Washington Commanders' Head Coach Dan Quinn on BIG. Rock. Mornings. - 2-7-24

Jaxon's exclusive interview with Washington Commanders' new head coach Dan Quinn.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
As your flagship radio station for theWashington Commanders. An absolute pleasure to have
mister Dan Quinn, the brand newcoach of the Commanders, on the program
with us. Good morning Coach,Hey, good morning man. I'm I'm
really pumped to be on with youand just hearing some music this morning's already
got me going. So it's cool. Man. I'm glad to be on
with you. Guys. Welcome toWashington, d C. And the Washington

(00:21):
Commanders. I know you're pretty excitedto get to work. Yeah, no
doubt about it. Man, Likeyou know, getting here and you know,
just getting started with everybody, meetingpeople in the organization. Man,
I can't wait to get rocket.It's much to do and put the staff
together, getting that piece going firstand just you know, they're keeping knocking
it down and shopping it as wego. There you go. Yeah.

(00:41):
One of the first things I learnedabout you is you're a fellow sneaker head
and you also love hats, andI said, we're going to be friends,
right And I like, you know, songs you're playing so between the
you know, speakers, the hatsand rocking it out early in the morning
for some workouts like that's my kindof day. Tell me that you're going
to continue to wear that hat backwards. It's a thing. You gotta do

(01:03):
it. I know, I didnot know this was a thing, and
it's just kind of like how Iwear my hat a lot, and so
I don't do it all the time. But yeah, that's if you're in
office right now. I got ahat on, Yeah, backwards, But
love, I would say, that'sjust you know, knahower rope. Well,
look, let's get the tough partout of the way. I'm someone

(01:26):
who lived twenty years in Philadelphia PhiladelphiaEagles. Now I work for the flagship
station of the Washington Commanders both ofthese division teams. If there's one thing
that Philly and DC have in common, it is a hatred of the Cowboys.
So the first thing we're going tohave to do is kind of get
that cowboys stench off you, andwe're going to send you a box of

(01:48):
soap. Well, let's hope foryears to come, man, these are
going to be some absolute battles.And that's what's kind of fun like growing
up in Jersey, like washing theNFC East and seeing the battles from you
know, through the eighties, andthe nineties and then now to be a
part of it, like that's coolas hell, man. And so that
was, you know, where Ifirst learned football and loved like my actual

(02:10):
you know, first games and watchinga remember during a strike year going to
Giant Stadium to watch games and uh, you know my high school band was
playing it scab band and you know, like, yeah, it was cool
growing up watching the NFC East.And so to be here now as part
of that tradition where this is akick ass division all the way through,
like there's gonna be some you know, the rivals are in place that you

(02:34):
know, the matchups are there,so let's let's bring it in a really
big way. Yeah, and lookwhat you did in Dallas was impressive.
I believe when you got there thatthat defense was kind of bottom of the
barrel somewhere. And you know,in no time at all, you had
them as a top five defense,I think number one in interceptions. So
we are begging you, we're prayingyou're going to do the same thing here.

(02:55):
Well, I think you know,like that's at the top of the
list. You know, it's theplay style, it's the attitude that you
play with, whether it's offense,defense and special teams and trying to go
out hit people and taking the balland being aggressive and playing with blagger.
But like that effort, that toughness, that finishing, that attacking style like
that has to be right before youput in any scheme or anything else.

