And every Wednesday morning, he would have DQ stand in front of the team with a PowerPoint presentation with still shots of each ball carrier and midfielder, showing how he was playing.” Catch the ball. Whether it is with one or two hands, the tip of the ball or the bottom of his number. All things.
“And with a running back, is his wrist higher than the elbow or is the elbow higher than the wrist? With wide receivers, is there space between the arm area and the ball? It’s all about the ball, and the DQ is the one that literally sets the tone in the huddle for the defense, and it’s no different,” Pete said. My feeling, guys like me on offense, it was like, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen someone take that level of detail into how to get the ball out and it was interesting, you kind of look forward to it.’
Of course, Quinn and the Leaders benefited greatly from general manager Adam Peters’ selection of a quarterback Jayden Daniels With the No. 2 overall pick of the 2024 draft. The front-runner in this year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year class, Daniels has exceeded expectations by playing with an efficiency and poise rarely seen by rookie quarterbacks entering the league.
“He’s very professional,” Lane said of Daniels. “You don’t see a lot of young players coming into our league who are professionals from the get-go. I have to take my hat off to Adam Peters and Dan Quinn. They’ve brought in some really great kids who have matured and are professionals.”
Tom Brady talks about what makes Jayden Daniels so special
Lin was also singled out Mike Sinristila second-round cornerback, helped Michigan Winning the national championship last season.
“He’s like Jayden on defense,” Lin said of Sinristil. “His preparation when he comes to work, his focus and his intentions, it’s so great to see. They’ve been raised right. They were fierce competitors when they were in school, and they’ve picked up right where they left off. These kids have been unbelievable.”
Lynn said during the Hail Mary play that gave the Commanders a late-game win over the Chicago Bears It was certainly a boost, and the most telling victory was Washington ending Philadelphia’s 10-game winning streak with a 36-33 win in Week 16 — a game in which the Chiefs overcame five turnovers.
As Washington prepares to face the Eagles for the third time this season — on the road as heavy underdogs — will Quinn have his team ready to shock the NFL again?
“We have a saying: Anyone, anywhere, anytime,” Lin said. “This is how we feel.”
Eric D. Williams has covered the NFL for more than a decade Los Angeles Rams For Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers For ESPN and Seattle Seahawks For the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter at @eric_d_williams.
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