WEBVTT - Draft Show: Dan Quinn's Impact on the Draft 0:00:06.400 --> 0:00:11.719 This is the Dallas Cowboys dot Com Draft Show, your 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:15.160 war room for in center news and draft analysis from 0:00:15.240 --> 0:00:18.680 deep within the confines of Cowboys headquarters at the Star 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:25.640 in Fresco, Dallas Cowboys like CD Lamb and now your hosts. 0:00:25.640 --> 0:00:30.600 Brian brought us David Hellman, Bucky Brooks and Kyle Yeoman's 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:37.440 one hundred and six days until the NFL drafted. We 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:41.000 are one day post college football season, as the final 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:46.080 tape has been submitted and the draft process has officially started. 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:50.000 After a national championship win for the Alabama Crimson Tide 0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:53.159 last night. It's already sparked some debate behind the scenes 0:00:53.440 --> 0:00:55.600 here on the Dallas Cowboys dot Com Draft Show, but 0:00:55.600 --> 0:00:58.600 now we've taken into the forefront, we'll talk about that 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:01.880 national championship game. There's plenty to get to about the 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:05.520 Cowboys draft process. Because well there's a new defensive coordinator 0:01:05.600 --> 0:01:08.280 in town. We're gonna talk about that as well. Brian 0:01:08.319 --> 0:01:11.319 brought us Bucky Brooks, David Hellman, I'm Kyle Yeoman's glad 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:14.640 you're all with us here on this Tuesday morning Draft show, 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:17.680 one of two this week. Of course, Thursday at ten 0:01:17.680 --> 0:01:21.720 o'clock will be back as well. But well, Dave, I 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:25.520 know you're upset because Nick Saban and Alabama ended up 0:01:25.560 --> 0:01:28.560 winning a national championship, But are you upset about the 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:32.160 Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator coaching higher? Because I feel like 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:35.039 that's a little bit more. Is that good enough to 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:38.680 make you feel better about the whole situation? I honestly, 0:01:39.520 --> 0:01:41.960 I'm not even upset, Like at this point, if you don't, 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:44.160 I mean you're just numb, you know, being upset at 0:01:44.160 --> 0:01:47.560 Alabama winning and national titles, like being upset about the sunrising, 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:51.440 like what are you gonna do? So, no, that's fine, 0:01:51.480 --> 0:01:55.080 and yeah, I mean I'm I'm not gonna go as 0:01:55.080 --> 0:01:57.680 far as to say like I'm elated, but I like 0:01:57.840 --> 0:01:59.520 to hire. I think it makes a lot of sense 0:01:59.560 --> 0:02:03.160 I said yesterday. If you read the tea leaves of 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:05.360 what Jerry and Stephen Jones have been saying for about 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:07.960 the last month and a half, this checks a lot 0:02:07.960 --> 0:02:11.160 of their boxes because it's it's very obvious that they've 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:15.160 regretted trying to do too much during a pandemic overhauling 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:18.320 the defensive scheme. It was just too much for them 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:20.359 to handle during you know, a year where you don't 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:22.560 have an offseason or a training camp, at least not 0:02:22.600 --> 0:02:26.160 a true training camp, and so they basically just reversed 0:02:26.160 --> 0:02:29.200 course back to what they were familiar with. And maybe 0:02:29.200 --> 0:02:31.840 that'll rub some people the wrong way, but you know, 0:02:31.919 --> 0:02:34.959 as at its best, those defenses under Chris Richard and 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:37.840 Rod Marinelli were not bad, and so I understand the 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:40.000 appeal of trying to get back to what's familiar with 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:43.600 for them. Brian, do you agree with the hire of 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:46.079 Dan Quinn. I mean, this is a new defensive coordinator 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:48.960 that'll change things up from where Mike Nolan was, but 0:02:49.400 --> 0:02:51.120 I also kind of want to think about what it 0:02:51.120 --> 0:02:54.160 would change from a draft standpoint. Yeah, you know, I 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:56.440 do like to hire you. What I appreciate about the 0:02:56.480 --> 0:03:01.360 front offices, and we've grown accustomed to the cowboys dragging 0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:04.440 their feet when they need to make a decision. And 0:03:04.600 --> 0:03:08.160 what I was worried about with so many coaches, you know, 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:12.160 so many teams needing head coaches, they've got to build staffs. 