7 Commanders players (and coaches) that won't be back in 2024
By Dean Jones
Travelle Wharton - Commanders OL coach
The Washington Commanders revamped their offensive line during the offseason as expected. What was more surprising centered around the coaching side of things.
Despite firing offensive line coach John Matsko, the Commanders didn't immediately announce a replacement. It was sometime later before Travelle Wharton was handed the responsibility during his fourth season with the franchise.
This was seen as a positive step in the right direction, but the inconsistencies remained the same. Sam Howell was getting sacked at a historic rate to open the campaign, which forced the coaching staff into benching Nick Gates and sending Saahdiq Charles to injured/reserve in favor of installing Chris Paul and Tyler Larsen into the lineup.
It looked for a while as if this could be profitable over the second half of 2023. However, the same problems reared their head against the New York Giants as Howell was sacked four times and evaded countless others.
Couple this with the lack of discipline and a failure to pick up even the most simple stunts, it falls on coaching in addition to the lack of talent at the Commanders' disposal. Something that would leave Wharton's future hanging in the balance whether head coach Ron Rivera sticks around or not.
That might sound harsh after just one season in the role. But this is a cutthroat business.