Dan Quinn on Building a Meaningful Culture with the Washington Commanders

Washington – In the high-pressure world of the NFL, culture is more than slogans on a wall—it’s a daily commitment to standards, discipline, and collective effort. Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn recently spoke about the importance of cultivating a culture that truly defines a team, rather than just decorating it with empty phrases.

“Culture is how we get down every day … It’s how you live and how you get down. … You put something on the wall, doesn’t mean that’s who you are,” Quinn explained. His words reflect a philosophy that goes beyond motivation posters and public statements. For Quinn, culture is the lived experience—the habits, mindset, and accountability that players bring to every practice, every meeting, and every game.

The Commanders are in the midst of shaping a team identity that is sustainable and authentic. In Quinn’s view, statements and slogans alone do not create success. It’s about the day-to-day actions, the way players hold themselves and each other accountable, and the relentless pursuit of excellence both on and off the field. This mindset is at the heart of the so-called “Commander Standard,” which emphasizes consistency, resilience, and integrity as the foundation of the franchise.

Washington has faced challenges in recent seasons, but Quinn’s approach highlights a path forward: establishing a culture where performance, character, and preparation are inseparable. Every drill, every film session, and every practice rep is a reflection of what the team stands for. The players are expected to internalize these standards, ensuring that their actions embody the culture they aspire to create.

By emphasizing daily commitment over superficial symbols, Quinn seeks to foster a team that responds to adversity with cohesion, accountability, and determination. Culture, in this context, is not a marketing tool—it is the very mechanism by which the Commanders improve, compete, and succeed. It is living the standard, not just displaying it.

For fans and analysts, Quinn’s remarks are a reminder that the most effective teams are built on substance, not image. Washington’s long-term success depends on the consistent application of principles, the cultivation of resilience, and the ability to translate shared values into on-field performance. It’s a rigorous, often unseen process, but one that sets elite organizations apart from the rest.

As the Commanders continue to develop under Quinn’s leadership, the “Commander Standard” represents more than a catchphrase—it is a blueprint for accountability, professionalism, and unity. By focusing on living the culture every day, Washington is creating a team where words align with actions, standards are consistently met, and victories are the natural result of disciplined, principled effort.

In a league where culture can make or break a franchise, Dan Quinn’s vision ensures that the Washington Commanders are building something that truly means something—something that endures beyond a single season, a single game, or a single poster on the wall.

Walking Dead's Norman Reedus reflects on the end of beloved spin-off Daryl Dixon: "It's different"

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon may have only aired its third season this autumn, but the end is already on the horizon. The fourth and final chapter of the beloved spin-off is currently being filmed in Spain, as Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) continue their arduous journey home.

The eight-episode instalment will mark the end of the pair's latest adventure, which saw them battling both zombies and humans across Europe. But will it be the last we see of the iconic characters?

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Reedus reflected on the show's imminent end and addressed whether season four will play out the way he expected.

"You know, it's different. This show has always coincided with my life a bit. With season four, Daryl really goes inside [himself], and so, I'm inside, too," he shared.

"I'm in my head a lot, especially for the episode we're filming now. It's filling my head with the future, the past and the present of this character."

The actor confirmed that the cast is currently shooting episode six of the super-sized season, adding: "We're getting really close." Though he believes "there's always more story you can tell", Reedus assured fans that the spin-off is "wrapping up in a perfect way".

"It's answering all of these reasons why and what all of it has meant, and what have we done to get here? What are the mistakes we made to get here? And what can we do to have a better life for ourselves?

"So it's all very trippy, what we're working on right now. There's a lot of internal fact-checking that I'm doing, and that the character is doing, and watching things happen around me that I never expected."

The star shared that Daryl's current story was developed in an natural way, with no concrete conclusion planned for the character. He explained that the spin-off progressed "organically" across all four seasons.

"Someone asked me recently, when I was doing season one, would I have thought about what I was doing in season four? And we just didn't do it that way. There's no season in the future already written when we're working on the first. It's created organically as we go along," he said.