Dallas Cowboys two coordinators: One looks to be moving on while the other needs help

For the record, both Dan Quinn and Kellen Moore want everyone to know neither is distracted by their respective pursuits to become a NFL head coach.

Quinn, the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator, is linked to the head coaching vacancies both in Denver and Indianapolis.

Moore, the Cowboys offensive coordinator, is a candidate to become the head coach of the Carolina Panthers.

Hold your respective snickers, and hopes, ‘til the end, please.

Regardless of what transpires on Sunday when the Cowboys play the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC divisional round, Dan Quinn is Dan Gone.

Of all the people who need to have a good showing on Sunday in Santa Clara, it’s Kellen Moore ... and the kicker, Brett Money.

(Only the Cowboys could make an extra point into something worth paying a subscription fee.)

The case for Dan Quinn

Since coming to the Cowboys before the start of the 2021 season, Quinn has done everything someone in his position could do.

DQ’s defense is a major reason why the Cowboys have won 24 combined games in 2021 and ‘22, and the playoff game against Tampa Bay on Monday night.

His players have improved, and specifically Micah Parsons has flourished.

Quinn has done more than enough to justify an NFL team naming him its head coach.

Quinn was the head coach of the Falcons from 2015 to through the first five games of the 2020 season. He sounds prepared, and ready, to go. Whatever that entails.

“What I did was was through the spring and summer, that’s where I did all of my preparation (for job interviews),” Quinn said Friday morning on a conference call with the local media. “Back in the summer I planned for us to be in the playoffs, so I planned for these conversations if I was fortunate enough to have them.

“So, I didn’t want to have to do anything differently. Respectfully, I’d like to focus on the game. Doing the work early allows you to feel relaxed.”

The Cowboys could lose to the 49ers 30-17, and the chances of Quinn returning are a solid .08 percent.

Kellen Moore: Born to be a head coach

Whereas Quinn will soon be elsewhere, the Cowboys need to win two more games for an NFL team to be persuaded they can hire Moore.

A Super Bowl appearance is what Kellen Moore’s resume really needs. Or, at least a good performance in an NFC title game.

No coach in our sports neighborhood wears a “Kick Me” sign more than the former Boise State quarterback, whose arrival to the Cowboys is because of none other than ... former Cowboys offensive coordinator Scott Linehan.

If Linehan is the tree, and Moore is an apple, this apple tree was planted atop of a hill. Or at least a mound.

Moore shares some similarities as Linehan, but in the past two years his offenses have looked different under the influence of head coach Mike McCarthy.

Moore is in his fourth season as the Cowboys offensive coordinator. If you listen to him talk, he sounds much more confident in front of a microphone, in a group, than he did when former Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett named him the OC in 2019.

That promotion came after Garrett was “advised” to fire Linehan.

This season, the Cowboys offense ranked 11th in the NFL, which featured five games where backup quarterback Cooper Rush was the starter; the team finished 4-1 in those games.

When they have lost, however, Moore is usually the one who receives a healthy cut of the blame. Don’t ask about fair, or justified.

In the Cowboys’ playoff loss against the 49ers in the wild card round last season, some of Moore’s play calling was justifiably torched.

Now, one year later, Moore, McCarthy and starting quarterback Dak Prescott are in a similar spot, playing the same team, this time on the road.

They all three need a quality performance against the 49ers, for different reasons.

Moore has made it clear his preference is to coach in the NFL rather than college, and it would seem it’s only a matter of time before a franchise gives him that chance.

His best, and probably only, chance at such an opportunity in 2023 is the Cowboys at least reach the NFC title game, and preferably beyond.

Both Dan Quinn and Kellen Moore insist they aren’t distracted by their respective job pursuits, and neither is of paramount concern against the 49ers.

For the sake of his reputation, Moore needs a quality performance on Sunday.

Now, about the kicker .....