The Washington Commanders will pick No. 7 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft just one year after Jayden Daniels took them to the NFC Championship game, and it doesn't look like Dan Quinn is going to tolerate many of the same staff members that failed to get them back to those past exalted heights.
Not only did Quinn fire defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. in a move that fans expected, but offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was also shown the door. This came after Daniels was limited to just seven healthy starts due to various injuries.
Offensive lineman Sam Cosmi looks back on the Kingsbury tenure fondly, saying that he quite enjoyed playing for one of the game's foremost passing game thinkers. Cosmi said that Kingsbury was receptive to player feedback, which isn't always the case in the NFL.
However, Cosmi also said that after a season like the one Commanders fans had to sit through, it makes sense to make some changes. Losing Kingsbury is assuredly going to take some sting out of an offense that already didn't have a ton going for it without Daniels going crazy.
Commanders OL Sam Cosmi defends former Kliff Kingsbury
On one hand, Kingsbury's offenses without Daniels healthy looked far below what they were last year, and No. 5 himself hit a sophomore slump. After such lofty expectations were met with this lack of success, it's only natural for a front office to want to make moves.
However, Kingsbury was playing with backup quarterbacks for 10 of his 17 games this season, had to work around one of the worst running back rooms in the NFL, and saw his main arrow taken out of his quiver when Terry McLaurin struggled to stay healthy for most of the season.
Kingsbury is not expected to be without a job for long. Not only will teams in need of a new offensive coordinator be in the market for someone that can coop up a passing game like he can, but some may even try to bring him on as a head coach due to his past experience in charge of the Arizona Cardinals.
Kingsbury getting kicked out of town is a move that could define the Quinn era. If he fails to replace him, that NFC Championship run will look more like a lucky fluke than any sort of plan that can be replicated for the rest of Daniels' tenure in Washington.