According to Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Dallas Cowboys are hiring former Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn to replace Mike Nolan as the team's defensive coordinator.
The #Cowboys have agreed to a deal in principle to make Dan Quinn their defensive coordinator, source said.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 11, 2021
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated speculated last month that Quinn might have been a possibility to replace Robert Saleh as the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator. Over the past week, five NFL teams interviewed Saleh for head-coaching jobs, including the Falcons, Detroit Lions, and Los Angeles Chargers.
"There are some interesting potential coordinator openings across the NFL, and one question is what San Francisco will do if Robert Saleh lands a head coaching job," Breer wrote in December. "I've heard ex-Falcons coach Dan Quinn's name raised for that DC job, should Saleh bolt, and current Falcons interim coach Raheem Morris is another name that can be tied to Kyle Shanahan."
Quinn was the head coach in Atlanta during Shanahan's two-year stint there as offensive coordinator.
One possible replacement for Saleh, should the coordinator become a head coach, could be 49ers linebackers coach DeMeco Ryans, who has been with the team since 2017.
"It's only a matter of time before DeMeco is a coordinator in this league," Shanahan said last week. "It's a matter of time before DeMeco will be a head coach."
Ryans spent 10 seasons as an NFL linebacker with the Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles, was selected to two Pro Bowls, and was named a first-team All-Pro in 2007.
