In his final three years at Notre Dame, Quinn won 25-of-37 games for what recently has become the funniest program on NBC this side of “30 Rock.”

In the three years since Quinn has been gone, the Fighting Irish have gone 16-21, despite the presence of quarterback Jimmy Clausen, who, for reasons understood only by Mel Kiper, is somehow projected as a top-10 pick in the NFL draft.

As an 18-year-old, Quinn made his first start for the Irish at Purdue, where the nationally ranked Boilermakers were led by Orton.  That was way back in 2003.  But the personalities and styles of the two quarterbacks haven’t changed much.

Quinn chucked the football 59 times for 297 yards and four interceptions.  Orton was a young game-manager in training, passing for 127 yards on 12 attempts in a Purdue victory.

Seven years later, Quinn should beat Orton when the stakes are much higher: Two quarterbacks.  One NFL starting job.

It is true that Quinn has not done anything worth talking about in the NFL.

When did he get the chance, though?  If the Browns weren’t letting Quinn rot on the bench, they used him primarily as a scapegoat, whereas a smart franchise might have concentrated on the development of a first-round draft choice.

I asked Quinn what he has learned in three years of hard knocks as a pro.

“You’ve got to be flexible,” he replied.  “You’ve got to be a jack of all trades and not just a one-trick pony.”

Quinn won’t make anybody forget John Elway.

But the new quarterback in town gives McDaniels the chance to think forward instead of run from the past.

Rather than being known as the impetuous coach who threw Cutler to the curb, McDaniels now can become the miracle worker who rescued Quinn from the dumpster.

There’s no denying that the Broncos brought in a QB with plenty of talent, but do they have the right coach to bring that talent out?  Quinn never had a chance in Cleveland and while there might be a “competition”, this job will end up with the former Notre Dame signal caller the same way Cassel was always going to be the starter in Kansas City.

Kyle Orton has done nothing but win football games as a starter (29-18) but he lacks that “star factor”, something Quinn has always possessed.  The one thing Quinn brings to Denver is name recognition and a top notch pedigree.

Will that lead to the Broncos finally uncovering their long term answer at quarterback?  We should know the answer to that question by the middle of the 2010 season.

The Denver Broncos have acquired quarterback Brady Quinn from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for fullback Peyton Hillis, a sixth-round pick in 2011 and a conditional pick in 2012.

The Browns agreed to terms on a two-year deal with quarterback Jake Delhomme on Saturday.   Delhomme was released by the Carolina Panthers last week.

Quinn opened last season as Cleveland’s starter, was benched after 10 quarters, then got his job back.  He went 2-7 in nine starts.

Quinn missed Cleveland’s final two games after hurting his left foot in a Dec. 20 win over Kansas City.  He finished 136 of 256 (53 percent) for 1,339 yards with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions.

That’s a development I wasn’t expected.  Not that the Broncos don’t clearly need an upgrade at quarterback, I just figured they would have gone with Kyle Orton for one more year and drafted someone in April that would eventually take over.

There had been some rumblings that Kansas City could be a destination for Quinn due to his relationship with Weis.  But clearly Scott Pioli didn’t feel a backup quarterback was worth two late round selections and I don’t blame him.  There are plenty of holes that need to be filled in Kansas City, but right now quarterback isn’t one of them.

Per NFLPA records, he’s signed for two more years, at salaries of $700,000 and $700,000.  And while he can trigger a $5.9 million escalator for 2011, he needs to take at least 70 percent of the snaps in 2010 to make it happen.

Given his failure to hit any of the past play-time triggers, it’s not a bad deal at all.  If Quinn plays enough this year to activate the escalator, it will mean that he’s finally playing better than he has in any of his first three seasons.

Thus, if teams are shying away from Quinn, it’s likely for reasons other than his contract.

All that said, we still think that a reunion with Charlie Weis in Kansas City remains one of the few possible destinations for Quinn.

Matt Cassel is the unquestioned starting quarterback for the Chiefs in 2010.  Beyond that nothing is assured and having a former first round pick like Quinn on the roster that is familiar with OC Charlie Weis and on an affordable contract can’t hurt matters.

Todd Haley has done nothing but praise Brodie Croyle, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a quarterback trio of Cassel, Croyle and Quinn next season.  As much as I’m sure they would like to get a look at Matt Gutierrez and maybe Tyler Palko, I’m even more certain that both Haley and Weis would love to have three quarterbacks on the roster that know exactly what to expect from the current coaching staff.

Holmgren’s preference is to pick a quarterback and do whatever’s necessary to make him successful.

“They’re both here right now.  We’ll see how it goes.  I’m not a big believer in that competition stuff.  We better make up our mind before we go to camp and then put our resources into one guy.”

Both players have issues besides their lackluster performance last season.

Anderson is expensive to retain due to a roster bonus scheduled for March.

Quinn is recovering from a foot injury that’s expected to sideline him for the majority of the minicamp schedule.

If the Browns were to release Quinn, he would go to a team that would give him a chance to compete for the starting job, something that would not be available to him in Kansas City.  But if he couldn’t find a team willing to give him that opportunity, the connection with Weis would be strong enough that he could end up with the Chiefs in a backup role.

Todd Haley has gone out of his way to praise Brodie Croyle — even calling him one of the Chiefs core players — but showed last season how important it is for a coach to be surrounded with people he is familiar with.

Weis turned a struggling Quinn into a first round pick during their time together at Notre Dame.  Could he help change the quarterback’s fortunes again?  Not likely, but something to keep in mind as the situation with Quinn and Anderson shakes out in Cleveland.