ASHBURN, Va. (7News) — Midway through Washington Commanders training camp, defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. spoke with the media about how his unit is progressing.
He spoke highly of the defense as he approaches Year 2 in D.C., and he also shared insight into his new coaching mindset:
Let’s do what’s right, don’t necessarily be right.
Whitt said he’s allowing his defensive coaches actually to coach more.
“As coaches, you think you have all the answers all the time,” Whitt said. “I’m being very cautious to listen to everybody and make sure I’m doing what’s right, not necessarily trying to prove that I am right.”
Whitt returns after a season where the defense improved throughout the entire season, culminating in the NFC Championship game.
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After implementing his schemes and detailing them in the meeting room, Whitt said he’s giving his position coaches more freedom, allowing them to utilize players how they feel is best, in addition to calling plays in the right situations.
Whitt also spoke about the traits he’s emphasizing in camp.
“We talk about mind speed. If we can think fast, we can play fast,” he said.
“We go hard,” Whitt said. “One thing I would say is everybody in that defensive room lives that way, for real. In the past there might’ve been some resistors. There’s nobody — I mean, everybody gets down the way that we want to get down right now. That’s fun.”