After working to finalize the 2026 offensive staff, the Washington Commanders could now lose an assistant after materializing into a head coaching candidate
The 2026 Washington Commanders coaching staff under head coach Dan Quinn has slowly began to take shape with now five positions officially filled on the offensive side of the ball, but whether any departures materialize has been the unanswered question that has loomed large over the last two weeks. That became a reality today, though, with one assistant now a realistic possibility to depart.
Commanders run game coordinator Anthony Lynn is a reported candidate for the new head coaching vacancy for the Buffalo Bills and is expected to interview for the position on Saturday, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Lynn is one of several reported candidates that the Bills have requested interviews with, joining Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, former Giants head coach Brian Daboll and current Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady among others as candidates.
It marks a significant development for a Commanders offensive staff that already enters the rest of the offseason with questions surrounding experience. Head coach Dan Quinn went in-house to fill his offensive coordinator vacancy, elevating David Blough into his first coordinator role in just his third year of coaching. Washington also went in-house to fill its two coaching positions along the offensive line, while both new quarterback and assistant quarterback coach are set to serve in their first seasons ever in the role. Reports pointed to head coach Dan Quinn preferring an experienced play caller to take over the defense, but if Lynn departs Washington this offseason, experience becomes an even bigger question mark ahead of a make-or-break year three for the coaching staff.
Buffalo would mark a reunion for Lynn, who served as assistant head coach and running backs coach in 2015 before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2016, then serving as brief interim head coach after Rex Ryan was fired.
Lynn joined the Commanders in 2024 as running backs coach and run game coordinator, joining the organization after taking on a similar title along with being named assistant head coach with the San Francisco 49ers the prior two seasons. Lynn served as offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions in 2021 after serving as head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers between 2017 and 2020 where he finished 33-31 overall with one playoff appearance.
Lynn also previously served as running backs coach of the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars after beginning his coaching career as a special teams assistant with the Denver Broncos for three seasons beginning 2000.
Meanwhile, the defensive coordinator search remains ongoing with the dominos beginning to fall with the growing list of candidates beginning to shrink as the coaching carousel evolves. Jeff Ulbrich, who was viewed as a top candidate, is officially off the board as Atlanta followed through on the expectation he would return as defensive coordinator despite the head coaching change. Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon is fresh off interviews with both the Commanders and Dallas Cowboys, but the Green Bay Packers are the new team to watch after watching Jeff Hafley become the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Raheem Morris, meanwhile, remains a wildcard with both head coaching and coordinator opportunities expected to be available as he finalizes his next steps.