“We’re going to start right now; the first thing is a head coach; we’ve got to find a great head coach.”
That’s what Adam Peters said the day he was hired to be the new Commanders general manager.
One year ago, on February 3, the new coach Peters had found was announced as Daniel Patrick Quinn.
In the night, Quinn and his wife, Stacey, were greeted walking off the airplane by Peters and his wife, Jennifer.
The following day, Quinn walked into the Ashburn team facility to be greeted by Peters, Jason Wright, Doug Williams, and many employees. In the lobby, Peters pointed to the three Super Bowl Trophies won by Joe Gibbs (1982, 1987, 1991), and Quinn responded, “Makes us think about it every day when we walk in.”
Quinn received a phone call. It was Gibbs who began, “Hey, welcome aboard, man. Here we go, here we go.” Gibbs had arrived in 1981 to a team that had not made the playoffs since 1976 and had finished 6-10 in 1980 under Jack Pardee.
Quinn told Gibbs he had thought about Gibbs driving up to the facility and walking into his old office. Quinn thanked Gibbs for giving him some time to talk to Quinn when he became head coach of the Falcons and that it meant a lot to Quinn.
Josh Harris welcomes Dan Quinn to DC, says the Commanders now have the best leader available pic.twitter.com/IwjBscoa9m
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) February 5, 2024
At his press conference, he said it was a privilege to have been chosen to coach for this franchise and that he realized it takes time to build trust from the fan base, players, staff, and entire organization. But he couldn’t wait to start earning that trust.
“There is nothing I enjoy more than doing hard s–t with good people,” said Quinn…We will hit the ground running; there is lots to do.”
Quinn then stressed, “You will not hear me say the word ‘rebuild’ at all. This is a ‘recalibrate,’ finding our north again.”
“I want to make sure, above all things, that our identity takes place about how we play football. You’ve got to be bold; you’ve got to be aggressive. When people watch us play, they know what Commanders football looks like.”
“We are going to be explosive; we are going to be physical. There’s a lot to get done, but I honestly do not see that word as part of my thinking at all.”
That was Dan Quinn’s first day on the job, one year ago, February 3, 2024.