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Dallas Cowboys: Top 7 moves in the 2021 offseason

By Sayre Bedinger

Apr 29, 2021; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Micah Persons (Penn State) with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the Dallas Cowboys as the number 12 overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft at First Energy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 29, 2021; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Micah Persons (Penn State) with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected by the Dallas Cowboys as the number 12 overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft at First Energy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dan Quinn, Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys DC Dan Quinn (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /

2. Hiring Dan Quinn as defensive coordinator

Although there will be some roster turnover talked about later on in this post, the most important move the Dallas Cowboys made in the 2021 offseason for their 28th-ranked scoring defense was not any individual player, but the hiring of defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.

Quinn got his job as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons after his tremendous work in 2013 and 2014 as the defensive coordinator of the Legion of Boom with the Seattle Seahawks.

In Atlanta, he and Kyle Shanahan put together a tremendous team in the 2016 season that won the NFC and had a now-infamous 28-3 lead over the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl before a complete and utter collapse.

Since that Super Bowl appearance, the Falcons have been on a steady decline, and Quinn was handed his walking papers in the middle of the 2020 season along with former Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff.

Although he was dismissed as head coach in Atlanta, Quinn can call a good defense and having the right scheme in place is as important as anything.

There’s also no doubt that Quinn’s stamp and influence were all over the 2021 NFL Draft for the Dallas Cowboys. With Mike McCarthy and Kellen Moore overseeing the offense, the defense will be Dan Quinn’s baby and responsibility. It doesn’t get much worse than what we saw from Dallas in 2020, but the expectation will be a significant jump and he’s a good man for that particular job.

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