According to reports, the Washington Commanders have held three interviews for their open defensive coordinator job since the regular season ended. One more is scheduled for this week, with Jonathan Gannon coming in to speak with head coach Dan Quinn and others.
Perhaps the most significant aside from Gannon is Joe Cullen. He is 58 and has coached in the NFL for 15 seasons, most of them working with defensive lines. He has served under respected coordinators like Leslie Frazier, Wink Martindale, and Steve Spagnuolo. He even had a stint as the Jacksonville Jaguars' coordinator for one season.
Even though it is still early in the process, the clock is absolutely ticking. The Commanders need to settle this issue sooner rather than later so that they can move on to pressing personnel issues.
Commanders are on the clock, but head coach Dan Quinn must find the right guy
Assembling a coaching staff in the immediate aftermath of an NFL season is a bit of a juggling act. Waiting too long can box a team out as the most attractive candidates are snapped up. On the other hand, as the churn across the league plays out, new candidates may appear on the market. And some of the most appealing defensive minds may not be available until their teams are eliminated from the playoffs.
That issue didn’t exist with Cullen, Patrick Graham, and Dennard Wilson, as their teams missed out on the postseason. But Quinn may have his eye on someone else who is currently unavailable. He may have to be patient if he wants a particular candidate.
Right now, only one other NFL team is actively interviewing for a defensive coordinator. That is the arch-rival Dallas Cowboys, who fired Matt Eberflus at the end of the recently concluded regular season.
Quinn fired Joe Whitt Jr. at the end of the season as well. He had stripped him of play-calling responsibilities late in the campaign, making the eventual dismissal a mere formality.
Two other teams fired defensive coordinators in 2025. Both New York teams seem to be set with replacements, though reports from the Jets’ camp hint at a possible parting of the ways with Chris Harris, who had replaced Steve Wilks during the season.
Harris, who was with Washington from 2020-2022, is viewed as a very attractive candidate. If he suddenly becomes available, he might draw the Commanders' attention.
The bottom line is that the Commanders need to lock down their upper echelon of coaches as soon as possible. This will enable them to make the best personnel decisions, both on and off the field.
Washington has several veteran defenders scheduled to hit free agency. Some, like Von Miller, seem like easy decisions. Barring a miracle, the edge rusher will not be back.
But others, like defensive end Jacob Martin, require a lot more consideration.
Martin was Washington’s most consistent edge rusher this season, but his tweener size makes him a difficult fit in many schemes. Having a new coordinator in place would affect the decision on a player like this. Until then, it's a waiting game.
The new coordinator will also have a large say in hiring new assistant coaches. That can have a major impact on performance, especially if the Commanders do what is expected and pursue a youth movement in 2026.
With Quinn as head coach, securing their offensive coordinator was more important than ever. Now that they have locked up David Blough, expect them to move quickly to hire his defensive counterpart.