It's been a rough few days for Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn. Talk about his job security has been front and center after an embarrassing Week 5 tie with the New York Giants.
Quinn is not getting fired yet. But some fans now firmly believe the Commanders will be better off without him.
The botched final play sequence at Northwest Stadium was complete malpractice. Quarterback Jayden Daniels and offensive coordinator David Blough must be held accountable, too. But when push comes to shove, it falls on Quinn.
Dan Quinn's future with Commanders is under more scrutiny than ever after Week 5 debacle
He's the head coach. He's not calling defensive plays anymore. Quinn's job is to micromanage and handle in-game situations. When the Commanders needed him to come through with a game-winning overtime kick in their grasp, he came up short through the worst clock management you will ever see.
It was infuriating, bemusing, and everything in between.
Quinn was apoplectic with rage afterward, and he didn't look to have simmered down during his Monday media availability, either. It was completely unacceptable, and he knew it.
But he's getting the chance to make it right.
Despite fans' pleas, the Commanders aren't going to remove Quinn in-season. That's not Josh Harris' style. Even when Ron Rivera was a lame-duck coach from a long way out, ownership still gave him the opportunity to see out the year before making sweeping changes.
Quinn should get the same courtesy, unless there is a massive drop-off.
Commanders are staying the course with Dan Quinn, but the margin for error has vanished
But if the Commanders don't start picking up positive results soon, Quinn could be out of a job once Washington's regular-season commitments conclude.
There is urgency. Quinn knows what will come next if he cannot get things trending up. He's been around too long for anything else, but whether he can muster enough out of this group moving forward is the big question nobody knows the answer to right now.
"We've got a lot of s--- to clean up on from yesterday's game. And trust me, everyone in this building starting with me feels that urgency."
If Quinn was hoping for some solace this weekend, he's out of luck.
The Commanders' final game before their bye week is a daunting trip to the unbeaten San Francisco 49ers for Monday Night Football. If he could have picked Washington's next game, the NFC West club would have been way down the list.
When the Commanders return from their extended rest, they have the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants, and Cincinnati Bengals. Quinn needs to find some positivity in these games. Otherwise, things risk completely spiraling.
More and more fans have lost faith in Quinn. Several local radio hosts and national analysts have done the same. He's still fighting, and the Commanders are showing faith. But this all comes down to how much confidence remains in the locker room.
Once that goes, there is no way back. And the players didn't display much of it after snatching a tie from the jaws of victory against the Giants.
Make of that what you will. But either way, this demands an exceptional response from everyone in the building.
Because Quinn is under more scrutiny than ever after Washington's latest fiasco.
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