The 5 best defensive coordinators in Washington Commanders franchise history

The Washington Commanders franchise hasn't always been synonymous with great defenses. Stout units helped win titles, but no group ever became a part of popular football culture the way the 'No-Name', 'Steel Curtain', '46', or 'Tampa 2' did.

Despite being overlooked as a franchise trait, there have still been some fearsome units through the years for Washington. They have also been some great thinkers, including three masterminds who helped the franchise secure as many Super Bowl titles during its glory years.

The trio are joined by a highly controversial but effective play-caller who helped Joe Gibbs during his second stint as head coach. There's also room for an icon in coaching history who did more in less than one season with the Burgundy and Gold than many coordinators managed across multiple campaigns.

Criteria for selection

Championships are always a good place to start when placing the franchise greats. Three of the coordinators on this list appeared in and won multiple Super Bowls, although not all in that capacity.

Rankings count too, so defenses that were No. 1, or close enough, in the league standings for points and yards allowed, reflect well on their respective play-callers. So does the number of great players, Pro Bowlers, All-Pros, and Pro Football Hall of Famers they coached.

Without further ado, here are the five best defensive coordinators in Washington franchise history.

The 5 best defensive coordinators in Washington Commanders franchise history

5. Bill Arnsparger

He only signed on for one season, 1999, and he wasn't even a defensive coordinator. Mike Nolan kept the title, but Bill Arnsparger was the brains behind a stunning revival as a shrewd defensive specialist.

Arnsparger was hired to add balance to a lopsided team trying to win behind an offensive juggernaut but consistently hamstrung by a sieve-like defense. Washington ranked last in the league in defense when he arrived in October 1999.

During the final four weeks of the regular season, Washington's defense didn't allow more than 24 points in any single game. The unit also proved stingy in two playoff contests, ironically being undermined by a Brad Johnson interception in Tampa Bay.

Arnsparger added some nous and a few schematic riffs to the X's and O's. His presence also improved the fundamentals of multiple key players.

Defensive tackles Dana Stubblefield and Dan Wilkinson were clogging gaps and holding double teams. Linebacker Shawn Barber was tackling well and creating turnovers. Safety Sam Shade became a blitzing menace in a pressure package only introduced after Arnsparger began overseeing things.

Had he not been 72 years old and already a veteran of thousands of NFL wars, Arnsparger might've returned and officially taken the reins from Nolan. It's still bittersweet to think what the architect of the zone blitz, the No-Name defense, and the Killer B's would have cooked up for Bruce Smith and Deion Sanders in 2000.

4. Gregg Williams

He was the coordinator for four years, but Gregg Williams was the toughest to rank on this list. Not because of his performances, but for his role in the Bountygate scandal that engulfed the New Orleans Saints.

Williams' players were reportedly offered financial inducements to take out (a malevolent euphemism) opposition talent. The scandal was so unsavory it landed him with an indefinite suspension in 2012, although the NFL rescinded it after only a year.

A return to the sideline didn't quell the stench from 'Bountygate,' and that makes lauding Williams' time in Washington difficult to say the least. He took the coordinator's headset in 2004 when Joe Gibbs made his return to the franchise.

While the greatest head coach in NFL history couldn't replicate the explosive offenses he'd crafted in the 1980s and early '90s, Gibbs was able to rely on Williams' defenses. The 2004 unit ranked fifth in points and third in yards before the 2005 group posted ninth in both categories and helped Washington return to the postseason for the first time since 1999.

There were no playoffs a season later, but the Williams-coached defense rebounded in style in 2007. This group didn't allow more than 21 points in any of the final four games, all wins, to propel Washington back into the postseason. That was no small feat following the tragic death of All-Pro safety Sean Taylor, who was well on his way to greatness.

Taylor had been the leader, but other players like linebackers Lemar Marshall, Marcus Washington, and London Fletcher became stars. So did defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin, edge rusher Andre Carter, and safety Ryan Clark. Veteran cornerback Shawn Springs played the best football of his career in Washington.

Williams used talent well through a complex array of schemes. He mixed fronts. Washington, usually a 4-3 defense, opened in a 3-4 for a famous road win over the Dallas Cowboys in 2005. Elaborate blitzing also became familiar when he was calling defenses.

3. LaVern Torgeson

Six seasons as defensive coordinator from 1971-77 only account for part of LaVern Torgeson's decorated history in Washington. Some of those years were special, like when his defense ranked fourth in points and yards in 1971, George Allen's first year as head coach.

Allen was a defensive genius in his own right, and his affinity with nickel fronts and coverages gave Washington an element of unpredictability during the 1970s. So did Torgeson's leadership of an aging group of veterans who formed the backbone of his famed 'Over the Hill Gang'.

Torgeson's group contained some outstanding Greybeard players. They included linebackers Jack Pardee and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Chris Hanburger, safeties Richie Petitbon and Brig Owens, along with cornerback Mike Bass.

That quintet was special, but the foundation of Washington's tough defenses during the era was a formidable, four-man line. End Verlon Biggs and defensive tackles Diron Talbert and Bill Brundige were the standouts. But Manny Sistrunk, Jimmie Jones, and Ron McDole all contributed.

