What are those who are been around or are in the know saying about Washington Commanders new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones?
The hire of Daronte Jones as defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders in 2026 has brought cautious optimism to the fanbase, though the end of the coordinator searches through January on both sides of the ball has allowed head coach Dan Quinn to shift his attention toward finalizing the rest of the staff while looking ahead to upgrading the roster, including the front seven.
But Quinn also took a risk with Jones, like David Blough, set to coordinate his side of the ball for the first time ever on the NFL level. Unlike Blough, Jones does have experience doing that through his coaching career after spending the 2021 season as the defensive coordinator and play caller at LSU. But the experience that Jones has added coaching under other great defensive minds like Marvin Lewis, Lou Anarumo and Brian Flores among others, while Jones developed a reputation as a film junkie during his four seasons with the Vikings.
Longtime former Bowie State and current Morgan State head coach Damon Wilson is plenty familiar with Jones from their two seasons coaching together, including 2009 with Wilson as head coach and Jones as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator, along with the area ties. And with the Jones staying consistent to the reputation he began building as a young local coach who also coached at Franklin High School in Baltimore, Wilson knows the Commanders are getting a “detailed guy” on the 2026 staff.
“Very organized. A guy that believes in perfection, Wilson told JP Finlay of NBC 4 Washington. “He’s real animated. He’s going to bring that extra enthusiasm to the locker room. He’s a players coach, he’s going to get those guys to fly around and enjoy playing and enjoy doing things the right way. He’s going to bring an exciting brand of the defense to Washington.”
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, who covers the Vikings, pointed to Jones not just being retained by Brian Flores, but materializing into his right hand man.
"Brian Flores is not an easy guy to work for; he’s very demanding, very exacting, and Daronte Jones was his right-hand man,” he told ESPN’s John Keim. “Every great coordinator got their first job somewhere. The degree to which Flores does the unexpected or unconventional is impossible to replicate, but I'd be shocked if Jones doesn’t try to be aggressive and not sit back and let the offense dictate terms."
In an interview in 2021, Vikings safety Harrison Smith sung the praises of Jones.
“He’s been earning his money this year,” Smith said. “He does a really good job of communicating exactly what we need to get done and things that we can expect while also not overloading the group with things that can bog you down. There can be a balance there based on just experience levels. He’s been doing a great job of starting at the fundamentals and expanding from there and giving us enough information to grow without handicapping us.”
How the move pays dividends in 2026 remains to be seen as Jones now looks to work with Quinn to finalize the defensive side of the ball, though current pass game coordinator Jason Simmons could depart with his role now redundant following the latest move. Whether Vikings assistant Marcus Dixon makes the move to Washington with Jones now in place could be worth tracking.