The Washington Commanders are reportedly expected to interview Atlanta Falcons assistant DJ Williams, son of Commanders quarterback Doug Williams
One day after news of the first interview broke with David Blough looking to finalize his offensive coaching staff, the Washington Commanders have requested to interview another assistant for the same vacancy.
Washington requested to interview Atlanta Falcons quarterbacks coach DJ Williams for the same position, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic confirmed on Tuesday morning. DJ is the son of former legendary Washington quarterback Doug Williams, giving the Commanders an intriguing storyline with the coaching staff far from finalized.
Williams is in his first season as quarterbacks coach with Atlanta where he has worked with second-year quarterback Michael Penix, but it's been far from a strong relationship between the two.
Penix made headlines midway through the 2025 season after making comments that were interpreted as a shot at the support around the quarterback inside the Falcons facility before both Williams and head coach Raheem Morris debunked the claims.
“I joke with the quarterbacks, and I’m like, Bro, I see y’all more than I see my kids,” Williams said following the incident. “So, if we don’t have some vulnerable conversations, and you can’t be sensitive, I can’t be sensitive, like, we got to talk every single day.”
Williams previously served as an assistant quarterbacks coach in Atlanta during the 2024 season after kicking off his coaching career as an offensive assistant with the New Orleans Saints in 2023 after working with their training camp in 2017. He played at Grambling State, his dad's alma mater with Doug Williams serving as head coach, where he led the Tigers to the SWAC championship game in 2011.
The news comes roughly 12 hours after news of the first interview broke with Carolina Panthers assistant quarterbacks coach Mike Bercovici expected to interview for the same role as Williams, giving the Commanders a pair of candidates with ties to either the franchise or starting quarterback.
While Williams adds plenty of nostalgia given his dad's connection to Washington, Bercovici heads into his interview as arguably the better fit given his relationship with Jayden Daniels dating back to his days at Arizona State. “It wasn’t that long ago that he was in our position so he definitely knows what we’re going through, good and bad," Jayden Daniels said of Bercovici back in 2019. "He has been through it all so we trust what he tells us. We got along right away.”
Despite earning several workouts with NFL teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers following his college career, Williams began his coaching career with the Washington Commanders shortly after his NFL aspirations failed to materialize like his dad.
“At that time, I think it was 2016, and I really didn’t know what I was going to do,” Williams said at the time. “I knew I wanted to work in the league in some capacity because I knew (football) was my passion. But I really didn’t know what lane I wanted to go. So, I started in scouting with the Washington Commanders, although I loved that because you are just around the game.”