The Washington Commanders have now found their defensive coordinator replacement in 2026
Weeks after elevating David Blough to replace Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator, the Washington Commanders have reportedly now filled its defensive coordinator vacancy.
Both Ian Rapoport of NFL Network and Adam Schefter of ESPN reported on Monday night that the Commanders are expected to hire Daronte Jones as the next defensive coordinator. Jones now replaces Joe Whitt Jr., who was relieved of play-calling duties midway through the season and fired following the 2025 season
This also marks a homecoming for Jones, 47, who was born in Capital Heights, Maryland, graduated from Bishop McNamara High School and graduated from Morgan State where he also played cornerback.
Jones spent the last three seasons as the defensive pass game coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings under Brian Flores, who was a brief candidate for the position before opting to return to Minnesota. Jones has been with Minnesota for the last three seasons in that role and joined the organization in 2022 as the defensive backs coach two years after holding the same title. In his four seasons, Minnesota recorded 73 interceptions including at least one takeaway in every game during the 2024 season.
This will mark the first coordinator role for Jones in the NFL, though he also served as defensive coordinator at LSU under Ed Orgeron in 2021 while he previously worked in the secondary with both the Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins.
In Minnesota under Jones, the Vikings proved itself among the NFL's best and finished 2025 ranked second in the league in pass defense with under 160 yards per game. And for a Washington team that finished with just eight interceptions and a league-worst -13 turnover differential, Jones adds a level of disruption to a defense that will look to unlock exactly that. Jones will also look to unlock the potential of young cornerbacks Mike Sainristil and Trey Amos ahead of 2026.
ESPN's John Keim noted that Jones "impressed multiple teams during interviews" as he now looks to prove himself as a coordinator at the NFL level, but Jones has also proven to be a sound teacher, which may be what a revamped Washington defense needs in 2026.
“Some players learn best watching film, some players learn best in walkthroughs, some players actually have to do it several times to get it. So when you are installing a defense, you want to incorporate every type of learning style.”
Jones began his coaching career at Lenoir-Rhyne in 2001 before moving onto assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Bowie State beginning in 2005, then as the cornerbacks coach at UCLA in 2010. He also served four seasons as secondary coach and was assistant head coach in 2014 at Hawaii before moving onto a defensive backs coach role with Wisconsin in 2015.
The news also comes after weeks of wait-and-see mode for the Commanders with a seemingly growing list of candidates by the day. Jonathan Gannon became the latest candidate to be officially crossed off after taking over as the defensive coordinator in Green Bay, while Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin snuck into the mix as a possibility and late interview. Meanwhile, Al Harris also drew buzz as another possible candidate after interviewing for the vacancy, years after raving about the idea of reuniting with head coach Dan Quinn on his staff.
Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen, Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, Seahawks pass game coordinator Karl Scott and new Giants defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson were among the long list of names who surfaced through the process that was expected to center around an experienced coordinator who can take over as the play caller.