Behind two back-to-back 12-win seasons for the Dallas Cowboys lies a simple fact: Dan Quinn loves coaching defense.

He can't get enough of it, which is also probably why he's returned to Dallas twice after being one of the hottest candidates in head coaching searches each of the last couple of years.

That's why when Quinn gets around to talk about his defense, we've got to pay close attention. In a recent media availability session, the Cowboys defensive coordinator dropped a lot of interesting nuggets including the secret sauce that's allowed his units to reach elite status: Positionless football.

"I've really tried to spend as much time as I could on that, to make things for us where people could play dual roles," Quinn told reporters last weekend. "So even on a day like today, there were certain people trying at different spots."

Every Cowboys fan knows about Micah Parson's hybrid responsibilities and even Jayron Kearse's, who's listed as a safety but carries out linebacker-like responsibilities oftentimes and even spends a lot of playing time as a nickelback.

But Quinn's family of hybrid players goes well beyond just those two players. During his conversation with reporters, the defensive coordinator pointed toward second-year player DaRon Bland as another example. 

Then a rookie, Bland got work on the outside at first but the team also prepared him as a nickelback "behind the scenes." As soon as Bland had to step in for an injured Jourdan Lewis, he had already been trained to play both cornerback roles and thrived as a lot defender.

Asked if football is headed toward being a positionless sport, Quinn explained he believes it will be in only specific spaces.

"I don't think we're gonna see any corners playing nose tackle," the Cowboys coach said. "But I think for the amount of space plays that we have, a receiver that can be a runner, a runner can be a receiver, a tight end that can be a receiver, a (defensive) end that can play back or a safety that can play nickel. Those perimeter type of people, I think it's changing that way."

One rookie to watch in this area is third-round draft pick DeMarvion Overshown, who played at safety and linebacker during his career as a Texas Longhorn.

"Yep, definitely (Overshown fits into that) and so going through the process, we even tagged people we thought we'd have you know, dual roles," explained Quinn.

One of the most telling quotes from Quinn, however, touched on the topic of complexity. While hybrid defenders and big nickel packages sound like a lot to deal with, it actually makes things simpler for the Cowboys defense. 

"When we can get to that spot where you're interchangeable pieces, I think that seems more complex, but really, I would say the package can be easier," said Quinn. 

At the end of the day, defense is all about problem-solving and finding the right answer for what the offense is presenting to them. Having players that can handle multiple assignments makes it harder for offenses to generate favorable match-ups as the defense has the body types for every type of situation.