Report: Arizona Cardinals expected to hold second interview with Cowboys DC Dan Quinn

Report: Cardinals to bring in Dan Quinn for second interview

The Cardinals are bringing in Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn for a second interview for their vacant head coaching position, according to a report by NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.

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Quinn, 52, who met virtually with the team on Saturday, is being flown into the Valley on Tuesday night to meet with team owner Michael Bidwill and new general manager Monti Ossenfort, per Pelisserio.

Quinn also is a top candidate for the head coaching vacancies with the Broncos and Colts. He was 43-42 in parts of six seasons as coach of the Falcons, which included two trips to the postseason and a loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI at the end of the 2016 season. He was fired by the Falcons after an 0-5 start in 2020.

The Cardinals, who fired Kliff Kingsbury as coach following a 4-13 season, reportedly will meet with former Saints coach Sean Payton on Thursday. They also have requested an interview with 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans but can’t interview him until Monday at the earliest because the 49ers are preparing for the NFC Championship game this Sunday against the Eagles.

Thus far, Arizona already has conducted interviews with former Colts head coach Frank Reich, former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, who presently is a defensive assistant and linebackers coach for the Steelers, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and in-house candidate Vance Joseph, who has spent the past four seasons as the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator.

Quinn began his NFL coaching career with the 49ers, first as a quality control coach (2001-02), then as a defensive line coach (2003-04). He then spent two seasons in that capacity with both the Dolphins (2005-06) and Jets (2007-08) before joining the Seahawks as assistant head coach and defensive line coach (2009-10).

Following another two-year stint as the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach at Florida (2011-12), he returned to the Seahawks as Seattle’s defensive coordinator. In charge of the “Legion of Boom” defense, Quinn was a big reason why the Seahawks made it to consecutive Super Bowls, including a win over the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

A day after Seattle lost to the Patriots in the Super Bowl the following season in Glendale, Atlanta hired Quinn as its head coach, and he posted two winning seasons in his first three years there. The Falcons had a 28-3 lead on the Patriots in the third quarter of Super Bowl LI but would end up losing in overtime 34-28.

Quinn has spent the past two years with the Cowboys and was named the Assistant Coach of the Year in 2021.

Report: Cardinals to interview Sean Payton for coaching job on Thursday

Despite media speculation he was either no longer interested in the job or the Cardinals had decided to go in a different direction, it appears Sean Payton will be interviewing with the team for its vacant head coaching position after all.

Payton, the former head coach of the Saints, is expected to meet with team owner Michael Bidwill and new general manager Monti Ossenfort on Thursday, according to a report by PHNX’s Howard Balzer.

Payton has already interviewed with the Broncos and Texans and was scheduled to meet with the Panthers on Monday. He reportedly had a second interview scheduled with the Broncos on Wednesday, but that has since either been canceled or postponed, per reports.

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Bidwill fired Kliff Kingsbury as head coach a day after Arizona finished a 4-13 season. Kingsbury was 28-27-1 in his four seasons with the Cardinals and was dismissed despite being awarded a contract extension last March that is guaranteed through the 2027 season and worth a reported $30 million.

Arizona reportedly has already had interviews with former Colts head coach Frank Reich, Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and Vance Joseph, who has spent the past four seasons as the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator.

The team was scheduled to interview former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach for the Steelers, in person on Monday. Additionally, the Cardinals were scheduled to meet with Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn during a virtual interview this past weekend.

Payton would be the seventh different candidate to meet with the Cardinals if the interview happens on Thursday. Because Payton is still under contract with the Saints for two more years even though he stepped down as coach following the 2021 season, any team that hires him will have to reward the Saints with trade compensation and is expected to cost at least one first-round pick, if not more.

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An eighth candidate, 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, was scheduled to meet with the Cardinals this past weekend, but he reportedly canceled that interview along with another with the Colts to focus on San Francisco’s NFC Divisional playoff game against Dallas. Because the 49ers advanced to the NFC Championship this Sunday against the Eagles, Ryans cannot be interviewed by the Cardinals until Monday at the earliest. Ryans has already interviewed with the Broncos and Texans.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals head coach search news and updates