This deep rotation helped Washington surrender the fewest points in 1972, the year Allen's team reached a Super Bowl. Victory proved elusive against the unbeaten Miami Dolphins, but Torgeson's defense stayed strong in the years that followed.

Torgeson soon got to work with another eventual enshrinee at Canton, all-action safety Ken Houston. Coaching the greats was a happy habit for the man who had been defensive line coach for Allen with the Los Angeles Rams when the legendary 'Fearsome Foursome' reigned supreme.

His experience in Los Angeles helped Torgeson make stout defensive lines a franchise staple during his time in Washington. Including when he served as defensive line coach from 1981 to 1993. He tutored greats like Dexter Manley, Charles Mann, Dave Butz, and Darryl Grant, en route to winning three Super Bowls on the staff of one of his former players.

Torgeson couldn't match those heights as coordinator, but his defenses ranked outside the top 10 in points allowed just once during his time with the play sheet.

2. Larry Peccatiello

Of all the coordinators on this list, Larry Peccatiello occupies the strangest place. He owned the title for the majority of the golden period for Washington, the hat-trick of Vince Lombardi trophies that Joe Gibbs won during his original tenure.

Yet, Peccatiello was always overshadowed by his boss, who was considered the "real" defensive coordinator. While there was more than a little truth to the latter statement, he deserves more props for his role in the success.

Peccatiello's role included drawing up the signature play in Washington's third (and last for too long) Super Bowl triumph, against the Buffalo Bills following the 1991 season.

Being the official coordinator for 10 years meant Peccatiello helped build and design some of the best units in team history. The 1991 and 1992 units were his best, ranking second and eighth in points, respectively, and third and seventh in yards.

The numbers were impressive, just like the sheer volume of great players coached by Peccatiello. Like Pro Football Hall of Famers Dave Butz and cornerback Darrell Green. All-Pros Dexter Manley, Barry Wilburn, and Wilber Marshall, as well as four-time Pro Bowler Charles Mann.

A solid four-year stint as coordinator for the Detroit Lions from 1997-2000 yielded three winning records and a pair of playoff berths, proving Peccatiello's good work in Washington was no fluke.

1. Richie Petitbon

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of the franchise knew there was only ever going to be one name atop this list. Richie Petitbon was the overseer and grand designer of the most successful defenses in team history.

As assistant head coach, Petitbon matched Gibbs' wizardry on offense with creativity on the other side of the ball. While the head coach innovated with the one-back offense, H-Backs, and an unerring knack for making any quarterback play like vintage Johnny Unitas, the coordinator mixed and matched personnel in devilish ways.

He used five and six-man defensive lines. Petitbon also flooded the field with eight defensive backs and sent pressure from multiple angles.

One of Petitbon's best qualities was how his coaching masterclasses were usually reserved for the playoffs. The 1987 season was the best example, according to Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times.

"Petitbon helped the Redskins get to the Super Bowl by taking an average defense--ranked 18th in the 28-team NFL--and master-minding defensive gems against the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings. In those two games, the defense allowed just 27 total points, with an average of 269.5 yards."

- Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times

Petitbon's legacy isn't just about the numbers. It's about how he devised great defensive displays. His method usually involved moving players around and bringing pressure, two things Plaschke outlined ahead of Super Bowl XXII.

"Against the Bears, he played a five-man front with defensive ends Dexter Manley and Charles Mann, on the same side. Then he dropped defensive end Markus Koch back as a linebacker. Against the Vikings, he unveiled a 5-1-5 formation, which makes sense only in that it adds to 11"

- Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times

Another fluid Petitbon strategy shut out John Elway and the Denver Broncos for three quarters in the big game. That was impressive, but like most involved in Gibbs' first stint, his masterpiece was in 1991.

It was the year his unit pitched three shutouts during the regular season, before conceding a mere 17 points in two playoff games. Those miserly performances came against the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions, both purveyors of the Run and Shoot - a system Petitbon all but destroyed that season.

The destruction was complete when Washington's 'National Defense', the closest the franchise has had to an iconic unit, took the Buffalo Bills apart. While most remember their No-Huddle offense from 1990, the K-Gun attack reached its peak a year later.

At least until Petitbon's defense held NFL MVP Thurman Thomas to 13 rushing yards on 10 carries, sacked Jim Kelly five times, and snatched four interceptions. A Super Sunday performance that deserves to be talked about a lot more.

This defense was a monument to specialized personnel. Monte Coleman was a linebacker in nickel sets only, Matt Millen replaced Kurt Gouveia at middle linebacker against run-heavy opposition, while Ravin Caldwell blitzed situationally. Sidney Johnson, Alvoid Mays, and A.J. Johnson flipped-flopped between cornerback and safety.

Thanks to Torgeson, a different defensive line gave Petitbon the platform to experiment. Tim Johnson and Eric Williams replaced Butz and Grant, while Manley made way for Fred Stokes. Koch, Jason Buck, 'Jumpy' Geathers, and Bobby Wilson rotated into the mix.

Petitbon coached some of the best defensive players in franchise history and called many of Washington's most important victories. There's no better recommendation for the top spot.

The top 5 defensive coordinators in Commanders history by win percentage

Information via Pro Football History.

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