Dan Quinn a hot name for NFL jobs

By
mikecapshaw
-

Florida’s Dan Quinn has been reported to be a strong candidate for several NFL jobs in the past two days.

It appeared the Gators dodged the lose-your-defensive-coordinator bullet on Wednesday when it was reported new Philadelphia Eagles coach Chip Kelly was targeting Georgia’s Todd Gratham, not Quinn. However, word is Quinn is still a possibility for that gig.

The NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport had previously said Grantham and Quinn were the top two choices for the Eagles’ defensive coordinator job.

Now, both Rappaport and ESPN NFL analyst Adam Schefter are reporting Quinn is possibly headed to the Seattle Seahawks to replace Gus Bradley as defensive coordinator.

Schefter tweeted there is a “strong possibility” of that happening while noting that Cleveland and Philadelphia remain interested in Quinn. Another report has Quinn potentially leaving the Gators to join the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Florida coach Will Muschamp said this past season he always supports his assistants moving up the coaching ladder.

It appears Quinn may be close to taking that first step. Quinn was scheduled to make $510,000 this past season. NFL coordinators can make $1 million or more.

Florida has finished eighth and fifth nationally in total defense in each of the past two seasons under Quinn, who served as an assistant in the NFL for a decade. That included a stint as Seattle’s defensive line coach.

If Quinn does leave, the Gators won’t have to look far for a quality replacement. Linebackers coach and special teams coordinator DJ Durkin already knows the scheme in place, has excellent rapport with players and is widely respected by the rest of the coaching staff.

 

 

mikecapshaw
mikecapshaw
Mike Capshaw brings a wealth of experience to the Gator Country team. He’s been overseeing all editorial aspects of GatorCountry.com and Gator Country magazine by managing our team of staffers, interns and freelancers. He is now moving into a bigger role as a reporter by covering the football and basketball beats as well as providing coverage of all sports on campus. Mike’s 15 years in the business has included more than six years of covering SEC sports and recruiting at a daily newspaper in Arkansas. He has also helped launch a newspaper, magazines, websites and even a sports talk radio show. Because Mike puts family ahead of his career, he left the place where he was established when his wife received an opportunity to further her career at UF. He took a leap of faith that he could find a job in the Gainesville area and worked for a year at a newspaper group before joining the Gator Country family in November, 2011. Mike has won Florida Press Association awards for Best Sports Game Story and Best Sports Feature Story in the past two years as well as a company-wide award at his former newspaper group that includes some 60 publications, for Excellence in Sports Reporting. You can follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeCapshawGC.