Washington Commanders have hired former Dallas Cowboys secondary and passing game coordinator, Joe Whitt as their next defensive coordinator. Whitt was scheduled to interview with Washington but canceled and jumped on board. The floodgates are finally opening with the Commanders for a busy time. Whitt wasted no time taking the position and reuniting with head coach, Dan Quinn.
The Dallas Cowboys knew that Whitt would follow in his footsteps once Quinn was gone. Dallas is eyeing a more veteran coordinator, one that has the experience to fill Quinn’s spot. Jerry Jones said they are going “All In” for their next hire, assuming that it’s going to change Dallas’ defensive landscape. The Cowboys are currently having interviews with Ron Rivera and Mike Zimmer for the defensive coordinator position.
This is something that Jones is valuing while in Washington, they are in the rebuilding stage. However, Whitt has a similar experience to the DC position. He served similar roles with the Packers, Browns and Falcons. The expectation was always for Whitt to come to Washington and now they are close to focusing on this upcoming free agency. Quinn said he won’t be calling the defensive play calls, but Whitt will.
It’s a change for Quinn, who’s been the defensive play-caller for Dallas for the last three years. New Commander offensive coordinator, Kliff Kingsbury will be calling the plays on offense. This allows Quinn to remain open and coach the entire team.
The next DC in D.C.
Joe Whitt Jr. is our new defensive coordinator pic.twitter.com/EsMXAQ3wEi
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) February 5, 2024
Washington Commanders Hire Joe Whitt as the Next Defensive Coordinator
All of the Pieces Are Coming Together
As Quinn is distributing the responsibility for his staff, it’s been reported that he won’t bring back Eric Bieniemy. Quinn wishes him well in his next stop, but it’s an interesting development. There was never an official report coming out that Bieniemy was fired from Washington. The question was brought up about Bieniemy’s future and finally, there is the answer.
Bieniemy was bound for a head coaching position with Washington, but that went out the window. He now has not been in the cycle for any other coordinator jobs around the league so far. However, it’s a new era for Whitt and Kingsbury who’s set to call the shots. The interesting part is that Whitt had a scheduled interview with the Cowboys as well for the DC job.
It wasn’t a guarantee and Whitt knew that. No one can fault Whitt for finding the door to exit. The good news is that this allows the Cowboys to find a veteran and Zimmer becomes the favorite to become the new defensive coordinator. Whitt probably would’ve run the same scheme for Dallas either way so a new start would be best.
A change in the coaching philosophy was overdue. All the pieces are coming together in Washington in their coaching staff. They can focus on the upcoming free agency and NFL Draft.
What’s Next for the Commanders?
The next step would obviously be the free agency, but Quinn and his staff are strategizing to put responsibility in place. There are plenty of pending free agents that Whitt could look into. Edge rushers like Danielle Hunter and Jadeveon Clowney. After losing Josh Allen and Chase Young, these could be the replacements. They do have the draft, too, to find their next franchise defensive player.
However, there could be a guarantee that the Commander’s defense gets stronger under Whitt. It looks young now, but once they make some moves then that can change.
