Commanders’ Dan Quinn addresses firing of Kliff Kingsbury and Joe Whitt Jr.

The Washington Commanders have executed a comprehensive reset of coaching staff heading into the 2026 season after a disastrous 5-12 campaign in 2025. Earlier, the likes of offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. were fired, eventually replaced by David Blough and former Minnesota Vikings defensive coach Daronte Jones.

Head coach Dan Quinn recently addressed the twin firings, claiming that the Commanders have a vision for the present and the future.

“Those are tough man, and what happened at the start was things went well and sometimes you have to adjust and have to change even when it’s hard. And that’s what we had to do on both sides of the ball,” he said, before claiming that the Commanders have a clear idea of how they want to play.

“And going into it having a vision for how we want to play in ‘25 and beyond, that’s what drove the decisions,” he explained on The Rich Eisen Show, signalling a comprehensive change in strategy. And well, it is hard to argue against the decision.

Just a year prior, in head coach Dan Quinn’s inaugural 2024 season, Washington vastly overachieved with a 12-5 record. However, the 2025 regression forced a swift restructuring.
Despite an eighth-ranked rushing attack, Kingsbury’s passing game stalled out at 24th in yardage, dragging the overall offense down to 22nd in both points and yards, a steep drop from their top-10 offensive metrics the year before. This was heavily exacerbated by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels appearing in only seven games.

Defensively, the floor collapsed entirely. Washington finished dead last in yards allowed and 27th in points surrendered, prompting Quinn to strip Whitt of his play-calling duties after just 10 games.

To rectify the situation, David Blough was elevated from assistant quarterback coach to offensive coordinator with Jones set to take over the defense.

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