The Washington Commanders' 2025 season is mercifully in the books, and the house has already been all but cleaned.
Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is out, and former interim quarterbacks coach David Blough has been promoted to replace him. The team is also looking for a new defensive coordinator after firing Joe Whitt Jr.
Whitt's unit was such a trainwreck in 2025 that head coach Dan Quinn had to demote him midseason and take over play-calling himself. He was, without a doubt, one of the biggest disappointments of anybody on the Commanders. You could probably even argue he was the biggest of all.
Commanders analyst blasts Joe Whitt Jr. for inept management of Washington's defense
Ivan Lambert from USA Today Sports agreed, sticking the boot into Whitt with a damning assessment that no fan would argue against.
"[Joe] Whitt's defense looked completely overmatched as early as Week 2 in their loss at Green Bay. They couldn't cover anyone, especially a TE with Whitt leading the defense. The defense in 2024 was never 'good' either. It was so bad this season that Dan Quinn had to cut loose his friend, Whitt."Ivan Lambert
In fairness to Whitt, the problems on the Commanders' defense did not start and end with him.
The talent on that side of the ball was below-average, and that was the case even in 2024 when Washington made the NFC Championship game. That unit was thoroughly mediocre and only got worse over the summer.
Bobby Wagner's age finally caught up to him. The Marshon Lattimore trade backfired horribly. Jeremy Chinn wasn't brought back, and the intinctive explosiveness on the back end of the Commanders' defense was gone.
Peters' solution for addressing the already underwhelming defensive line was to overpay Javon Kinlaw. He recorded as many sacks this season as you did. None of that is on the coaching.
Still, Whitt's scheme left more to be desired.
Players like Frankie Luvu and Mike Sainristil's struggles could in part be blamed on how they were used. Wagner was forced to remain an every-down player when he needed to only be on the field situationally. There were almost no adjustments from the coaching staff, and the same coverage issues that plagued Washington early on remained problematic throughout the campaign.
All in all, Whitt was a familiar hire from Quinn who wasn't ready for the job. His unit treaded water in Year 1 because Jayden Daniels and the offense were good enough to overcome the defense's flaws, but that was not the case in 2025.
Finding someone to fix his mistakes will be one of the Commanders' most crucial tasks of the offseason.