Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has a game plan to refine. That’s what he goes back to, whenever he’s asked about his longer-term future.

The Seahawks host Green Bay in the NFC Championship game this afternoon. That’s what has been on Quinn’s mind, not which other NFL team might want him to be its head coach. Quinn, a Morristown alumnus, said there was “nothing really to report” about his future at his usual weekly press conference.

League rules prohibit teams from formally hiring Quinn until after the Seahawks are eliminated from the postseason. That could be today… or they might have to wait until after the Super Bowl on Feb. 1. However, even if Seattle wins today, teams which have already spoken with Quinn can do so again during the bye week.

That means Atlanta and Chicago could have second interviews with Quinn, but Denver would still have to wait. Quinn will talk to the Falcons on Monday either way, according to Vaughn McClure of ESPN.

“I’m so fortunate to be part of this organization and being here with this group of guys,” Quinn told The Seattle Times. “I’m having a blast, I really am. So no hard feelings, no disappointment in any way.”

Seeing Adam Peters walking the streets of Mobile, Ala., on this particular Wednesday night, glued to his phone, wasn’t peculiar. The NFL scouting community descends on the Senior Bowl’s host city annually in late January. Of course, the Washington Commanders’ new general manager would join the fray.

The oddity involved knowing the conversation wasn’t likely about draft prospects. Rather, the prospects of the organization’s biggest hire since Peters’ two weeks before. That night, Jan. 31, was when the organization knew Dan Quinn would become its next head coach.

Perhaps the decision to choose the former Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator was made a few minutes before or after Peters’ stroll. News broke the following day and became official over the weekend. Seismic change began three weeks earlier with the firing of Ron Rivera after four seasons. Washington had its next leaders in tow.

The Commanders were never in sole control of their destiny despite the competence, vision and sanity emanating from the ownership group led by managing partner Josh Harris. They inhabit a world where other masters-of-the-universe types have agendas. The Commanders already conquered competitors in the general manager market by landing Peters. Like it or not, those other organizations would have their day.

Washington’s search committee endured a wild January that saw the Commanders pivot from both Ben Johnson, who decided to remain in Detroit, and Mike Macdonald, who was hired as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Quinn remained a leading consideration throughout the deliberate process. The acclaim from the likes of the Cowboys’ All-Pro Micah Parsons and countless others suggests whether Quinn was the first, second or third choice, he might be the right one.