The timing is always a little awkward for the NFL head coaching search. Teams who are well out of the playoffs fire their coaches immediately and begin looking for a replacement while the playoff teams are still in action.
That means that many of the desirable coordinators are occupied with the playoffs, leaving them to either multitask or wait until the end of the playoffs to interview for possible head coach gigs.
Such was the situation for Dan Quinn, the man in charge of the best defense in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks. Despite being a top candidate for a number of teams, Quinn will find himself waiting until next year for another head coach spot to open up. When asked about it, Quinn said he is just fine with that (quotes from ProFootballTalk):
"“I had a good visit with (Cleveland) and a lot of respect certainly for their organization and Joe Banner and Jimmy Haslam…I also had a good visit with the guys at Minnesota and both of those guys have hired some great coaches. It was a great experience to go through and even more importantly having the support of John Schneider and Pete Carroll to have a chance to be so supportive of that.”"
As for any frustrations or regrets, Quinn said the following:
"“None. No, certainly not. I couldn’t be more fired up to be a part of this and moving forward here keeping the focus on our team, which it is. So none at all.”"
As long as the Seattle defense continues on its current path, there will be plenty of opportunities for Quinn in the future. He can comfortably focus on the present and trying to guide his defense to a good showing in the Super Bowl.