0:03:12.160 --> 0:03:15.000 If you're if you're a coach that's interviewing for a 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:17.480 head coaching job, you know, the one thing the question 0:03:17.520 --> 0:03:19.040 they're going to ask you is, Okay, who do you 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:21.240 have on your staff, who do you have lined up? 0:03:21.639 --> 0:03:23.760 You know, and if these coaches are all saying the 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:26.200 same names, and then all of a sudden they start 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:29.960 taking these jobs, and then the best coordinators go with 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:33.280 other programs. You know, the Cowboys have always been a 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:38.080 team that's just been so slow to make adjustments that way. 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:41.360 Talking to folks around the league, I have friends in 0:03:41.480 --> 0:03:44.720 Atlanta that that that think the world of Dan Quinn. 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:47.280 They say the problem really with the Falcons over the 0:03:47.360 --> 0:03:50.440 years is they've had an offensive a different offensive coordinator 0:03:50.520 --> 0:03:53.880 every year. So just with Dan, you know, the things 0:03:53.920 --> 0:03:56.760 with the defense and what he could do, how he 0:03:56.800 --> 0:03:59.400 can teach. I think that's I think that's really the 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:02.760 most important thing right now, is that how you know, 0:04:02.840 --> 0:04:05.040 how is he going to teach? You know, that's the 0:04:05.160 --> 0:04:08.360 thing that you know that this team really really lacked 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:10.680 coming out of the box. They didn't do a very 0:04:10.720 --> 0:04:14.320 good job of handling the pandemic, the zoom call, stuff 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:17.240 like that, and it wasn't until the very end. So 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:20.600 I'm positive about the way the Cowboys moved. I'm positive 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:22.880 about what I'm hearing about Dan Quinn as a teacher, 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:25.599 and I think like they're going forward though the Cowboys 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:28.680 made the right decision. You know, Brian, let me thinking 0:04:28.720 --> 0:04:31.040 back on your comment about doing Quinn like, I love 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:32.560 the move because I felt like the scheme that it 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:35.000 had previously with Rod Marinelli and Christmashard was the right 0:04:35.080 --> 0:04:37.520 scheme for the way the Cowboys wanted to play. Like, 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:40.240 if you think about your defense has to complement your offense, 0:04:40.240 --> 0:04:42.920 and if your offense is high powered, then your defense 0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:45.000 doesn't necessarily have to be the dominating group. It can 0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:46.839 be the bend, but don't break and be the one 0:04:46.880 --> 0:04:49.560 that can sit back and play coverage and just try 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:53.479 and keep the explosive plays from happening. Now with dan Quinn, 0:04:53.520 --> 0:04:55.760 dan Quinn as an outstanding teacher, I think what they 0:04:55.880 --> 0:04:58.160 do is they've always done a really good job of 0:04:58.160 --> 0:05:01.040 getting young guys onto the field early. You will hear 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:03.039 him talk about a couple of things. You're him talking 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:05.599 about urgent athletes. The kind of guys that they want 0:05:05.640 --> 0:05:09.279 on their defense will be explosive, instinctive, they'll be twitchy, 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:12.359 and he won't necessarily worry as much about some of 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:16.520 the size components that some coaches can get hung up on. 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:18.400 The other thing that you were here a quality and 0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:20.159 I don't know how much Mike McCarthy will let them 0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:21.600 do it. They have a thing in Atlanta that they 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:24.640 did called the Plan D program that was their developmental 0:05:24.680 --> 0:05:27.320 program for all their young guys. They required all of 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:29.880 their young guys to stay after practice for ten minutes 0:05:30.200 --> 0:05:33.080 every day and their coaches would work with them on 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:36.599 an extra individual period over time. If you think about 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:39.840 those ten minutes over the course of the season, it 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:42.480 wasn't a coincidence that in