It’s not that the Washington Commanders haven’t tried to get a premier defensive coordinator. They have interviewed top-level guys. However, the empty defensive coordinator job spells more trouble for the 2026 season. is another bad sign for the 2026 season.
Understandably, prime defensive coordinators who are hopeful of a head coaching gig are waiting for those opportunities to be filled. The Bills, Steelers, Browns, Cardinals, and Raiders haven’t found their head coach yet.
So that makes things difficult for a team like the Commanders to lock down a defensive coordinator. But there's more to the issue.
Commanders need more than a DC, they need an overhaul
Just look at that defense. Name one defensive player the Commanders can truly be excited about, heading into the 2026 season. You won’t find a Pro Bowl player.
If you want to stretch it, you might be able to get behind edge rusher Dorance Armstrong. But he doesn’t have a Pro Bowl appearance in his eight-year career.
Linebacker Bobby Wagner is still good. He ranked the highest among the Commanders’ defenders with a rating of 79.3, according to Pro Football Focus. But he’s heading toward 36 years old.
Cornerback Trey Amos showed a few good things in his rookie year, but his PFF rating of 55.8 didn’t look great.
There just isn’t anything there. Is there another defensive coordinator job in the NFL that looks worse? It’s probably a surprise that head coach Dan Quinn could coax guys like Brian Flores and Jonathan Gannon into interviews.
Now, the Commanders have the No. 7 overall pick. And that will almost surely (hopefully) be used on an edge rusher. The Commanders need, desperately, to hit a home run with that pick.
Draft whiz Mel Kuiper looks for the Commander to grab Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr., according to ESPN.
“NFC East quarterbacks and offensive tackles aren't going to be happy if Washington goes this way,” Kuiper wrote. “Bain knows how to reach the quarterback, with 9.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss in 2025 (including a sack and 2.5 TFLs on Monday night against Indiana in the national title game). He has a great mix of power, speed, and bend. And the Commanders could move him around on the defensive line to create mismatches.
“This is a clear need for Washington after the defense allowed 6.0 yards per play, tied for third worst in the league.”
They could also look at Texas Tech pass rusher David Bailey. A fall-back option would be Auburn’s Keldric Faulk.
One player won’t save the day, but inquiring defensive coordinators can at least see a glimmer of hope with that high pick.
Another problem is HC Dan Quinn's status
No, it’s not that Quinn isn’t a good head coach. He is. And his defensive knowledge would be a great help to the new coordinator.
However, Quinn is walking a fine line. He burst onto the scene with the Commanders and won 12 games in year one. And then he coaxed the team into the NFC Championship game.
But that ended with a blowout loss to the Eagles. And it’s like everything fell apart with that game. The Commanders looked awful in 2025, and Quinn seems to have a short leash in 2026.
One problem for Quinn is his inability to recognize the shortcomings of defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. The Commanders won in 2024 with their offense, not Whitt’s defense. And they looked worse on that side of the ball this past season. Finally, almost begrudgingly, Quinn let him go.
All this adds to the next defensive coordinator perhaps being a one-year position. That’s true even if the new coordinator does a decent job. If the Commanders don’t win in 2026, Quinn is likely out.
So what does that leave for the Commanders?
It puts them in the same spot they landed with the offensive coordinator. The Commanders pushed a young David Blough into that role. And they will also have to find an unproven coach for the defensive side of the ball.
Hence, the Commanders are considering Bears defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator, Al Harris.
The problem is that this is potentially another Dallas retread. We already know that didn’t work with Whitt Jr., even though Quinn spoke highly of Whitt when the hire was made.
Harris is 51 years old and no spring chicken. That’s why hiring him doesn’t seem exciting. But the Bears produced 33 turnovers this season. That’s more than the Commanders had in the past two seasons combined.
At least Quinn understands that the Commanders go nowhere in 2026 if they don’t start forcing turnovers.
