The list of candidates in the Washington Commanders defensive coordinator search continues to grow with another name in the mix
It was expected that the defensive coordinator search would take longer than on offense, but in a week where dominos have continued to fall in the Washington Commanders search for its next defensive coordinator, a new name has been added to the reported list of candidates.
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin reportedly interviewed for the vacancy, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic.
Austin, 60, actually began his NFL career with Washington back in 1988, marking his lone season in the league after spending time on the practice squad before playing two seasons in the CFL. But he shifted quickly from playing to coaching, first in the college ranks in the early 1990s as a grad assistant at Penn State. After stints at Wake Forest, Syracuse then Michigan, Austin made the jump to the NFL where he first served as a defensive backs coach for the Seattle Seahawks from 2003 to 2006 where he closed out his stint with a Super Bowl appearance in his final season.
It would mark the first of three staffs that Austin was part of that ended in a Super Bowl appearance, while he won once while a secondary coach with the Baltimore Ravens including the 34-31 championship win over San Francisco back in 2013.
With the reported preference of a defensive coordinator with experience to replace Joe Whitt Jr. in 2026, Austin has exactly that.
Austin has served as a defensive coordinator in eight of the last 12 seasons across stints with the Detroit Lions, Cincinnatti Bengals and most recently the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2014, his first season in Detroit, Austin guided the Lions to second in scoring defense and yards allowed en route to a wild card finish. He materialized into a head coaching candidate the following two seasons before moving to the Bengals in 2018 after the Lions' head coaching change. Results weren't as pretty in Cincinnati after becoming the first defense in NFL history to allow over 500 yards in three consecutive games.
In 2025, Pittsburgh finished 13th in run defense, 17th in scoring defense, 26th in total defense and 29th in pass defense.
Austin now joins a growing pool of candidates including Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, former Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen and Seahawks pass game coordinator Karl Scott. Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores was a previous hopeful candidate but has since inked an extension with Minnesota, making only a head coaching move a possibility this offseason. Former Falcons head coach Raheem Morris has drawn mixed reviews as a serious candidate for Washington while several have pointed to TV as a possibility in 2026. Meanwhile, Bears assistant Al Harris emerged as the latest serious candidate with reports that the former Dan Quinn assistant is expected to also interview for the Commanders vacancy.
While the offense struggled with staying healthy in 2025, the defense proved to be a disappointment with its age beginning to show, finishing the season dead last in yards allowed and 27th in points given up.