Commanders Head Coach Dan Quinn (Post-Game Transcript)

Opening statement:

“What’s up everybody? Well, I put this down, for 18 weeks, I’ve been up here and I’m certain the word that I’ve said the most is finished. Sometimes we did and other times we didn’t. It’s really important to see that tonight, to see us finish a super challenging season by the guys. Absolutely, I thought just fight their [tails] off. It’s been tough. Lost a lot of players to injury and some really just tough moments. So, for me, to see them, it was just cool to see the players who were able to battle for one another. That’s what we said this would be about. I’m proud of the team tonight. They fought and they finished and that’s what I was looking for going into it in the most difficult time. There’ll be plenty of time for reflecting and that’s definitely going to happen soon, but I’m in no way in that space right now. Let’s save that conversation for later this week. I promise I’ll give you all the time I can, but I’m not there tonight. But all that’s said, I’m glad to open up to questions regarding the game.”

On Commanders LB Bobby Wagner becoming one of only three NFL players (joining former Ravens Pro Football Hall of Fame LB Ray Lewis and former Washington LB London Fletcher) to reach the 2,000-career tackle plateau:

“I was super proud. In fact, it was a cool moment tonight and I asked [current Commanders radio analyst] London [Fletcher] to be in the locker room as well. So for only three players in the history of our game to have over 2,000 tackles, Ray and London and Wags now part of it, it’s fitting. He’s the best tackler I’ve coached. And so to have that happen, you can see how important you were for that. I looked at the stat line at the half and I was okay, let’s split some. Let’s get some more tackles. But in true Wags fashion, he will find a way. He’s remarkable in so many ways. I showed the team yesterday how he just got his MBA from Howard [University] with a 4.0 [GPA], he didn’t get a B in anything. He is so Wags like in so many ways. So I was really happy that London was there, too. These guys will tackle you in the parking lot, the locker room. That’s what they do. But it was pretty rare to have those two guys together. And so that was important for me to have London and I asked him to please come down early so you could be here from the radio broadcast. And so to see those two guys together at different times, different eras, it was very cool.”

On recalling his first thought about what Commanders LB Bobby Wagner could be:

“Well, that was the best trait that I saw. Going there to see that he was long. We had some meetings with some of the players this week that we were thinking of emerging players and I said I’d like to show you some of the early practice and training clips of what tackling looks like, because rarely is he out of position, much like the centerfielder that knows how to track the ball and go after it. Very rarely does he overrun a play or not in the right space. He’s turned out to be a really good blitzer. That was something that we didn’t do a lot with him early in his career in the early part, but because of his size and his strength that he’s developed, that’s also been a really strong part of his game. I don’t know if he had any [sacks] today, but I thought he applied pressure inside.”

On what Commanders OLB Von Miller’s sack and Commanders QB Josh Johnson’s win meant to him:

“It did and I spoke to both of them and I could feel, let’s start with Josh first. Just the intensity, the work that he wanted to put in and afterwards you could feel his excitement as head coaches and quarterbacks, the wins and losses, they get attached to you. And so for him to have one and fight for it, that was a really big deal. He really put in the work you guys probably saw. We played a little bit differently with Josh compared to [Commanders QB Jayden Daniels] and [Commanders QB Marcus Mariota], but it was effective for him and I think that was a good sign. And then for Von, we were just talking before we had come in about, he goes, I remember you picking me up and went out to lunch together. We talked about some things and I’m really honored that I got to coach him. I wish I’d coached him for all the years because of the uniqueness that he brings. But anybody who’s really, really good at something, there’s a lot of detail that goes into it and that’s what I’ve learned from him, and I’m the one that’s on the grateful side. I learned a lot.”

On what he appreciates about Commanders OLB Von Miller’s game:

“You wouldn’t think of his power because he’s not the biggest guy, but he has really good power. He can get up the field and turn into a guy. So, that would’ve been something that you don’t often think of for a 250-pound player where he’s not 270 and can work a guy back, but because of his legs, he has real power down in his lower body. And so it’s a good reminder, just because the guy is not heavy doesn’t mean he’s not powerful through his legs. And he’s a great example of that.”

On the team’s potential for another quick turnaround under his leadership:

“I’m not there yet reflectively, but I’ve got high hopes because of the locker room to see so many different pieces in. But over the last four weeks, the battle, the fight remained the same. By no means was it clean or turnovers or tackling or anything like that, but if you have your attitude and they want to fight for one another, I think that alone is a standard that you have to have to build a championship program. No one likes the roller coaster of you’re up, you’re down. But seeing that kind of fight from the guys that were able to do that tonight, that’s a big deal to me.”

On what inspired the shift in the offensive philosophy these last few weeks of the season:

“A good bit of it was through [Commanders QB] Josh [Johnson] and what he would be able to do from the line of scrimmage. Could we get to some plays? Could we get to some checks? [Eagles defensive coordinator Vic] Fangio’s defense is tough. They played a lot of quarters and they brought a lot of good pressure tonight. As you get closer to the red zone, their red zone defense and red zone offense I think have been one of the strengths of their club and certainly one that I study and look at. But more than anything, just finding the best way to feature the players. Some tough runs by [Commanders RB] Chris [Rodriguez Jr.]. I like the shots we took to [Commanders WR] Terry [McLaurin], some of them resulted in fouls so it won’t show up on the stat sheet, but they were good throws. They were to the outside, and when you have your chances to go. And so I’m looking forward to watching those, but I thought those were good shots.”

On the Commanders final defensive series of the game:

“Yeah, I think that’s the finish, Donna, that I’m referring to – to see the defense finish tonight. That was what we wanted to see. To see the offense go down to get ahead when we fell behind. Go and get your scores. We took some shots on fourth downs tonight, we were able to do that. But more than anything, knowing this is the time, now we got to go close the game out. And for a guy like [Commanders DT Daron Payne] or [Commanders LB Bobby Wagner] in that case, that’s a competitor’s time. And when he got the first down as we got through the two minute, getting some more stops after that, I thought, was a really big thing. And the finish, that’s what I was proud of at the end.”

On what these next few weeks will look like:

“There’s a lot. It starts with the players first, and then we go through what’s called exit interviews with them. You can learn a lot, and I think the first thing you do as an offseason begins is where do you improve internally, and the players. That’s why we do it. We find out a lot from them and how we can do things differently. We go through that with players and coaches. We meet with free agents. So, there’s a lot of internal work that you have to do. First, point to the mirror at yourself. Then you get into end, end, end. But, that’s what we’ll gain from tomorrow. We’ll meet with the players. We call those exit interviews. So it’s not just like, ‘Hey, good luck, see you in the offseason.’ We try to be mindful of, what are some things that went well? What are some things we need to do differently?

Through the years, I’ve learned a lot from players. In fact, most of the really, really important things have been from them. So I want to listen, then take all the information in, and systematically put it together. But, it does take time when you have a season like this where you’re just frustrated, ride the hair. Like you, I pull it out. But it’s not an option right now. So, there’s a lot to go through, but it starts with the players. Tomorrow’s an important day to do that. Then, we’ll start the offseason process, which gets pretty lengthy.”