With the coaching carousel still unfolding, the Washington Commanders will need patience amid several candidates in the mix for the defensive coordinator vacancy ahead of the 2026 NFL season.
The Washington Commanders moved quickly to fill one coordinator vacancy with David Blough elevated in his third season with the organization. Fans might have to wait a bit longer for the second vacancy to be filled with the coaching carousel still unsettled.
After initially noting a hire could materialize late this week or early next week, ESPN's John Keim noted the Commanders may have to wait "until early next week or beyond" to finalize the status of its defensive coordinator search. It's tied to the ongoing coaching carousel.
Keim reiterated that Washington remains patient when it comes to the Brian Flores pursuit. The Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator was one of two interviews for the defensive coordinator vacancy on Wednesday before head coach Dan Quinn brought in another former head coach for an interview on Thursday. But Flores remains an active head coaching candidate with nine teams currently looking around the league.
Flores has already interviewed for the Baltimore Ravens head coaching vacancy with the Pittsburgh Steelers the latest team to jump into the mix with a head coaching search officially underway for the first time in nearly two decades.
Whether we see more dominos fall in the coming days remains to be seen with John Harbaugh's official hire as the next head coach of the New York Giants leading to a possible ripple effect with the eight current head coaching vacancies. Flores remains a big part of that equation, though whether he ends up leaving Minnesota is also its own question mark.
Despite entering the offseason on an expiring deal, head coach Kevin O'Connell made clear following the 2025 season that retaining the former Dolphins head coach remains the top priority for the organization this offseason.
The Commanders have already conducted several other interviews with Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen, Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson all interviewing for the vacancy.
Keim once again pointed to former Falcons head coach Raheem Morris as a possibility, though similar to Flores, he's also squarely in the mix for head coaching opportunities with a reported interview with the Tennessee Titans set for Monday.
Ben Standig also reported former NFL cornerback and current Bears defensive passing game coordinator Al Harris is another name to know, though he may be in the next tier of realistic names. Keim previously noted there were questions whether Harris, who raved about head coach Dan Quinn after working with him on the Dallas Cowboys' defensive staff, is a realistic defensive coordinator candidate at this stage.
Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich remains a name that has been consistently reported as a potential target, though the question has remained centered around his availability. The Dallas Cowboys had their defensive coordinator request denied earlier this week with owner Arthur Blank reportedly adamant that Ulbrich will be recommended to the next head coach, casting doubt on his potential availability outside of the organization this offseason.
But for a Commanders team looking to stay patient to find an experienced defensive coordinator with the preference to call plays, the wait continues as the carousel continues to unfold.