Washington altered its coaching staff and on-field approach this offseason after dropping from a 12-5 record in 2024 and reaching the NFC Championship Game to a 5-12 mark the following year, a stretch that left the team with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2026 draft, according to ESPN. Injuries affected the offense in 2025, with quarterback Jayden Daniels and receiver Terry McLaurin among those who missed multiple games.
Entering his third season, coach Dan Quinn has emphasized the need for change while the organization has not publicly declared him on a hot seat. Quinn said the required adjustments are difficult and have heightened the sense of urgency, and he described an increased energy within the staff as the team moves forward.
The largest moves were on the coordinator level. Washington dismissed defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. and parted ways with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. The team hired Daronte Jones as defensive coordinator — his first NFL coordinator job — and promoted David Blough to offensive coordinator after two seasons as an assistant quarterbacks coach and five years as an NFL player. Quinn said the coaching group has shown strong focus and collaboration early in the process.
Philosophical shifts are accompanying the staff changes. The defense will sometimes use a 3-4 front and will play considerably more zone than in recent seasons. Offensively, the team has moved away from the near-constant no-huddle approach used under Kingsbury toward what guard Sam Cosmi described as a more “traditional NFL offense.” Washington ran 1,279 no-huddle plays under Kingsbury — 815 more than the next team — and Blough told ESPN this offseason the plan is to use no-huddle roughly 20% of the time.
Practices open to the media have shown more snaps from under center and a return to play-action concepts. Jones brings experience from three years working under Brian Flores in Minnesota and has also worked with coaches such as Vance Joseph, Marvin Lewis and Mike Zimmer; the precise look Washington’s defense will take under Jones remains to be seen.
