Terry Francona of the Cincinnati Reds was the manager of the Cleveland Guardians when they failed to hold onto a 3-1 series lead in the 2016 World Series and then lost to the Chicago Cubs. The subsequent February, Dan Quinn was the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach when they famously squandered a 28-3 advantage en route to losing Super Bowl LI to the New England Patriots.
In a piece published Thursday morning, ESPN’s John Keim noted how Quinn met with Francona during Cleveland’s spring training workouts shortly after the Super Bowl heartbreak. Now head coach of a Washington Commanders team that heads into Week 11 at 7-3, Quinn seems to have become the leader Francona saw could emerge all those years ago.
“He’s easy to connect with,” Francona said about Quinn during a chat with Keim. “And that to me is a big compliment. You walk in and sit in somebody’s dugout where you’ve never been before and there’s 40 people there that you don’t know. And he was fine.”
Of course, nothing Francona said in 2017 could help Quinn save his Atlanta tenure. Falcons owner Arthur Blank fired Quinn after the team began the 2020 season at 0-5, and Quinn spent three campaigns serving as defensive coordinator with the Dallas Cowboys before Washington hired him this past winter.
As Commanders head coach, Quinn has impressed in ways beyond the club’s record. Ahead of Thursday night’s game between Washington and the 7-2 Philadelphia Eagles, Eagles wide receiver Jahan Dotson noted how Quinn “knows how to grab the room and … he makes it very easy for people to listen to him and do what he asks.” That’s high praise, considering Quinn and the Commanders traded Dotson to the Eagles in August.
“Guys that have that quality where they can fit in with everybody gives you an advantage for when you’re coaching because part of leading is connecting with everybody, not just people that are like you,” Francona added about Quinn.
Francona is a three-time American League Manager of the Year Award winner who stepped down as Cleveland skipper after the 2023 season for reasons related to his health but recently returned to the game to manage the Reds. If Quinn can follow in Francona’s footsteps, the Commanders could be on the cusp of becoming a true powerhouse.
As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Washington as a four-point underdog for the prime-time showdown at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.
