Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn proving to be Cowboys' MVP

Cooper Rush has performed well enough for the Cowboys to survive without Dak Prescott, but no single person has been more valuable for Dallas this season than defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.

In two games without Prescott, the Cowboys have generated 11 sacks, keeping Joe Burrow and Daniel Jones under constant pressure. 

The secondary has delivered as well. Trevon Diggs quieted Ja'Marr Chase in Week 2, coming through with a game-changing tackle late in the fourth quarter, and he crushed the Giants' hopes on Monday night with a game-ending interception of Jones. 

The defensive transformation in Dallas began as soon as Quinn arrived in 2021, turning a Cowboys defense that struggled mightily in 2020 into one of the league's better units. The Cowboys allowed 21.1 points per game in 2021, behind only the Saints and Buccaneers in the NFC, after surrendering nearly 30 per game in 2020. 

Thanks to Quinn's schemes, Dallas was able to easily survive Demarcus Lawrence's absence early last season, and the loss of Randy Gregory hasn't hurt the Cowboys' pass-rush attack at all this season. 

Jerry Jones recognizes how important Quinn is to the Cowboys' hopes. The former Falcons coach interviewed for six different head coaching jobs last offseason, but he decided to stay in Dallas while many of those jobs were still open. 

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported the Jones family "wanted him back badly," and Jones' comments that Quinn would be in Dallas "for years to come" implied he gave him a lucrative new contract.

Teams will come knocking on Quinn's door again after this season, and even a well-paying coordinator contract might not stop him from pursuing his second head coaching job 

If the Cowboys don't go as far as they hope in January, could Jones decide the only way to keep Quinn around is to make him the Cowboys' head coach? Sean Payton has long been rumored as a potential replacement for Mike McCarthy - he was nearly hired away from the Saints in 2019 - but Quinn is quickly earning his place in that conversation.