Dan Quinn: NFL Needs to Discuss Mental Health More Often, Not Just When Tragedy Strikes
Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn spoke with the media at the NFL Combine on Tuesday in Indianapolis. Here were some of his responses to key questions:
On the new season:
This is a new season that comes at you fast. Last year, I stood up here at this time and talked about how important it is to turn the page and get ready for what’s ahead. and the challenges that go with that. Honestly, it’s a similar message today. The biggest difference is the record. The message should still be similar each and every year as you’re going through it and the process you go through to get there. So whether you kick ass and have a hell of a year or not nearly enough wins. What I really want are the lessons that you want to take, from that season, let’s go and repeat them again.
On the importance of mental health in the NFL after Rondale Moore’s death:
It’s a big deal. And I think like, first off, it was heartbreaking to hear, you know, about Rondale. I’m hopeful that we get to a point that we’re not talking about mental health just when a tragedy hits, but that we’re talking about it on a regular basis, then we know we’re making real strides in that. One of the things from the NFL standpoint, the advancements we’ve made is in player engagement, and knowing that each team, you know, has a full team there, ready to help and support, and put those resources into effect. But my hope is that we’re talking about it way more than just trying to when a tragedy takes place.
On Mike McCarthy going to Pittsburgh:
Yeah, isn’t that awesome to have Mike back in Pittsburgh of all places? It’s such a cool thing. He has such pride of being from Pittsburgh, and so for any of us that know Mike, we’ve all heard Pittsburgh stories, but I think it’s fitting for him to go there because when I think of Mike, I think of discipline, I think of toughness, I think of things that, like we were talking about Harbaugh, that stand the test of time in coaching, and I got to see that first hand, you know, with Mike and what that looks like on a regular basis and the really high standard is not letting you slip, and he’s gonna do great things there. It’s a fantastic organization. I thought that’s a great fit for Mike and for Pittsburgh.
On changes to get better in 2026:
The first piece of that, we’ve had some staff changes that we’ve went through, and although those were difficult, there’s also a lot of excitement that comes with that. How will we feature the players, what things would be different? And then the first thing you want to do from a player standpoint, obviously, we evaluate our own team on the roster, how would we feature them, who are free agents, and then the whole next process begins, free agency around the league, and then through the draft. So you just don’t want to miss one step of those. The first step for that was on the coaching side, then it goes into your own team, and then free agency, and then finally onto the draft. So it takes the full process to get there and go through that, and then as you get into the spring and the training camp, putting your team together and creating standards like we talked about earlier. That’s why I love coaching, honestly, is putting the puzzle pieces in the right spots to go make that happen. We’ve got a lot of heavy hitters on this roster, and I can’t wait to get back to work with them.