Given how much Chris Russell LOOOOOOOOVES Dan Quinn, you knew Thursday was going to be one of those days that the Rooster popped into BMitch & Finlay’s studio before his own show to crow about the Commanders hiring Quinn as their next head coach.
As B and JP were discussing the Quinn hire, and Jahan Dotson recruiting an apparently recruitable Micah Parsons (even if it’s a joke) on Twitter, Rooster was chugging up the stairs from the parking garage to the studio level – ‘and he’s huffin’ and puffin’ and looks tired as hell,’ BMitch laughed – to deliver this:
“I knew this was going to happen, and it’s a great day!” Rooster said. “Talking to people around the NFL, he’s a great leader and visionary, and guys we know around here who have been around him say it, but the No. 1 thing to me is I wanted an experienced head coach, someone who knows how to deal with the ebb and flow of a long NFL season, and galvanize guys whenever it’s needed. He does all that and more, and he’s an excellent defensive mind.”
BMitch tried to mitigate things by saying ‘he’s never coached a 17-game season as a head coach,’ which was a joke, but the guys can definitively say Dan Quinn is not going to be a ‘bad’ head coach.
“The owner is brand new, the GM is brand new, there’s going to be a rookie quarterback – maybe they wanted someone with experience,” JP said.
“CJ Stroud and DeMeco Ryans are the first rookie coach-QB combo in the Super Bowl era to win their division and make the playoffs,” Rooster said. “Add in a new GM and a relatively new ownership group, that’s a lot of new. Can they grow together, yes, but I don’t want it to take 3-5 years to grow.”
JP still gives Quinn a short leash because of that, and we know Josh Harris will make changes if needed, so we’ll have to see…but for now, the Rooster is happy.