FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- There Dan Quinn was, ready to go, pen and pad in hand.
The then-23-year-old Quinn had just completed his collegiate career as a two-sport athlete at Division III Salisbury State (Maryland), where he played defensive line and threw the hammer. Now it was time to fling himself into the coaching world as a volunteer football assistant for William & Mary (Virginia), the second-oldest university in the United States behind Harvard.
Quinn stepped into the staff meeting room in August 1994 and saw 10 seats arranged, front to back. One of the assistants, Russ Huesman, said, "Hey, just sit right there.