With the Washington Commanders gearing up for a whole off-season period under new owner Josh Harris, significant changes were expected to follow. After Washington’s embarrassing Thanksgiving Day loss against the Cowboys last season, Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio was relieved of his duties in a decision that had been mounting all season. When asked in his first press conference as Commanders head coach, Dan Quinn made it clear that Offensive Coordinator Eric Bienemy would not be returning for the 2024 season. Through a thorough hiring process, the Washington Commanders ownership group announced former Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury as the new Offensive Coordinator, as well as Joe Whitt Jr, who coached for the Cowboys this past season, as the Defensive Pass game Coordinator.
Kliff Kingsbury will play a key role this off-season determining who the next Quarterback will be for the upcoming season. All signs point to Washington selecting a Quarterback in this year’s draft with the signing of veteran backup QB Marcus Mariota, and trading last year’s starter Sam Howell to the Seahawks for extra draft compensation. In a short time Kingsbury and the front office have already made a few additions to the offensive line and have signed free agent Running back Austin Ekeler to a two year incentive based deal worth up to 11 million dollars. Fans will have to wait until the draft until they can really get a sense of what this season will look like offensively.
With Dan Quinn being a defensive minded coach, he knew he needed to bring someone built for the task when it came to the defensive coordinator role. Throughout the hiring process, the defensive coordinator position had many qualified candidates all considered to be great hires. However, just a day after being formally announced head coach, it was already reported that Dan Quinn was going to bring along Joe Whitt Jr, a respected defensive coach who worked with Quinn the past three seasons in Dallas. Whitt’s specialty when it comes to defense is the pass game and how to shut down offenses’ passing attacks. Fans can hopefully look forward to seeing fewer wide open touchdowns thrown by the opposing team each week.
