Ninety-nine percent of respondents to this week’s Reacts survey said they felt the same way or better about Dan Quinn than they did when news of his hiring broke early in February, with almost eight out of ten readers of Hogs Haven stating that they felt better then as well.
Naturally, after a guy joins the organization, opinions usually turn out to be positive. He joins the group as soon as he signs; he becomes one of “us.”
But I get the feeling that this goes beyond simply saying that Dan Quinn may be a retread, but now he’s our retread. I get the definite impression that, as Washington fans have gotten a close look at Quinn, paid attention to the coaching staff he’s assembled, listened to comments from free agents who have signed with the team, and heard what coaches, players and analysts from around the NFL universe have had to say about him, fans of the burgundy & gold have genuinely started to re-assess and upgrade their views of the new head coach.
Can Quinn and his team make Washington an appealing destination for seasoned free agents? The Commanders have secretly signed over twenty veterans to come to or return to Washington, without making significant investments in free agency. Players like Ertz, Chinn, Luvu, Mariota, Ekeler, and Wagner have told us that the coaching change was the reason for this significant roster overhaul.
I have to say that I’ve taken the journey along with the majority of respondents in this week’s survey. I was initially a bit disappointed that the team hadn’t hired a first-time head coach from the coordinator ranks. For the same reasons that so many people have already enumerated over the past two months, I now feel as if Josh Harris and Adam Peters may have been the last to cross the line with a hire, but may have ‘won’ the race by making the best head coaching hire of 2024.
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