Former Washington defensive coordinator named as XFL head coach

The Washington Commanders seem content with the job Jack Del Rio has done as defensive coordinator over his two seasons. While the defense took a major step back in 2021 after they emerged as one of the NFL’s best two years ago, it seems like Del Rio will get a third season to prove himself in Ashburn.

Of course, fans were calling for Del Rio’s job early on last season when the defense was allowing north of 30 points per game. Despite playing backups at multiple positions due to injuries, the group settled down in the second half.

That helped Del Rio get back in fans’ good graces, so the longtime NFL coach has momentum heading into 2022.

It’s unclear whether Del Rio will get another shot at a head coaching job, but former Washington defensive coordinator Jim Haslett has managed to pull it off. For those curious, no, it won’t be in the NFL.

On Wednesday, XFL owners Dany Garcia and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson announced the hiring of is eight head coaches for its highly hyped 2023 return. Haslett is one of two former NFL head coaches to land a gig in the XFL.

Former Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jim Haslett was named as one of the XFL’s eight head coaches for 2023.

The XFL’s list of coaches includes former longtime NFL head coach Wade Phillips and former Oklahoma Sooners boos Bob Stoops, who was with the XFL during the pandemic-plagued 2020 season. The other coaches are all former NFL players: Hines Ward, Rod Woodson, Terrell Buckey, Anthony Bect and Reggie Barlow.

Haslett and Phillips are easily the most experienced of the bunch. The former Washington coordinator has over 30 years of coaching experience at both the college and pro level, so he should represent a great fit for the XFL.

Of course, Haslett isn’t remembered fondly around these parts, as Washnigton’s defense struggled mightily under his tutelage. Over his five seasons in Ashburn, the group never ranked higher than 21st in points allowed per game.

Even worse, Haslett’s defense struggled in every department. Outside of an outlier 2012 campaign in which Washington ranked fifth against the run, their next-best finish came in 2011 when they ranked 12th defending the pass.

After the 2014 season, Washington decided they had enough and fired Haslett. From there, the former Saints head coach spent time with Penn State as a consultant before serving as the Bengals’ linebackers coach from 2016-2018 and the Titans’ inside linebackers coach the past two seasons.

Let’s hope Haslett’s stint in the XFL goes better than his time in Washington. Given he’ll be locking horns with two brilliant football minds in Phillips and Stoops, and former players who may be looking to jumpstart their coaching careers, Haslett will have his work cut out for him to bring home the XFL crown.