Atlanta their young guys were 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:45.680 able to play weeks ten through sixteen and seventeen because 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:48.640 they had done all that preparation time. So hopefully it 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:51.320 will allow some of the younger players to develop and 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:53.960 actually get the attention that they need to go forward 0:05:54.000 --> 0:05:56.480 to be able to be contributors. Yeah, that's a great point, Buck. Yet, 0:05:56.520 --> 0:05:59.039 I think this is a program that Tom Demtrof his 0:05:59.279 --> 0:06:03.280 days in England. You know, Bill Belichick had coaches there, 0:06:03.600 --> 0:06:07.080 the assistance to the assistance they were working with their 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:10.600 practice squad guys, the young players getting those extra reps 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:13.200 for him. So that's a it's a heck of a plan. 0:06:13.320 --> 0:06:15.040 And in this day and age, you're right, you have 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:18.560 to go play with your young guys. Well, imagine what 0:06:18.720 --> 0:06:23.360 that kind of at least extra coaching and that teaching 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:25.520 could have done for a guy like treyvon Dix or 0:06:25.560 --> 0:06:28.480 maybe a Reggie Robinson a year ago. I mean, just 0:06:28.520 --> 0:06:32.599 that extra attention might have been enough to push them 0:06:32.600 --> 0:06:34.880 a little bit more so over the edge. And sure, 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:36.640 we're gonna talk about a lot of these draft picks 0:06:36.640 --> 0:06:39.440 and things like that into the future with Dan Quinn, 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:42.480 and he's gonna he's gonna have probably the majority of 0:06:42.520 --> 0:06:45.760 this draft going toward his defense because of the needs 0:06:45.800 --> 0:06:48.039 that are there for the Dallas Cowboys. But how much 0:06:48.080 --> 0:06:50.960 does the hiring change the overall needs in the scheme 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:54.000 of this defense, Bucky, Because I feel like whenever it 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:56.360 came to Mike Nolan, he was looking for the taller, 0:06:56.520 --> 0:07:00.480 bigger corners that were that were athletic, they weren't necessarily twitchy. 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:03.200 He wanted physicality on the edge. Where does things like 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:06.159 that kind of switch for Quinn. Well, now, because of 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:09.080 the scheme, the cover three scheme, the most important piece 0:07:09.120 --> 0:07:11.400 of the puzzle, I think in the back end are 0:07:11.400 --> 0:07:15.520 the safeties. You cannot run a single high defense without 0:07:15.800 --> 0:07:18.240 two A plus safeties. One of those guys can be 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:20.520 down in the box that can be a banger. He 0:07:20.560 --> 0:07:22.200 needs to be active. He needs to be able to 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:25.360 like the more that he can do, the better, meaning 0:07:25.360 --> 0:07:26.880 if he can blits off the edge and can play 0:07:26.920 --> 0:07:29.280 and run support, if he can cover tight ends, that's great. 0:07:29.680 --> 0:07:32.760 Your centefield safety has to be a dude, and the 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:35.200 priority has to be able to get someone who can 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:37.200 be the ornament on the top of the Christmas tree, 0:07:37.280 --> 0:07:39.840 meaning he's a centefield player who can get from numbers 0:07:39.840 --> 0:07:42.880 to numbers. He has plenty of range, and he's a playmaker. 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:45.440 And so I would think that the position that's been 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:49.360 annoyed for years in Dallas. They have to invest in 0:07:49.400 --> 0:07:51.640 a safety, whether that is in the draft, that is 0:07:51.640 --> 0:07:54.840 in free agency. The safety has to be a high 0:07:54.920 --> 0:08:00.120 level player, Dave, that sounds like music to our ears 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:03.240 as a part of the Cowboys who haven't necessarily valued 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:06.200 the safety spot over the last two decades or decade, 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:08.640 I guess at least. But what do you think about 0:08:09.280 --> 0:08:11.840 where the guys at the current moment on the Cowboys 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:13.800 fit and is it's still a huge need to go 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:16.160 get a safety that could be an a plus player. 