Written By Adam Aniba
The announcement of Dan Quinn being named the new Washington Commanders Head Coach was met with marginal excitement.
Quinn guided the Atlanta Falcons to Super Bowl LI in 2017 and most recently guided the Dallas Cowboys to a Top 5 defensive ranking, after taking over as the Defensive Coordinator in 2021. Prior to arriving in Dallas, the Cowboys defense ranked as the 5th worst unit in the league (2020).
Quinn has a lengthy resume holding positions with William & Mary, VMI, Hofstra, Florida University, San Francisco, Miami, New York (Jets), but is notorious for his stints as the Seattle Seahawks defensive line coach/defensive coordinator (2009-2010 & 2013-2014).
Quinn was the architect of the infamous "Legion of Boom" which featured CB Richard Sherman, CB Brandon Browner, FS Earl Thomas and SS Kam Chancellor.
Although Washington's defense is a work in progress, Commander's free agent strong safety Kamren Curl seems to fit the mold that Quinn covets
During his introductory press conference, Quinn was asked what he looks for when building a defense and had the following to say.
"The competitive dog that's not gonna back down."
Although Curl only has 3 career interceptions during his four years in Washington (all 3 ints in '20), compared to fellow strong safety Chancellor's 8 career interceptions during his eight seasons in Seattle, he certainly has the swagger of enforcer and the football IQ to lead.
Washington will have north of $71 million in available cap space per the latest 2024 salary cap projections and Curl should be a priority signing for the new regime.
Curl is not only the unquestioned leader of Washington's defensive backfield, on multiple occasions he wore the green dot which is usually reserved for the MIKE linebacker.
The former 7th rounder won't come cheap with reports that Curl could be seeking a deal in the neighborhood $13M- $15M per season.
Franchise tagging Curl seems like a more feasible scenario if they can't immediately agree to terms. The move would keep him off the market and hopefully a LTD could get inked before the start of the season
The new defensive scheme is expected to be predicated on aggressiveness and forcing turnovers. Curl could thrive and play a similar role to Chancellor in Washington's new defense.
Although new Commanders DC Joe Whitt Jr. (former Cowboys defensive back coach) will run the defense, it would be naive to think Quinn won't be heavily involved.
It remains to be seen if Quinn and his staff can build anything resembling the Legion of Boom, but bringing back Curl would be a great start.
Curl has exceeded expectations since arriving in Washington. Now it's time to get the best out of the former Razorback safety and let him loose, but first he must to be re-signed.
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