ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 22: Troy Aikman talks with Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys on the field before a game against the Washington Redskins at AT&T Stadium on November 22, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman is a fan of the team’s defensive coordinator hire.
Dallas finalized its defensive coordinator hire earlier this week. The Cowboys hired former Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn, who previously served as the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive coordinator.
Aikman spoke about the hire during an appearance on The Musers on 96.7 FM in Dallas on Wednesday.
“I think it’s a good hire. I’ve always liked Dan, I think he’s a good coach… I thought that Dan would be a good hire for them… Dan took over for a couple years as defensive coordinator and they were number one for both years he was there in Seattle. They never were quite as good on defense [in Atlanta] as what I think a lot of people thought they would be considering Dan’s background as a defensive coach, but yeah, I think he’s a really good football coach,” Aikman said.
Quinn will join Mike McCarthy’s staff in Dallas. McCarthy is coming off a disappointing first season with the Cowboys, but expectations will heighten in 2021.
Aikman admitted that the Cowboys’ defense has holes to fill.
“There are holes in the defense personnel-wise. Those things have to be addressed. I’ve always believed that on the defensive side of the ball it’s more of a mindset. If you can get guys rallying to the football and playing at a certain level that you can do a lot of good things on the defensive side of the ball and you don’t necessarily have to have the best players. But you can have really good players that don’t buy in, don’t execute, don’t run to the football, don’t tackle well — shoot, hardly anybody tackles well anymore. It’s kind of maddening to me, some of the fundamentals of our game,” he said.
The Cowboys will probably look to add an impact player on defense in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
