The Washington Commanders are making a change to their coaching staff, but it’s not the one fans in the nation’s capital expected.
At 1-4-1, the Commanders find themselves in last place in the NFC East. After having an inexplicable tie in Week 5 against the Giants, they suffered a 23-17 loss to the 49ers on “Monday Night Football.” Their defense has really struggled, giving up nearly 600 passing yards in just the past two games alone.
Since the Commanders are entering their bye week, Dan Quinn has decided to add some experience to his coaching staff.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Commanders are hiring Steve Wilks to work with defensive coordinator Daronte Jones. Apparently, this decision was in the works well before the Commanders lost Monday night.
“The decision to hire Wilks was made last month. He started last week,” Garafolo said. “Wilks will help with game planning. He won’t be with the team on game days.”
Wilks, 57, has coached for the Bears, Chargers, Panthers, Cardinals, Browns, 49ers and Jets over the past two decades. The hope is that he’ll at least stabilize the back end of Washington’s defense.
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What about Dan Quinn?
Quinn had an exceptional first year with the Commanders, leading them to a 12-5 record and appearance in the NFC Championship Game. Unfortunately for the veteran coach, it’s been all downhill since 2024.
After an underwhelming 2025 season where the Commanders went 5-12, there was some hope that Quinn would lead the franchise back to the playoffs this year. While that’s still on the table in the winnable NFC East, he needs to turn things around in a hurry.
That being said, Washington isn’t expected to fire Quinn mid-season.
“It’s clear he did not lose the locker room. Josh Harris doesn’t like firing a coach mid-season,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said. “It seems like based on this effort on the field, Dan Quinn is going to stick around the foreseeable future. The long-term future is still in question.”
