Dan Quinn Stuff …

The last new NFL head coach hired in this season’s iteration of “Speed Dating” was Dan Quinn by the Washington Commanders.  I think it is fair to say that Bob Molinaro of the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot was not exactly blown away by the choice:

New guy: Dan Quinn is a “wow” hire for the Commanders. As in wow, that’s the best they could do?

Also related to that coaching selection, someone reminded NFL historian Dan Daly that 50 years ago when George Allen took over the Redskins’ coaching job, he traded for and signed a whole bunch of his former players from the LA Rams.  In fact, there were so many that the team became known as the “Ramskins”.  The question was posed to Daly what the team might be called if/when Dan Quinn brings former Cowboys’ players to DC.  Here is Dan Daly’s response via Twitter – – or whatever they call it this week:

“In a political town like DC, the Jerrymanders?

One more item on the new coaching regime in Washington …  Eric Bienemy certainly did not get the head coaching job with the Commanders and now he is going to be released entirely by the team after Klif Kingsbury was hired as the Offensive Coordinator.  It did not take long for Stephen A. Smith to play the race card on that move.  In part, here is what Smith said:

“I’m saying from a historical perspective, we look at a guy like Kliff Kingsbury and you know what we see as black folks? This is the kind of stuff that don’t happen for black folks.”

And …

 “It doesn’t seem to me there are bona fide football reasons as to why Kliff Kingsbury is the new offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders.”

The last time Klif Kingsbury was in a position close to being an NFL offensive coordinator was back with the Texans in 2010 and 2011; he was the co-offensive coordinator.  In 2010, the Texans went 6-10 (unimpressive); in 2011, the Texans went 10-6 and won their division and made the playoffs (not too shabby).  Kingsbury’s time as the head coach of the Cards was an uninspiring 28-37-1 over 4 seasons with 1 playoff appearance thrown in that mix.

So, in one sense, Smith is “right” in his thinking that Kingsbury does not have a potent NFL résumé to bring to this job.  However, here is one detail that Smith either did not check or did not choose to mention.

• Two years ago, with Scott Turner as the team’s offensive coordinator, the Commanders scored 321 points in 17 games (18.9 points per game).
• Last year with Eric Bienemy as the team’s offensive coordinator, the Commanders scored 329 points in 17 games.  (19.4 points per game)
• The Commanders scoring improved by one-half of one point per game with mostly the same offensive roster and probably better QB play.

NFL free agency has not blossomed yet, but there are a couple of fairly obvious things to say about some pending free agents.  Baker Mayfield is the most obvious example of someone who has seen his potential value increase significantly over the past year.  In 2023, Mayfield played for the Bucs on a 1-year contract with a base value of $4M with incentives that could have maxxed out at $8.8M.  Mayfield led the Bucs to the playoffs by winning the NFC South and then won a playoff game over the Eagles in the wildcard round.  In the regular season he threw for just over 4000 yards with 28 TDs and 10 INTs.

It seems as if Mayfield has been around the NFL for a long time, but he is only 28 years old.  So, what sort of deal might he command in the free agent market place?  He certainly played above the level of his 2023 contract, but I don’t think he will get offers that challenge the QBs at the top of the NFL pay scale at the moment.  Maybe an offer like:

• 4 years and $90M with $60M guaranteed?

Perhaps that value increases if a couple of QB-needy teams focus on Mayfield such as:

1. Bears (?)
2. Broncos
3. Bucs
4. Commanders
5. Falcons
6. Pats
7. Raiders
8. Steelers (?)
9. Titans (?)
10. Vikes – – if Cousins signs elsewhere

Lots of possibilities there …

#1 son went to William and Mary for his undergraduate degree.  In 1994, he was a junior there and the football team then had three folks taking part who would be employed as NFL head coaches in 2024:

• Mike Tomlin was a WR on the that team
• Sean McDermott was a safety on that team
• Dan Quinn was an assistant coach on that team.

That’s pretty amazing for a Division 1-AA football program…

Finally today, words of wisdom from H. L. Mencken:

“Wealth – any income that is at least one hundred dollars more a year than the income of one’s wife’s sister’s husband.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………