Dan Quinn can become eighth head coach to lead two franchises to the Super Bowl
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn can join some elite company in NFL history if he leads his team to a win in the NFC Championship Game today.
A victory in Philadelphia would get Quinn to his second Super Bowl as a head coach, with his second different franchise. He’d be just the eighth coach in NFL history who has coached the Super Bowl with more than one team.
A coach who has already done it is coaching today: Kansas City coach Andy Reid is trying to reach his fifth Super Bowl with the Chiefs, and he also coached the Eagles in a Super Bowl.
The other six coaches who have been to Super Bowls with multiple franchises are Bill Parcells (Patriots and Giants), Don Shula (Colts and Dolphins), Dick Vermeil (Eagles and Rams), John Fox (Panthers and Broncos), Mike Holmgren (Packers and Seahawks), and Dan Reeves (Falcons and Broncos).
How Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders Are Breaking the NFL’s Script
The Washington Commanders aren’t supposed to be here.
A new general manager, a new coach and a rookie quarterback aren’t supposed to be on the doorstep of the Super Bowl.
Especially this team.
This season was expected to be the beginning of the rebuild of a once-proud franchise shedding years of turmoil under its disgraced former owner.
Josh Harris entered his second season as the Commanders’ new owner with one fresh face in the executive suite in GM Adam Peters, another on the sidelines in Dan Quinn and a third under center in Heisman winner and No. 2 draft pick Jayden Daniels.
Coming off a 4-13 finish—its seventh straight non-winning season—Washington’s bar for improvement was low.
But nobody thought this year’s Commanders would soar this high.
Daniels led Washington to its fifth win before Halloween. The Commanders later notched their first 7-2 start since 1996, then weathered a three-game skid to secure their first playoff berth in four years and first winning season in eight.
Already worthy of a storybook season, but Quinn, Daniels and company have proven they have plenty more ink.
They first authored a last-second win at Tampa Bay in the wild-card round, then followed with a blowout victory against top-seeded Detroit in the divisional.
Now comes a third battle against division rival Philadelphia, which, on paper, should not lose Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.
But this Washington team has defied expectations all season. That’s why the Commanders are not only going to beat the Eagles, but also whichever AFC team advances to face them in the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 in New Orleans.
Let’s dive deeper into how Washington will win its first world championship since 1992, starting with Sunday’s game in Philadelphia.
A lock for Rookie of the Year, the 24-year-old Daniels has showcased elite poise while helping his long-suffering franchise stack some of its biggest wins in decades.
He completed 69 percent of his passes during the regular season and has been just as sharp in his first two playoff games, hitting 69.7 percent of his throws for 567 yards and four touchdowns with no turnovers.
Daniels will need to be just as proficient Sunday to help the Commanders keep pace with an Eagles offense that will have no issue running the ball against Washington.