(03:17):
Man Like, you have to havethat dog at attitude to go after people.
Yeah, and we will certainly certainlydo that. So and on that
note, let's talk about how importantculture is. You know, you're a
guy. You'd be hard pressed tofind a player or another coach in this
league that would say a bad wordabout you. You're well liked by your
players. They enjoy coming to workfor you, They enjoy working hard for

(03:38):
you. I mean, these arethe kind of guys that will fall on
swords for their teammates because of thisatmosphere you create where players want to be
in the building. As a matterof fact, I have a quote here
from Michael Parsons who said, Ihope those players buy in and play hard
for him. I understand, andthat they understand that ain't no one going
to love them or care about themmore than Dan Quinn. And how important

(04:00):
is building that culture? And andyou know, having these player relations I
think years ago when I got intocoaching, it wasn't because of the X
and odes, you know. Ilike that part, that's the strategy part
of it, but more than anything, it was the connection and the most
important part is for the players andknowing that these are the guys they go

(04:21):
to battle with, shoulder to shoulder, and that's the connection that they have
for the rest of their lives.Hey, I used to cover kicks with
this guy, you know, thatwas my teammate. And so that's what
it's about to me, is seeingthat connection from player to players. So
as coaches and fans we get weget to do it a long time,
but for the players, this istheir time and we want to make sure

(04:42):
that connection with them is as strongas they could be. Absolutely going for
it in every single way, knowingthat like when they do, you know,
hang the cleats up, they said, Man, I went for it
as hard as I could. Andthese teammates are there, my brothers,
and they you know, that's that'sthe love you share for forever and ever,
and those bonds are strong and andso that's to me. You know,
the best of the best teams havereally have that nailed down. Yeah,

(05:05):
and you'd be in a you know, defensive minded guy. What do
you see in this commander's defense?It was tough here, man. It
was a defense that went from topof the league the following year to one
of the worst in the league.You know, to trade deadline, we
lost Chase Young Los Montese sweat.But there does seem to be quite a
bit of really young talent on therethat developed correctly, could be elite players.

(05:25):
Have you started to put together aplan like on the defensive side of
the ball, Yes, And Ithink that's you nailed it about. You
know, what unique things does theplayer have and then how do we capture
that and then get the feature overand over again? So for me,
you know what in the past andstuff like it is about now and the
guys we have and the guys thatwe add to this group. You know,

(05:47):
let's find out as much as wecan how do we feature the player
has certain unique traits to go youknow, guard and cover tight ends of
due to length and speed, andlet's put him into that spot. If
this is a ballhawking player that hasranged in the middle of the field to
go after the football, let's featurehim into those ways. If it's a
cornerback, they can play on theline of scrimmage, you go press,
Let's do that. If a passrushers you know inside can move outside and

(06:12):
outside inside to find matchups, Let'sdo that. And so there's some exploring,
there's some time to learn. Butat the end of it, man,
you got to make sure that,like we're putting in the guys in
the spot that they can go dotheir thing. And that's what this off
seasons about and why training camps soimportant, to make sure we find all
those moments and feature the guys andthe stuff that they do best. And

(06:33):
that's my first, you know,part of the job on all days,
not just seat that. Yeah,I'd love that too, because like listening
to players talk about the way youcoach, they're saying the same thing.
They're like, he puts us ina position to win, he puts us
in positions to succeed. He findswhat we're good at and has us do
that. And I love it.I love it. I don't know if
you know this, Shet, butI've started a company. It's called Quinn

(06:56):
Quotes, and I'm taking everything yousay, putting it on t shirts.
I've noticed like a couple of yourquotes that have come out over the last
few days. I'm like, damn, that's good, dude, that's it.
That's that should be on my shirt. I love the one where you
say, and I'll delete the expertof here where you say you enjoy nothing
more than doing hard stuff with goodpeople, which I think is amazing because

(07:16):
we all know there's no greater camaraderiecreated than with a shared struggle, right,
So that is you know, likeseeing like right there at the end
of the game, there's less thana minute left, you're right on the
sideline and going for it. Allthat's when you're most alive. You know,
like these are some elite competitors,you know that we get a chance
to work with every day, andso seeing that battle and seeing them right

(07:40):
on the edge of it, justlooking over to cliffs to go nail it.
That's what it's about, man,And that's when you feel most alive
and putting into those states, youknow, spaces together. Those are the
best locker rooms. You know,over and over when you have hard thought
wins, that's that's the coolest.What do you mean when you say be
where your feet are, you know, I think more than anything, it's

