Jan. 19, 2026, 5:02 p.m. ET
The Washington Commanders have a new offensive line coach. Over the weekend, ESPN’s John Keim speculated on his podcast, the “John Keim Report,” that the Commanders really liked assistant offensive line coach Darnell Stapleton. On Monday, Washington promoted Stapleton to offensive line coach.
The Commanders fired offensive line coach Bobby Johnson on January 6 after two seasons with the team. Johnson was fired on the same day that Washington fired defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. and mutually parted ways with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
Stapleton played collegiately at Rutgers before going undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft. He spent three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, earning a Super Bowl in 2008, when he started at guard. Stapleton’s NFL career ended in 2010, and he quickly turned to coaching, becoming a high school head coach in 2011.
In 2013, he joined Rutgers as a graduate assistant, then landed at Bucknell in 2014 as the offensive line coach for four seasons. Over the next four years, Stapleton was the offensive line coach at both Sam Houston State and Louisiana before joining the Florida Gators in 2022. He was Florida’s offensive line coach for two seasons before coming to Washington as Johnson’s assistant in 2024.
Per Keim, the Commanders love Stapleton’s ability to develop players. Washington’s offensive line is one of the team’s strengths, anchored by left tackle Laremy Tunsil. The Commanders used a first-round pick on right tackle, Josh Conerly Jr., in 2024. Despite struggling early, Conerly drastically improved during the season’s second half.
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Washington is set at right guard (Sam Cosmi) and center (Tyler Biadasz). Left guard Chris Paul is an unrestricted free agent. The Commanders could re-sign Paul or give Brandon Coleman another chance at left guard. Coleman, who started at left tackle in his 2024 rookie season, began 2025 as the starter at left guard before being replaced by Paul. Coleman finished the season back at tackle, starting for Tunsil in the final three games. Coleman played well when he was back at tackle.
The Commanders also promoted Shane Toub from offensive quality control assistant to assistant offensive line coach.
Washington promoted assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough to offensive coordinator to replace Kingsbury. Blough and Stapleton reportedly have a strong rapport.