Come Saturday, Super Wild Card Weekend will kick off.
However, hiring-cycle season is already underway.
One team dealing with both is the Dallas Cowboys, as they're hosting the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, but also have a hot head coaching candidate in defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.
One of Quinn's star pupils, Micah Parsons, isn't enamored with the prospects of Quinn leaving, but understands it's all part of being in the NFL. And perhaps Quinn would even take Parsons with him.
"Dan's my guy," Parsons told reporters Thursday. "And if he do leave me, it's always love. He might take me with him, you never know."
Parsons was laughing when he delivered the line and it's next door to impossible that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones won't be locking up his all-star backer with an extension sometime in the near future. Nonetheless, the comment underscores how fond Parsons is of Quinn and might be a subtle play on contract talks. The 2021 first-rounder is signed through 2024 on his rookie deal with a fifth-year option, and Jones has already emphasized the importance of a Parsons extension this summer while dealing with guard Zack Martin's holdout.
Losing Quinn, on the other hand, could be inevitable.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported earlier this week that Quinn was a candidate to succeed Pete Carroll as the Seattle Seahawks head coach. Quinn has also received interview requests from the Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans and Washington Commanders.
Thus, when asked Thursday if he felt this could be his last chance to win a Super Bowl with Quinn, Parsons replied in the affirmative.
"It's the nature of the business," Parsons said. "It could possibly be my last ride with Q. And if it is, we're gonna make sure it's a damn good one."
Quinn, following six seasons as the Atlanta Falcons head coach, has been the Dallas DC for three seasons. That encompasses Parsons' career thus far, one in which he's reached three Pro Bowls and become widely recognized as one of the NFL's elite players, regardless of position.
Quinn's always been there for him, forging a relationship that extends beyond coach and player.
"That's like my OG, for real. He means a lot to me, not only cause, it's not just about football," Parsons said. "I think Q, we were talking today, and I was like, 'Could you do the college thing?' Cause of [Nick] Saban [retiring] and all them. And he was like, 'Yeah.' And I was like, 'Cause you're just such a great mentor.'
"I think he does a great job finding ways for you to love the game, finding ways to go around the game. It doesn't always have to be hard-nosed, 'I'm the coach.' I think it's more of a friendship. We go through what I don't like, what I do like. He doesn't just treat me like a player, he treats me almost like a friend. He's always there when I need him and we're not afraid to have those hard conversations, either it's father to son or player to coach, we have them no matter what."
Parsons might well have given Quinn a resounding reference with his Thursday comments.
Regardless, he's got at least one more game left with Quinn on Sunday against the Packers, and he's striving for at least four more.