(08:01):
just I have a present mindset,you know, to be you know,
in this conversation it's just you andI and then you know, fifteen minutes
from now, well, you know, I'll go you know, visit with
some coaches on some interviews and I'llyou know, be in there. So
it's basically, you know, notlooking too far into the future, where
everything there and this and that iscan you stay connected to the thing that

(08:22):
you're doing right now? And it'sa it's a challenge for all of us
at time. I got to doall these things, I gotta do all
that. Yeah, you do,but you don't have to do it all
at this time. You've got tomake sure whatever this moment is, how
do you, you know, nailthat piece and have that connection with that
person as opposed to next, next, next, And so I try to
live that way that you don't alwaysget it done, but I do try
to stay in that space. That'sI love that because that's like that old

(08:45):
kind of like Buddhist philosophy where theywould say, you know, they'd say
where are you and you'd say righthere, and they'd say, what time
is it? And you say,right now, that's right. It's perfect,
man, it's perfect. It takesit takes work, but it's a
it's a fun way to to liveyour life. You know that you're enjoying
the experiences and not looking past itand looking to the next thing. And
you don't want to miss a momentof you know, having a good prep

(09:07):
or you know, going through youknow, a good game and you know
already you're you know, have agood win and you're just thinking about this
next opponent as you're walking off thefield, Like that's when you know,
okay, I'm missing it. Andyou got to stay, you know,
into the space and the people thatyou're with, and no one like in
this coaching journey it's hard, it'sfun and so like, man, enjoy
the trip with the people because that'swhy I got into the game. So

(09:31):
I want to make sure I dothat as often as I can. Yeah,
well, you know, the fanshere, it's it's a new era,
new ownership and now brand new coachingstaff and number two pick in the
draft and some cap space, andyou know, this fan base is starving
for wins, and I think thatyou give them wins and you are going
to become quickly beloved. Have youhad a chance to like sit down and

(09:52):
meet a bunch of players yet notas much yet, And that's that's honestly
something I hope to do soon.Honestly, the first couple of days is
just you know, priority top ofthe pile, getting some of the staff
here. You know, we've gotto make sure we can nail that piece
from teachers and guys that can developplayers. Because when you do that part

(10:13):
right, and you can teach greadeand keep developing the next, the next,
the next, that's where the depthcomes. That's where the competition comes.
And so making sure that staff knowswe're going to compete our ass offs
to you know, build the verybest roster that we can. And if
we keep doing that and sharpening oneanother along the way, I hope when
you come out to practice you say, and these guys are getting after it,

(10:33):
and that's the bond, the brotherhoodthat you sharpen one another. And
I'm hopeful that you know that's that'sthe attitude. And if you can nail
it out on the practice field firstand throw great practices and be physical and
finishing and doing all the things youdon't have to call up things on game
day, you know. So that'swhat I'm looking to find for us to
make sure we can make this themost competitive, you know, spot in

(10:56):
the whole NFL. And if wedo that right and find the right peace
and the right attitude and the rightswagger and the right connection together, that
will accelerate the process as fast aswe ken. Yeah. And you know,
speaking of doing that right and findingthe right people, you got to
Cliff Kingsbury and Joe wod Junior.You went to work right away on an
offensive coordinator and a defensive coordinator.Obviously you're pretty happy with those decisions and

(11:20):
believe that's going to bring us alot of success. Yeah. Yeah,
and I think you know, settingthe course for that, those are when
you, you know, have achance to think about opportunities like this.
You think about putting staff together andyou know, the people and finding the
right fits and think of it likeputting the team together. You know,
it's not everybody's exactly the thing,and so think of that in a micro

(11:41):
version with the staff and find uniquethings that you know can play off one
another and make sure the chemistry isright. And knowing that I don't want
you know, you know, twentyclones to me. I want guys with
different opinions and different thoughts and differentways to teach and different ways to go
about it. And so that connectionfor one another is really what it's all
about. And Flits and Joe areor where that and know you know how