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:19.920 You know, it's funny and that goes back to my 0:08:20.040 --> 0:08:23.920 point about you know, in a way, maybe this is 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:26.000 a little bit of a knee jerk higher that sounds 0:08:26.040 --> 0:08:27.680 like a mean thing to say. Like I said, I 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:29.560 think it's I think it's a good hire. I think 0:08:29.640 --> 0:08:32.960 dan Quinn's a good coach. But I don't think you 0:08:33.000 --> 0:08:36.800 can underestimate the current situation on why you would make 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:39.280 this higher, because you know, you look at the Cowboys 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:41.360 right now, you look at how they underperformed, You look 0:08:41.360 --> 0:08:44.360 at their cap situation, which is not it's going to 0:08:44.440 --> 0:08:46.000 be a mess with what they have to deal with 0:08:46.000 --> 0:08:49.679 with Dak Prescott. This higher just basically allows them to 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:51.520 go back to what they were already doing. Like the 0:08:51.600 --> 0:08:54.760 foundations of this defense were built around guys that can 0:08:54.800 --> 0:08:58.120 play in this scheme. And so now you think, like, Okay, 0:08:58.400 --> 0:09:01.240 we don't have to worry about Demark Lawrence doing something new. 0:09:01.320 --> 0:09:03.480 We don't have to worry about the safety's being asked 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:05.000 to do something that they don't know how to do. 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:07.800 People probably don't want to hear this, but maybe this 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:11.920 even allows you to try to reclaim Jalen Smith. You know, 0:09:12.760 --> 0:09:15.760 you know dan Quinn, he's been famous for years for 0:09:15.840 --> 0:09:18.360 having something that they call a LEO role, which is 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:22.680 basically like a sam linebacker designated pass rusher hybrid role. 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:25.560 Bruce Irvan did it for a long time in Seattle. 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:28.120 It's something I could imagine Jalen doing under Dan Quinn. 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:30.719 So when you think about the fact that first of all, 0:09:30.720 --> 0:09:33.560 the Cowboys don't like to spend big, and second of all, 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:35.480 they don't have any money this year to spend big 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:38.160 even if they wanted to, it makes sense that they 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:40.319 want to switch back to a scheme where they can 0:09:40.400 --> 0:09:43.560 just plug what they already have in and there's at 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:48.240 least a realistic hope for better results. Now having said that, yeah, 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:50.480 safety is still obviously a huge need. It's been a 0:09:50.520 --> 0:09:53.000 huge need on this defense forever. I don't know how 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:56.559 they address it. They're not going to spend big on 0:09:56.640 --> 0:09:58.640 him one in free agency, I think we all know that. 0:09:59.320 --> 0:10:01.719 And then there's not a guy that you feel like, 0:10:01.840 --> 0:10:03.520 as far as I know, there's not a safety that 0:10:03.559 --> 0:10:05.640 I feel amazing about taking in the top ten of 0:10:05.640 --> 0:10:09.760 this draft. Maybe in the second round, maybe, but you know, 0:10:09.800 --> 0:10:12.520 there's a there's not a Jamal Adams in this draft class. 0:10:12.600 --> 0:10:14.760 So that's going to be interesting to see how they 0:10:14.800 --> 0:10:17.920 do that. But yeah, I mean, a talent at the 0:10:18.040 --> 0:10:20.360 end of the day is everything. Dan Quinn, you know, 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:22.559 he got the Falcon's job off the strength of the 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:25.839 Legion of Boom and however good he might be as 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:28.920 a defensive coordinator, it really helps when you have three 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:31.280 Hall of Fame caliber players in your secondary. So it's 0:10:31.360 --> 0:10:33.880 it's absolutely something they need to look at. I just 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:36.360 I don't know how quickly they can do it. Sorry, yeah, 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:38.520 and no, no problem, David. I think you made excellent 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:41.240 points there, and Bucky you could also address this along 0:10:41.280 --> 0:10:44.480 with me too. Is from a scout's perspective, you know, 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:48.079 all year long, you've been studying a certain type of 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:52.960 player and now you have to flip. But you least 0:10:53.000 --> 0:10:56.839 you've done this before, so you know, I think that 0:10:56.840 --> 0:11:01.160 that to me, it's the key he year is going 0:11:01.240 --> 0:11:04.880 to be how quickly everybody can adjust back. It's like, Okay, 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:07.640 some of these maybe these hybrid players that we were 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:10.440 looking at might not fit. Oh we're looking for a 0:11:10.440 --> 0:11:12.679 bunch of just stand up guys. Okay, we don't need 0:11:12.720 --> 0:11:15.440 stand up guys anymore. Okay, this is let's go back. 0:11:15.520 --> 0:11:19.080 So as a scout, you have to flip your mind 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:23.400 to maybe some players that you gave grades maybe for 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:27.920 somebody else. Now they come back into your mix, and 0:11:28.000 --> 0:11:32.480 so Will's gonna have to get with dan quickly. They're 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:36.679 gonna have to get their defensive line position done. Are 0:11:36.679 --> 0:11:39.200 they going to make other changes at linebacker? Are they 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:41.880 going to make changes in the secondary with the coach? 