Dan Quinn was always Adam Peters’ first choice for Commanders

Happy Anniversary, Commanders fans! Yes, it’s an anniversary worth celebrating. The Harris Ownership Group rescued the organization and the fan base from the Snyder regime (1999-2023) one year ago, on July 20, 2023.

Mark Ein, in an appearance with Kevin Sheehan on his podcast Saturday, stated that there were good people in the organization when the purchase was made. However, you still need some fresh people and fresh energy to come into a situation like that.

Adam Peters was considered the top candidate for a GM job this offseason. So Josh Harris pursued Peters, and Peters wanted to come here. It was done quickly.

Many will recall Ben Johnson as the Commanders’ front-runner for the head coaching job, with Mike Macdonald as the clear second choice.

You recall the Commanders’ brass en route to Detroit to interview the Lions’ OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn. Then, they were going to interview Macdonald a second time as well. But suddenly, neither were coming to Ashburn to take the job.

Consequently, the fan base was discouraged and frustrated that the Commanders were the last team standing, having to settle for a candidate other hiring teams rejected.

But Ein refutes that narrative, saying, “He (Quinn) was Adam’s first choice from the beginning. He was the person he wanted. Because he (Peters) felt Quinn paired with him was the best combination. Adam never waivered from thinking Dan was the person he wanted.”

“I didn’t interview him, so I didn’t meet him. But just talking to Josh and the guys while they were doing it, that was the thing from the first interview. If you want to transform a culture, there’s not going to be anyone better than Dan Quinn. If you want to inject energy into an organization, there is no one better than Dan Quinn. And he is (thus far) proving that to be the case.”

Quinn (age 53) brings something to the market that only one new coach (Jim Harbaugh) brings. Some very high winning success as an NFL head coach. Quinn was the defensive coordinator in Seattle for two seasons 2013-14 before moving to Atlanta, where he was head coach from 2015-20, winning the NFC Title before losing in the Super Bowl.

Quinn, the defensive coordinator for the last three seasons in Dallas (2021-23), was voted the AP Assistant Coach of the Year for 2021.