(12:05):
to do it. They're aggressive,they're bold, and you know, I'm
really pumped about where we're starting off. Love it, love it well,
listen, man, I know thatwe're going to have several conversations throughout the
course of the year and throughout thecourse of the season, and I truly
look forward to that. Let mehit you with I do this with people
I meet on the air or interviewon the air. It's called the Just

(12:26):
five Questions, And basically it doesn'talways necessarily relate to what we're talking about
football, but sometimes it will.But it's more like a getting to know
you, getting to know coach DanQuinn. So the first question, favorite
NFL team is a kid growing upin New Jersey was the Giants, Giants'

(12:46):
NFC and seeing the Giants and thewhole NFCS, man, it was cool
to New York, Philly, Washington, Dallas and that I remember Arizona don't
even remembers that they were in theNFC. So, but the games of
like, you know, that wascool and the NFC that way with the
NFC East and the Niners. That'show That's what I remember, you know,
as the eight year old version ofmyself and watching games. Wow,

(13:07):
that's awesome. Favorite sport that isnot football, boxing Boxing. I like
it, man, Like it's yourcombat sport, guy. Yeah, And
I think, just man, there'slessons there, like these are some warriors
in our sport, but in theirsas well, And I think people think
it's just fighting, man, there'sso much to it and the techniques and
you know, the strategy that goesinto that, the training and at the

(13:31):
end of it, man, justthe absolute toughness that goes into it.
So yeah, I followed it myentire life and love it and still you
know, obviously do workouts with that. But definitely it'd be boxing. Yeah,
It's the sweet science. Man.So if football were not your career,
what would you be doing? Iwould say I would probably be in
the military, all right. Iwould say I've loved being on a team,

(13:56):
and I think I've been on likeover seventy of them in my life.
And so I would say, throughyou know, USO tours and being
involved in other military organizations, theydo team better than anybody in the world.
And we've got some of the verybest in our country. Uh,
that know what that stands for.And so the lessons I've learned from them

(14:16):
through the years, through special forces, soldiers, through generals, through you
know, everybody in between, thatI would say would have probably been my
path had I not coached and talked, Wow, we're falling in love with
you, dude. What's what's yourfavorite food? Pizza? Pizza? Okay,
well, here's here's an add ona follow up to that. Does

(14:39):
pineapple belong on pizza? It doesnot like boffle and other things. So,
uh, and I love pineapple,but no, it's a you know,
it's meat or that's it. Yes, we are going to be friends.
Finally, if you have a guiltypleasure, what is it? Oh,

(15:01):
that's a good one guilty pleasure?Half one of that. In that
space, I would say, yeah, turning the music up as loud as
you can in the car and rockingit out as you're going out, say
that somebody's in the car with you. You could sing along have fun doing
it. So when I turned thison today, I'd like to hear some

(15:22):
job. I'd like to hear somecrew. I'd like to hear some Metallica,
Whiskey in the jar, Hero ofthe day to start my heart.
So I got a lot of interviewstoday, I'd like to hear some job.
I've seen him probably more in concertthan anybody, So not anybody in
the world, I'm saying all theother contents I've been to, and so
if you can get that dumb forme over the next couple hours, that
would that would help today. Wewill absolutely and go go figure a guy

(15:45):
from Jersey asking for some bond JoeyRight, We could do that for you
without a doubt, my friend,hey man, thanks so much. Oh
by the way, listening to musicloud in your car, you don't have
to feel guilty about that, asloud as it can go. Right,
Yes, you got it, man, Look, thanks for taking the time.
We will chat again soon. Welcometo DC. We wish you the
best. We can't wait for theseason, and we are very very excited

(16:07):
to have you here. All right, Jack, you keep it rocking,
brother, All right, buddy,thank you very much. That's Dan Quinn,
head coach of your Washington commanders.