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:45.400 So you know, with those coaches. So yeah, as quickly 0:11:45.480 --> 0:11:47.280 as they could get this goal, and it will help 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:50.600 the scouts who are sitting at home right now trying 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:52.440 to figure out, Okay, I get a new coach here, 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:54.920 now I got to adjust how I look at these players. 0:11:55.440 --> 0:11:58.280 It's funny, Brian, because here's the thing about Dan Quinn, 0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:00.680 and I don't want to be Debbie Downer, but when 0:12:01.160 --> 0:12:03.880 dan Quinn in twenty nineteen, he took over calling the 0:12:03.960 --> 0:12:06.800 defense in Atlanta, he was the head coach defensive coordinating 0:12:06.800 --> 0:12:08.280 and he did it for half a season. Then he 0:12:08.320 --> 0:12:10.920 handed it off to Rahee Morris because he was having 0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:14.080 a tough time doing it. The most important coach will 0:12:14.120 --> 0:12:16.160 be the secondary coach, and so they will have to 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:18.559 make a decision. Are the guys that are currently there 0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:21.440 good enough to do what they want to do with 0:12:21.559 --> 0:12:25.080 dan Quinn calling it because that secondary coach has to 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:27.920 fix all the other stuff. Because Dan would be great upfront, 0:12:28.120 --> 0:12:29.800 and sometimes when you have a guy that is a 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:32.679 who's done his work as a D line coach, they 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:34.760 can they can dominate the front seven, but you need 0:12:34.840 --> 0:12:36.720 someone to be able to fix the back in the 0:12:36.840 --> 0:12:39.040 LEO role. I think that would go to Randy Gregory. 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:41.880 I think part of the reason why this move was 0:12:41.920 --> 0:12:44.120 made is how can we salvage the pieces of the 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:47.120 postle that we already have. Randy Gregory can play leo. 0:12:47.440 --> 0:12:49.719 The last time we really looked at Jayles Smith and 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:51.920 l V playing in a high level it was in 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:55.480 this defense. So could did he convince Mike McCarthy I 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:57.560 can get those guys to play at a high level 0:12:57.600 --> 0:12:59.680 because I'm gonna take away some of the thinking. They're 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:02.600 just want to run and chase. And the final thing 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:07.000 is he has success in Atlanta taking converted corners and 0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:11.920 putting a safety demante because he from San Diego State 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:14.120 was a high level corner with a bunch of ball 0:13:14.160 --> 0:13:16.800 skills that they moved to safety. Brian Poole was another 0:13:16.800 --> 0:13:19.160 guy that they played corner that they moved to safety. 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:20.880 So they may look at a guy like a Reggie 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:23.800 Robinson and say, well, maybe we can fit him in 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:26.440 at safety because he does have some ball skills and 0:13:26.480 --> 0:13:28.040 it may be easy for him just to be a 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:29.920 numbers to numbers play in the middle of the field. 0:13:30.600 --> 0:13:32.800 Do you know if there's another guy who, maybe even 0:13:32.800 --> 0:13:36.120 a veteran that is up for contract renewal, like a 0:13:36.200 --> 0:13:39.000 Jordan Lewis or maybe a Cheetah Alusier, that dan Quinn 0:13:39.679 --> 0:13:41.920 might look at and say, hey, I want him back, 0:13:42.160 --> 0:13:43.760 but I don't want him as a corner. I want 0:13:43.800 --> 0:13:45.520 him to be as a safety, to kind of go 0:13:45.559 --> 0:13:48.760 into that transfer mode like that Bucky. You know, I 0:13:48.760 --> 0:13:50.800 don't know if those guys will do it. I mean, 0:13:51.040 --> 0:13:55.520 like Lewis is interesting because of the Nickel presence and 0:13:55.600 --> 0:13:58.560 because he did a variety of different roles. I don't know, 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:01.280 Like I don't know what Cheeto doesn't necessarily strike me 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:03.120 as that guy. But I think it all comes down 0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:06.440 to money and price point and valuing what can you 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:09.160 salve which because Cheeto and those guys played on the 0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:11.440 Christians Chard and that system and the system is very 0:14:11.520 --> 0:14:16.600 very similar, maybe as salvageable in that aspect, I do wonder. 