The Washington Commanders have added another coach to its 2026 offensive coaching staff after hiring former Arizona assistant Ben Steele.
The Washington Commanders have reportedly added another coach to its 2026 coaching staff.
Ben Steele is expected to be named the Commanderes' new tight ends coach. The news comes hours after the Washington Commanders promoted David Raih to replace Brian Johnson as the team's new passing game coordinator.
He joins the organization after serving as the tight ends coach for the Arizona Cardinals the last three seasons where he coached star playmaker Trey McBride, who proved to be the best player at his position in 2025 after amassing 126 receptions for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. It was McBride's second consecutive season with at least 100 catches and 1,100 receiving yards while he finished with more touchdowns in 2025 than he did in his first three seasons combined (six).
Steele now joins a Commanders coaching staff tasked with replenishing that room this offseason. Both John Bates and Ben Sinnott return in 2026 where the young tandem will upgrade Washington's blocking capabilities in both the pass and run game, but adding a receiving tight end has been a continued point of emphasis for a team in desperate need of adding weapons around quarterback Jayden Daniels in his third season.
Steele, who played six season in the NFL and one with Frankfurt Galaxy in 2003, has been coaching since 2008 and has been an NFL assistant since 2014. He first joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a quality control coach in 2014 before being promoted to tight ends coach in 2017. He then served as an offensive assistant with the Atlanta Falcons in 2019 before returning to tight ends coach the following season, spending both seasons under head coach Dan Quinn, before transitioning as the assistant offensive line coach with the Minnesota Vikings in 2021. Steele then served in the same position with the Denver Broncos in 2022 before his three year stint in Arizona.
Veteran tight end Zach Ertz led the unit in 2025 where he proved to be arguably the most dependable player in the passing game until he suffered a season-ending injury in the 31-0 loss against the Minnesota Vikings during week 14.
How the longtime coach is able to upgrade the position of need is the biggest question mark, though Washington is also expected to be a player in the tight end market with players like Chigoziem Okonkwo, Isaiah Likely, David Njoku and Cade Otton all expected to be available free agents.