There’s lessons that you just have to live and sometimes through success and sometimes also through adversity. But once you learn those lessons, all you wanna do is grab him and run and prove it. And uh so let me tell you, I am ready to run. All right, coach, he is ready to go.
Dan Quinn is prepared to lead the burgundy and gold into a new era. The team introduced Quinn as their new head coach about four hours ago. Thank you for being here with us tonight at six. I’m Lorenzo Hall. So minutes after that news conference wrapped up today,
Quinn met with our chick Hernandez for a one on one interview. Chick joins us live tonight outside of Commanders HQ in Loudon County, Virginia. And you know, Chick Quinn spoke about his future plans for the team and the changes are already under way. He just started.
The change has really come from within which we’ll get to in just a few seconds. But for perspective here, this is the ninth full time head coach that I’ve covered for this Washington football franchise. And by the way, it’s the longest press conference
I believe in franchise history as it lasted almost an hour. And of course, we carried it for you right here live at 230 on USA nine. So of course, the new head coach Dan Quinn was flanked by the owner Josh Harris and the GM Adam Peters. Dan Quinn
Was a head coach in Atlanta for five plus seasons, got him to the Super Bowl, but two years later, he was fired on a trip to Hawaii. He did some much needed self evaluation as I found out in my one on one with the new head coach
During that, you know, few months you can be at whereas, you know, an awesome place and still be really depressed and bummed. But I knew I wanted to make the pain worth it. You know, I wanted to get the lessons so I could make sure when this lap came again.
Not only did I know what some blind spots were, I’d be better for it. It was a good lesson for me. It was a hard lesson. Um, but it’s also one that I, you learn from those adversity moments and the success I’d love to say
We learn as much from the wins as we do from the losses, but that’s not always true. And it probably took that l uh, that I took in Atlanta um to learn these lessons and go through that process to make sure that when I get here to Washington,
That I’m a better coach than when, you know, I ever was in Atlanta. And so that’s what I get to go prove I’ve covered this franchise since 1994 couple playoff games. That’s it. Do you understand this fan base and how much they are starving for a winner and a perennial winner?
Well, I know I can’t do anything about the past, you know, and, you know, previous, you know, 25 or 30 years, but I do know it starts now and what that looks like from us from here moving forward and that’s what I can control.
So, although I can’t feel the pain of those years, what I can do is to say, man, I am gonna go for it as hard as you’ve seen anybody go for it to help this fan base and this organization
Recapture, you know, the importance of it, not just this area but to the whole NFL. And that’s a really cool challenge. And uh that’s what makes it fun. Like if it was easy, then you don’t feel it as much. So like taking this on, it’s hard and I absolutely love it. Like
If we can get everything organized and push it and find the right space to do that, then we’ll look back years from now and say, man, that was an absolute blast. And the best time I either had being a fan coaching ball
Playing ball knowing that the times we did it together were meaningful. I got to tell you, it’s a refreshing conversation with Dan Quinn who’s been to a Super Bowl, 11 as a defensive coordinator in Seattle before taking that Atlanta job. But so much information there during that one on one,
We’ll get to it over the next couple of days. He said he had not talked to the players yet, but that might come in the next few hours here in Loudon County, Lorenzo. Yeah. And Chick, we know based on what we’re seeing here, he’s starting fresh,
We know the team made some more coaching staff hires, but we’re also learning more about some other personnel moves. What can you tell us about that? He hired uh Cliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator yesterday along with Joe Witt Junior, who was his assistant with the Dallas Cowboys as the
Defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders. And I asked him during the press conference. Cliff Kingsbury is the offensive coordinator. What now happens to Eric Bey? He said, quote, I have great respect for Eric Bey and the brotherhood of the coaching fraternity, but he will not be with me
On this staff. So Eric Beem after one season with the Burgundy and Gold is now looking for another job in the national football league. But as you said, a fresh start, relatively, brand new owner and Josh Harris, brand new GM in Adam Peters
And Dan Quinn second time around as a head coach after a lot of self evaluation we’ll see if we can get it done right here in Virginia DC and Maryland. Yeah. Hopefully we’ll see a lot of those wins on the field with this upcoming season, with all these changes as well.
Chick. Thank you.
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