0:14:16.640 --> 0:14:18.880 I also wonder and like, I know no one wants 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:21.160 to hear this, but I do wonder about the Earl 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:23.840 Thomas conversation coming down the pipe because of the previous 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:26.520 relationship down the road, Like if you're gonna get someone 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:29.760 who is down and out, if any time, this would 0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:32.640 be the time, just because maybe the coach's relationship with Earl, 0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:34.760 and Earl is at a level of maybe desperation when 0:14:34.760 --> 0:14:37.000 it comes to trying to get back into the league. Oh, 0:14:37.000 --> 0:14:39.440 I've heard it already on Twitter. People are gonna say, Bucky. 0:14:39.520 --> 0:14:42.760 I think people want to hear that, like they absolutely 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:45.320 want to hear that. I think it's the media that 0:14:45.360 --> 0:14:47.640 doesn't necessarily want to hear it. Of the coaching stuff 0:14:47.640 --> 0:14:50.400 that doesn't necessarily want to hear it. But did Earl 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:53.400 Thomas in this time off get help? That's the question, 0:14:53.480 --> 0:14:56.120 I mean, you know, and I hate, I hate to 0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:58.520 be the guy that always says, well, why isn't someone 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:01.280 else offered him? Why hasn't There's a lot of scale, 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:03.760 there's a lot of skeletons there, there's a lot of 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:07.400 things that you know that Earl Thomas has to be able. 0:15:07.720 --> 0:15:10.640 When Bucky talked about checking all the boxes and stuff, 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:13.320 there are things that Earl Thomas has to go back 0:15:13.440 --> 0:15:16.800 and now that his career has stopped, they go back 0:15:16.800 --> 0:15:19.160 and say, Okay, did I correct this? Did I correct this? 0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:22.840 There's plenty of people and Bucky It knows this better 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:26.760 than anybody. Scouts will love to talk, but just don't 0:15:26.840 --> 0:15:29.240 use my name. Don't use my name here. I'm gonna 0:15:29.280 --> 0:15:31.840 tell you something. Don't use my name. There are plenty 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:35.200 of Scouts front office people talking about Earl Thomas and 0:15:35.320 --> 0:15:37.760 some of the issues he had. If he's got those 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:41.760 things behind him, then that makes a whole heck of 0:15:41.800 --> 0:15:43.920 a lot of sense to go and get a guy 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:48.360 like that. Now, Brian, whatever it came to dan Quinn 0:15:48.360 --> 0:15:51.240 in this hiring process, I mean it took a virtual 0:15:51.400 --> 0:15:54.120 interview at first, and then he flew in and talked 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:57.760 with Mike McCartney. But in order for this to work, 0:15:58.120 --> 0:16:00.800 there had to be buy in on both. The Cowboys 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:02.720 had to look at dan Quinn and say, yes, you're 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:05.080 the right guy to fix our defense, and dan Quinn 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:07.680 had to look at the Cowboys specifically and see their 0:16:07.720 --> 0:16:10.880 personnel and say I'm good enough to fix this defense. 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:12.760 So Bran, I want to hear if you were in 0:16:12.880 --> 0:16:16.040 dan Quinn's shoes. What would be your elevator pitch on 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:18.680 how to shore up a defensive side of the football 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:22.080 that struggled so much in twenty twenty. Yeah, that's you know. 