More on Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn's coordinator dismissals of Kliff Kingsbury, plus a position coach also fired
The first and arguably most impactful move of the Washington Commanders' offseason materialized less than 24 hours after head coach Dan Quinn cautioned patience ahead of any official offseason moves.
Reports broke on Tuesday that both coordinators Kliff Kingsbury and Joe Whitt Jr. are not returning to the organization in 2026. While Whitt has become growingly apparent with the Commanders ranked among the worst defenses in 2025 and Quinn taking over as play caller following the 44-22 loss against Detroit, there were always question marks around Kingsbury's future - but for different reasons.
The Tennessee Titans and New York Giants were both linked to Kingsbury, who previously served as the head coach at Arizona and Texas Tech before joining the Commanders. It was expected that Kingsbury could be in line for a promotion despite reporting of a rift between Kingsbury and general manager Adam Peters ahead of the season finale.
In the end, the two sides mutually agreed to part ways with reports about philosophical differences between Kingsbury and Quinn.
Now, the question is who is next in both coordinator roles ahead of a pivotal year three for Dan Quinn?
Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic reported the Commanders are "leaning toward bringing in a new coordinator to call plays, but they'll go through the process and consider all their options."
Quinn noted "what I've learned is make the best decision for what the team needs" when asked about whether he will call plays for the defense again in 2026.
As for the offensive side of the ball, several names have already been named as potential candidates to replace Kingsbury with former Giants head coach Brian Daboll, Browns offensive coordinator Tommy Reese and Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski among those mentioned. But how involved Quinn will be on the offensive side of the ball is also worth monitoring after ESPN also reported that part of the disconnect between Kingsbury and Quinn wanted to run the ball more to control the clock and help the defense.
With reports of players unhappy with the decision to mutually part ways with Kingsbury, along with a need for a complete bounce back after a five-win season and second top-ten selection in three years, head coach Dan Quinn now puts all the pressure on himself to nail the offensive coordinator hire with quarterback Jayden Daniels entering a pivotal season on his rookie contract.
Daniels played just four complete games in 2025 as the Commanders ranked 22nd in total yards (318.8) and scoring offense (20.9)
But the coordinator spots were not the only position groups to see coaching staff turnover on Tuesday.
Washington also moved on from offensive line coach Bobby Johnson. Johnson joined the organization after Dan Quinn was announced as head coach. He previously served in the same position for the New York Giants before being fired after the unit allowed a league-leading 85 sacks, also the second-most in NFL history. Washington ranked middle of the league in 2025 in sacks allowed after allowing 37 through 17 games.
Whether it ends up being the final move of the day, let alone this offseason, remains to be seen after ESPN's John Keim hinted at more potential moves.