The Washington Commanders need a head coach that will win immediately. Fans are tired of waiting and waiting and waiting for a winning season. Their last “winning” season was 2020 and Washington went 7-9, winning the NFC East. Washington proceeded to lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card, but fans were hopeful for 2021 with Taylor Heinicke having one heck of a performance in the last game of the season. The next head coach needs to help immediately turn this team around. The list of head coaching candidates that Washington has of who they interviewed or plan to interview is a great list.
Two Major Head Coaching Candidates for the Washington Commanders
The Commanders struggled mightily this season going 4-13. The only home win for Washington was in Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals with Washington winning 20-16, not good for a head coach in his fourth season at the helm. Week 2 was not an easy game against the Denver Broncos where Russell Wilson completed a Hail Mary in the final seconds before failing their 2-point conversion thanks to a Benjamin St. Juste breakup. The last five head coaches that had at least a 4 year tenure all had records losing the majority of their games.
Past Five Head Coaches:
- Joe Gibbs: 30-34, .468 (second stint with team from 2004-2007)
- Jay Gruden: 28-35, .444
- Norv Turner: 26-37, .412
- Mike Shanahan: 24-40, .393
- Ron Rivera 26-40-1, .388
It’s safe to say that the head coaching candidates in the past that Washington was looking at did not do much of an affect. With the 2023 NFL season being Josh Harris’ first as the new majority owner of the team, fans are expecting lots of change to come in 2024. After firing Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio mid-season, fans started to get an idea that change will happen after the season concluded. The Thanksgiving game in Dallas was Del Rio’s final straw as that was a catastrophe of a game with Dallas winning 45-10. Here are some important statistics to look at from Washington’s past season:
- Washington lost their final eight games after going 4-5
- Washington lost all their divisional games, getting outscored 108-200 (20-83 to Dallas, 62-72 to Philadelphia, 26-45 to NYG)
- Washington got outscored 329-518 this season, a 189 point differential, which ranks last in the NFL
- Washington went 1-3 against the AFC East and the NFC West, going 2-6 total (they beat New England and Arizona, but got outscored 66-129 to the AFC East and 76-100 to the NFC West)
With Washington getting a new General Manager, that was step one in the rebuilding process. With the 2024 season being Harris’ second season, fans are going to expect a quick turnaround like the Houston Texans did with Head Coach DeMeco Ryan in 2023. The big question that fans have right now is who will be the new head coach for Washington. Here are two popular potential head coaches Washington should be looking at hiring:
Ben Johnson, Lions Offensive Coordinator
The first head coaching candidate Washington should have their eye on is Ben Johnson. After being promoted to Offensive Coordinator in 2022, Johnson has done a fantastic job turning around the Detroit offense. In the past two seasons, Detroit has gone 21-13, .617 since 2022. The Lions offense was ranked top five in points and yards in the offensive department the past two seasons. Before 2022, Detroit did not rank in the top five in any offensive category since 2012 when Jim Schwartz was their head coach (ranked 3rd in the league in points). Dan Campbell promoting Johnson in 2022 was a great move for the 2023 NFC North champs.
2022:
In 2022, Jared Goff threw for 4,438 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions with a 65.1% completion percentage. This Lions team improved throughout the year and were the reason the Green Bay Packers did not make the playoffs in 2022. After losing to the Miami Dolphins in Week 8, Detroit went 8-2 in their last ten games, only losing to the Buffalo Bills in Week 12 on Thanksgiving and to the Carolina Panthers in Week 16. Here are some important statistics to know from this 10 game stretch:
- The Lions outscored their opponents 280-202, a 78 point differential
- Played 5 NFC North games (three home games and two away games)
- They outscored the NFC North 141-88 and won all five of those NFC North games
- Had 3,696 yards of total offense, averaging 369.6 yards per game
- Had 1,223 total rushing yards, averaging 122.3 rushing yards per game
- Had 2,473 total passing yards, averaging 247.3 passing yards per game
2023:
In 2023, Jared Goff threw for 4,575 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, 12 interceptions with a 67.3% completion percentage. The Lions went 6-2 before their bye week, which was Week 9, and went 6-3 after their bye week. The Lions only went 4-4 against the NFC North in 2023, but after an embarrassing loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7, the Lions bounced back with a 26-14 win against the Las Vegas Raiders with 262 passing yards and 222 rushing yards totaling 486 yards. After losing a game, the Lions always bounced back and won the next game never losing two straight in 2023. Ben Johnson is a great candidate for the Washington Commanders and has proven to be a great offensive mind.
Aaron Glenn, Detroit Lions Defensive Coordinator
The second head coaching candidate Washington is looking at is Aaron Glenn. Glenn is in his third year leading the Detroit Lions defense. He joined the Detroit Lions with Campbell in 2021, following him from the New Orleans Saints. Glenn and the Lions struggled in 2021 in Campbell’s first season as the head coach going 3-13-1. While Detroit may not have ranked in the top 20 in the defensive rankings in 2022 and 2023, Glenn had lots of great pieces to help the Lions defense propel the team to victory after victory. One of the key players for the Lions defense was Aidan Hutchinson.
The 2023 season started out with a Thursday night victory against the Kansas City Chiefs. Fans thought that the Chiefs would take that game, but the Lions held strong coming out with a 21-20 victory. Glenn’s defense only allowed 316 total yards, 226 passing and 90 rushing. Detroit turned the page in the NFC North after being the laughing stock of the division. The Lions coaching staff has a lot to be proud of with how the past two seasons have gone.
Glenn would be another great for Washington as the Commanders defense has been one of the worst in the league for years. With Glenn being a defensive mind, he can take a strong defensive line with Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne and make them into one of the top defenses in the league. With Peters as the GM, the 2024 NFL Draft will be so important for the Commanders after Peters was considered one of the best hires the team as had in a while. If Glenn does indeed sign to become the Commanders next head coach.
Main Photo Credit: Syndication: Detroit Free Press