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:25.480 I mean, Bucky made a really really good point about 0:16:25.480 --> 0:16:28.560 your level of defense with with your offense the way 0:16:28.600 --> 0:16:31.760 it currently is. You know, Rod Marianelli, Christi Shardon had 0:16:31.840 --> 0:16:34.680 this team last year or two years ago, I guess 0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:39.040 now eleventh in the league in scoring defense. This defense 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:41.720 just needs to be middle of the pack, you know. 0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:44.440 I mean, but you know, Dan, if you're gonna sell, 0:16:44.800 --> 0:16:46.880 you've got to sell all those players that we've been 0:16:46.920 --> 0:16:50.480 talking about. You've got to sell Donovan Wilson. Hey, I 0:16:50.520 --> 0:16:52.760 could do this with him as his safety. You've got 0:16:52.760 --> 0:16:55.960 to sell. You know, he's talking about Jalen Smith and 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:59.000 Jerry's eyes all of a sudden line up. But everybody 0:16:59.000 --> 0:17:02.000 else is like going, oh no, like that. You know 0:17:02.640 --> 0:17:04.560 you got to sell. Okay, Hey, I saw what you 0:17:04.600 --> 0:17:07.280 did with Randy Gregory or I like this, this is 0:17:07.320 --> 0:17:09.440 what we can do. Hey, I think with you know what, 0:17:09.720 --> 0:17:11.800 we want to play run defense right here. We could 0:17:11.880 --> 0:17:14.760 use DeMarcus Lords. I could have some pass rush stuff 0:17:14.800 --> 0:17:18.120 with him. You just got to sell the fixes. You've 0:17:18.160 --> 0:17:20.760 got to sell the fixes, and you've got to say, hey, 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:22.800 but if you can help me with the draft, if 0:17:22.840 --> 0:17:24.479 you can help me with the draft, this is what 0:17:24.560 --> 0:17:27.040 I could use. I could use this type of defensives. 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:29.719 I could use this three technique, I could use this 0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:32.640 one technique. I need this type of safety, I need 0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:35.679 this type of corner. So you just sell the idea. Now, 0:17:35.760 --> 0:17:38.440 let me. I'll say this about dan Quinn. There were 0:17:38.640 --> 0:17:43.800 whispers about dan Quinn Matt Patricia like early in December, 0:17:44.040 --> 0:17:47.200 like the first month of December, I mean right right 0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:50.040 around the first to sue the calendar flipped. They were 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:53.960 already starting to look at defensive coordinators out there. So 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:56.960 this to me was this wasn't one of those oh, 0:17:57.040 --> 0:17:59.919 let's knee jerk higher. This was like, wait a minute, 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:02.199 we probably are going to have to do something here 0:18:02.200 --> 0:18:04.320 at the end of the day. And so they were 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:07.960 already looking at things that dan Quinn could do to 0:18:08.480 --> 0:18:11.800 help this defense. But like I said, his cell is 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:14.719 how do you take the current players and bring them 0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:17.280 up to another another level, and how do you get 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:19.760 the defense not to be thirty first in the league, 0:18:19.960 --> 0:18:23.679 but be fifty and maybe be top twelve when it 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:26.480 comes to scoring defense, that's what he's going to have 0:18:26.560 --> 0:18:30.280 to sell and evidently he did that to the Jones. Brian. 0:18:30.400 --> 0:18:32.399 I think the other thing. I think this is an 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:34.960 admission that culturally something was wrong on that side of 0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:37.399 the ball, and I don't think they could admit it 0:18:37.400 --> 0:18:39.440 and say, hey, let's bring Rod, Mary Nelly and Chris 0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:43.280 Rashard back because we now admit that we have messed 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:46.040 up in terms of letting things slip. But dan Quinn 0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:47.720 comes from the same thing. And what you're going to 0:18:47.720 --> 0:18:49.200 see is when we get to the practice fielding and 0:18:49.200 --> 0:18:51.359 we finally see these guys, you can hear about the 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:53.600 brotherhood and you goes hear a level of accountability. You 0:18:53.600 --> 0:18:55.439 can hear him talk about running to the ball and 0:18:55.520 --> 0:18:58.360 playing together and we're gonna make it simple. So now 0:18:58.440 --> 0:19:01.960 everything is about your effort and energy and all of 0:19:02.000 --> 0:19:04.719 those things. I think this higher was about that. Also 0:19:05.080 --> 0:19:08.280 will say this, I think Mike McCarthy may realize as 0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:11.679 the head coach, someone has to be the heavy and 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:14.720 on this staff there wasn't anybody that could be the 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:16.840 heavy when it's going awry and be like, hey, you 0:19:16.880 --> 0:19:20.400 know what we're not doing this in those meetings. Dan 0:19:20.560 --> 0:19:23.080 Quinn can play the heavy even though he is super 0:19:23.119 --> 0:19:28.080 positive that head coach pedigree. I think his leadership will 0:19:28.119 --> 0:19:30.919 be invaluable because if Mike McCarthy wants to be the CEO, 0:19:31.480 --> 0:19:33.879 somebody has to be the barker. I would think that 0:19:33.960 --> 0:19:36.119 he would be the guy that is barking at the 0:19:36.160 --> 0:19:41.399 team when necessary. Dave anything to add on that, No, 0:19:41.800 --> 0:19:44.480