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Giants interview Cowboys DC Dan Quinn for head coach

DAN-QUINN-INTERVIEW

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Dan Quinn, a New Jersey native whose stint as the Atlanta Falcons' coach included a trip to Super Bowl LI, today became the fourth candidate to interview for the Giants' head coaching position.

Quinn, 51, spent the day at the team's Quest Diagnostics Training Center and met with team president John Mara, chairman Steve Tisch, senior vice president of player personnel Chris Mara and Joe Schoen, who was hired last week as the Giants' new general manager. The contenders who preceded him were Buffalo Bills coordinators Brian Daboll (offense) and Leslie Frazier (defense) and Cincinnati Bengals' defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who was the Giants' defensive backs coach in 2018.

Quinn spent the 2021 season as the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, who won the NFC East title with a 12-5 record. Dallas allowed 21.1 points a game, the NFL's seventh-lowest figure. The Cowboys were second in third-down defense, allowing conversions on just 34.1% of their opportunities (76 of 223). Dallas had league-high totals of 34 takeaways and 26 interceptions, significant improvements after posting 23 takeaways and 10 picks in 2020, the year prior to Quinn's arrival.

Two of Quinn's defenders were selected to the Pro Bowl. Linebacker Micah Parsons led all rookies with 13.0 sacks, and cornerback Trevon Diggs topped the NFL with 11 interceptions.

Quinn was named head coach of the Falcons in February 2015. In just over five seasons, he led Atlanta to a 43-42 regular season record plus a 3-2 mark in two postseason appearances. In 2016, the Falcons went 11-5, won the NFC South and defeated Seattle and Green Bay to win the conference title before losing to New England in the Super Bowl.

The following season, the 10-6 Falcons defeated the Rams in a wild card game on the road before falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Eagles in Philadelphia. In his time as head coach, Quinn's defenses ranked sixth in the league by forcing 105 turnovers. He was dismissed five games into the 2020 season.

Quinn earned his first head coaching opportunity with his work as the Seattle Seahawks' defensive coordinator in 2013-14, when the team made consecutive Super Bowl appearances, winning once. Over those two seasons, Quinn's defense led the NFL by allowing the lowest per-game averages in total yards (270.4), passing yards (178.8) and points (15.2) while limiting opposing offenses to just 91.6 rushing yards-per-game.

In those two seasons, the Seahawks' defense paced the league with 63 takeaways – including an NFL-best 39 in 2013 - and 28 interceptions.

Quinn originally joined Seattle in 2009 as the assistant head coach/defensive line coach under Jim Mora. He made his NFL coaching debut in San Francisco as a defensive assistant in 2001 before spending six years coaching the defensive lines for the 49ers (2003-04), Miami Dolphins (2005-06) and Jets (2007-08). Between his stints with the Seahawks, Quinn served as the defensive coordinator at the University of Florida (2011-12), guiding the defense to a top-10 finish in 2011 - eighth in total defense (299.5 yards a game) and seventh in passing defense (166.8).

Quinn got his start coaching the defensive line at William & Mary (1994), then spent one season at Virginia Military Institute (1995) followed by a four-year stint as defensive line coach at Hofstra (1996-99) before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2000.

Quinn was a four-year letter winner and two-time co-captain (1992-93) defensive lineman at Salisbury State (Division III in Salisbury, Md.), where he recorded 139 career tackles. Quinn also lettered in track and field and held the school record in the hammer throw. He was inducted into the Salisbury State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.

Quinn is originally from Morristown, N.J. and is a graduate of Morristown High School. He and his wife, Stacey, started Quinn's Corps in 2004 which helps serve members of the military both at home and abroad.

View photos of the career of Giants head coaching candidate and Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.

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