Cowboys news: Dan Quinn picks up award and will be back in Dallas for 2022 season

Plus other news and from around the Cowboys.

Quinn Named NFL’s Top Assistant Coach Award – Nick Eatman, Dallascowboys.com

A big day for Dan Quinn turns out to be a big win for the Dallas Cowboys.

Earlier in the day, reports around the league have said Quinn has informed the team he is returning as the defensive coordinator for the 2022 season.

Later in the afternoon, it was announced that Quinn has been named Assistant Coach of the Year, voted on by the Pro Football Writers Association.

Quinn is the first assistant coach for the Cowboys to receive this award.

Hired a year ago to help turn around one of the worst defenses in franchise history, Quinn was able to do just that. His guidance not only helped Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs to All-Pro status, but the Cowboys led the NFL in interceptions (26) and ranked seventh in the NFL in points allowed per game (21.1).

Parsons became the first defensive rookie in Cowboys history to make first-team All-Pro and Diggs tied a 40-year-old record for most interceptions in a season.

Quinn was a hot commodity for NFL head coaching jobs, getting requested by six teams. He met with the Bears twice and NFC East rival New York Giants, before apparently deciding to stay put.

Cowboys assure Mike McCarthy he will remain head coach in 2022 after Sean Payton steps down from Saints – Jori Epstein, USA Today

With Dan Quinn back in the fold and Mike McCarthy remaining the head coach for 2022. the Cowboys staff looks to be close to intact.

The Cowboys have assured Mike McCarthy he will remain their head coach in 2022.

The assurance came as early as in conversations after the Cowboys’ 23-17 wild-card loss to the San Francisco 49ers and as recently as this week after Saints coach Sean Payton announced he was stepping down, a person with knowledge of the conversations told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly disclose the information.

So as questions have externally swirled about McCarthy’s job security, internally the Cowboys coach has been “focusing on exit interviews and evaluations of players and staff,” the person said.

One evaluation became easier Thursday.

Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is remaining with the Cowboys for the 2022 season after interviewing for several head-coaching vacancies, a person with knowledge of Quinn’s decision confirmed to USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly disclose the information.

Report: Cowboys OC Kellen Moore expected to get follow-up HC interview with Miami – Todd Brock, Cowboys Wire

Two out of the top three coaches for the Cowboys will remain in Dallas. Will Kellen Moore be the one to exit?

Moore interviewed with the Dolphins late last week, one of several candidates for the job left vacant by the firing of Brian Flores. The 33-year-old Moore is reportedly on the docket to sit with the Miami search committee for a second interview.

A report earlier this week from Pro Football Network indicated that Moore was not expected to get an offer from any of the teams he had spoken to.

“At least one hiring committee came away wondering if [Moore] has the commanding personality and leadership style to stand in front of an entire team and grab players’ attention,” according to that account.

If the names now listed by Rapoport are accurate, it appears the organization is eager to lean toward an offensively-minded coach this time around. As an OC, Moore led the 2021 Cowboys to the top ranking leaguewide in both yards per game and points per game. He additionally showed a knack for creativity, getting 15 different offensive players into the end zone over the course of the season.

Sean Payton says Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys have not contacted him about coaching job – Clarence Hill Jr, Star Telegram

With Mike McCarthy assured of his position for 2022, looks like any Sean Payton talk can be shelfed for another year. Although we know it won’t be.

And while he has continually stated since that he has no plans on coaching in 2022, Payton admitted on the “Dan Patrick Show” on Thursday that a couple of teams have made back-channel contact to gauge his interest. Payton refused to name the teams. But when pressed if the Cowboys and his hometown Chicago Bears were the two who made contact, he said “no and no.” “Look, you know this,” Payton said to Patrick. “You can have a back door, ‘Hey, would you have any interest?’ That’s happened maybe with a couple clubs.” “I’m not looking at that path right now.”

Payton is still under contract with the Saints after announcing his resignation on Tuesday. To hire him, another team would have to request permission from the Saints to speak with him and then compensate the Saints for his services via cash or a draft pick. That doesn’t appear to be a move the Cowboys are going to explore as of now.

McCarthy is expected to return as coach in 2022, even if he is still twisting in the wind on the mind of Jones. Payton plans to pursue opportunities as a NFL broadcast analyst. He says he has already received two or three calls from people in the television industry. But he is also not finished coaching.

It won’t happen this year. But he will be back in the sidelines in the future. It could be as early as 2023. The question is, will it be with the Cowboys?

Report: Dallas Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb expected to be named Pro Bowl alternate – RJ Ochoa, Blogging The Boys

The Cowboys are looking to add another all star to the roster as reports indicate CeeDee Lamb will join some of his teammates in Las Vegas next week.

But there is one non-Super Bowl game being played in February this year, the 2022 Pro Bowl. While the annual All-Star game is not exactly a riveting bit of football action it is always nice to see Cowboys players get the nod and have a bit of fun. All told there were five Dallas Cowboys selected to this year’s Pro Bowl, but this is the time of year where alternates arise. It seems as if Dallas could be adding to their contingent by way of a certain wide receiver, CeeDee Lamb.

Lamb would give the Cowboys a third Pro Bowler on offense to go along with two on defense and one on special teams. Given the way the second half of the season went it feels a bit weird to have the heaviest representation be on the offensive side of the ball, but sometimes that is the way that things go.

Lamb led the Cowboys in receiving in 2021 with 1,102 yards and was 14th among wide receivers in that metric. He “only” caught six touchdowns which is a bit of a low mark, but he wears the star and that brings with it certain advantages in things like this.

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