Winners and Losers After Cowboys Keep Mike McCarthy Following NFL Playoff Loss | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn deserves some of the blame for Sunday’s nightmare loss as well. After all, it was his defense that allowed a franchise postseason record 48 points to Green Bay’s Jordan Love in his playoff debut.

Despite that, Quinn is still in the conversation for a number of head coaching vacancies. The 53-year-old either has interviewed or will interview with the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Chargers this week alone, per Sports Illustrated‘s Albert Breer. And Cowboys star edge-rusher Micah Parsons even quipped that he might follow Quinn out the door if he left Dallas.

“Dan’s my guy,” Parsons told reporters. “And if he do leave me, it’s always love. He might take me with him, you never know.”

The thing is, none of those other vacancies are Dallas. And if McCarthy had been let go Quinn would have been one of the leading candidates to replace him.

He might not have been Jerry Jones’ No. 1 pick. But he’d likely be close. He’s done a mostly excellent job in Dallas, and he’s well-respected by players and management.

If Quinn is offered a head-coaching job elsewhere, he’ll likely take it. It’s hard to imagine him passing on another coaching cycle in the hopes of getting the Dallas job down the road.

However, his best potential gig was the one McCarthy still has for now.