With both offensive and defensive coordinator roles to fill in 2026, the Washington Commanders are moving on several internal and external candidates.
The Washington Commanders will officially move on from both coordinators after news broke that Kliff Kingsbury and Joe Whitt Jr. will not return to the organization in 2026.
So who could the Washington Commanders look at? With the offensive coordinator role officially filled, we took a look at five names to know for the defensive coordinator job with interviews already underway.
Updates
Jan. 10: local product draws DC interview
Dennard Wilson reportedly interviewed for the Commanders' defensive coordinator vacancy on Saturday. Wilson has been the defensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans for the past two seasons, his first coordinator role of his career.
Wilson began his coaching career at DeMatha before moving onto a grad assistant at Maryland, his alma mater, for two seasons. Wilson then made the jump to the pros in 2012 with the St. Louis Rams before primarily serving as a defensive backs coach since 2015. Wilson was also the passing game coordinator for the Jets for two seasons starting 2019 and the Eagles in 2022.
Jan. 9: Commanders promote from within
The Commanders have elected to move forward with an internal move and promote David Blough from assistant QB coach to offensive coordinator. This marks Blough's first coordinator role in just his third year of coaching, making him one of the more intriguing new coordinators across the NFL.
Jan. 9: high profile assistant expected to interview
The Washington Commanders and Detroit Lions are both expected to interview Tee Martin for their vacant offensive coordinator roles.
Martin currently serves as the QBs coach for the Baltimore Ravens where he's worked since 2021 after making the jump from the college ranks.
Jan. 9: AFC assistant interviewed
Kansas City Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen interviewed for the vacant defensive coordinator role, per Adam Schefter
Cullen has been with the Chiefs since 2022 while he's held the same title in stints with the Jaguars, Browns, Buccaneers and Ravens since 2010. Cullen also served as the Jaguars defensive coordinator on the Urban Meyer staff in 2021. The Jaguars ranked 17th in passing yards, 20th in overall yards and 28th in points allowed.
Jan. 9: former Washington assistant candidate gets a look
While several external candidates have been linked to the Commanders' offensive coordinator vacancy, head coach Dan Quinn reportedly interviewed a former assistant for the position. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that Arizona assistant Drew Terrell was interviewed for the offensive coordinator role. Terrell has served as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach for the Arizona Cardinals since 2023 after serving as the wide receiver coach for the Commanders the previous two seasons. He first got into the NFL as an offensive quality control coach for the Carolina Panthers in 2018 after four seasons as a coach in the college ranks.
Jan. 8: NFC East assistant requested for permission to interview
Three hours after Todd Archer reported the Washington Commanders have requested permission to speak with Cowboys TE coach Lunda Wells for the offensive coordinator vacancy. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the two sides completed the interview.
Per Ben Standig, Washington also requested an interview with Wells for its offensive line coach role last offseason before Dallas denied the request. Wells has reportedly been a key part of the Cowboys' game planning over the last six seasons. After playing OL at Southern, he began his coaching career in the high school ranks before spending four seasons beginning to 2008 at LSU. Wells then moved to the Giants where he coached from 2012 to 2019, first serving as offensive quality control coach before being promoted to tight ends coach during his last two seasons with the organization. He took the same title with Dallas in 2020.
Jan 7: Commanders request DC interview permission
The Washington Commanders have requested permission to interview Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter first reported the news on Wednesday.
Graham has served as the Raiders' defensive coordinator since 2022 during the Josh McDaniel era and remained with the organization during the Antonio Pierce era. Graham joined the Raiders after leaving his role as associate head coach and defensive coordinator of the New York Giants. Graham has also previously served on the defensive staffs for the Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots after spending the first eight seasons of his coaching career in the college ranks.
While the Raiders will likely see changes throughout the coaching staff following news of Pete Carroll being relieved of duties as head coach for just one season, Graham held Las Vegas together on the other side of the ball. The Raiders finished the season ranked 14th in the league in yards allowed per game and passing defense while ranking 17th in run defense.
Washington struggled with takeaways in 2025, though Graham's unit fared slightly better with 16 takeaways compared to the Commanders' ten.
Jan 7: Washington Post evaluates potential OC candidates
Dolphins quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell, New Orleans Saints quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien and Cowboys quarterbacks coach Steve Shimko are all names reported by Tashan Reed as potential names to watch in the Washington Commanders' offensive coordinator search. Former New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll has also carried buzz as a potential name to watch as Kingsbury's replacement with Grant Paulsen of 106.7 noting Daboll alongside Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski.