3 teams that should avoid hiring Dan Quinn as head coach after Cowboys' playoff collapse

2. Seattle Seahawks job will place unrealistic pressure on Dan Quinn

This may be the job that everybody has tied Quinn to, but I don't like it that much. It has nothing to do with his familiarity with the Seattle Seahawks organization or his coaching talent, but you don't want to be the guy who replaces the guy. Quinn may have left the Pacific Northwest years ago to take over those flightless Falcons in 2015, but he will always be measured against what Pete Carroll has done.

Quinn is the greatest NFL protege of Carroll, a guy who has not exactly had the best coaching tree to begin with. Carroll reinvented himself as a head coach with the USC Trojans after failing in the league with the New York Jets and New England Patriots. Rampant Carrollisms became gospel to an open-minded Quinn. Unfortunately, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and nobody wants that mess.

The last time he was a head coach, his side of the ball never improved. The Falcons were a good team at times under him because of Matt Ryan and the offense, most notably coordinated by Kyle Shanahan. Given that Shanahan now coaches in the same division as Seattle, it adds another wrinkle into the downside of this potential hire. He may fit Seattle like a glove, but we need to find a new one.

While there is upside to hiring Quinn in Seattle, the potential amount of downside could also ruin him.