Getty
The Commanders recently fired Ryan Kerrigan, Sharrif Floyd, and Pete Ohnegian
After making it all the way to the NFC Championship Game in 2024, the Washington Commanders had some heightened expectations entering the 2025 campaign. Thanks to a barrage of injuries, though, the Commanders missed the playoffs entirely, and it’s safe to say they put together one of the more disappointing seasons across the league.
While the team’s injury situation certainly wasn’t great, head coach Dan Quinn isn’t using that as an excuse for Washington’s struggles. He had made several eye-opening changes to his coaching staff early in the offseason, and that continued this week, as the team recently announced news regarding Ryan Kerrigan, Sharrif Floyd, and Pete Ohnegian.
Commanders Fire Three More Defensive Coaches
#Commanders move on from Ryan Kerrigan, Sharrif Floyd, Pete Ohnegian, per league source
Kerrigan, Floyd, and Ohnegian all worked on the defensive side of the ball in various roles. Kerrigan, who is known best for his 10-year stint with Washington as a star defensive lineman, worked as the team’s assistant linebackers coach and pass rush specialist. Floyd was the Commanders’ assistant defensive line coach, while Ohnegian followed Quinn from the Dallas Cowboys to Washington, serving as a defensive quality control coach.
Again, while injuries hampered the Commanders, that doesn’t explain their poor performance on both sides of the ball in 2025. This was particularly true on defense, as Washington could not buy stops, even when its offense was moving the ball. Things should be better if Jayden Daniels can stay healthy in 2026, but the defense has some serious holes that need to be fixed.
That starts with the coaching staff, which was not up to par in Quinn’s eyes, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Even though the offseason is a couple of weeks old, Quinn is still making changes to his coaching staff, as he opted to fire Kerrigan, Floyd, and Ohnegian ahead of the upcoming campaign.
“Commanders move on from Ryan Kerrigan, Sharrif Floyd, Pete Ohnegian, per league source,” Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reported in a post on X.
Commanders Looking to Switch Things Up in 2026
GettyWashington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn during a December 20, 2025 game.
After enjoying such a successful season in 2024, it’s fair to wonder if Quinn feels like he was complacent last offseason. His moves in the early going indicate as much, as he’s been working hard to completely revamp his coaching staff. That’s resulted in some surprising departures, and it’s safe to say that at least Kerrigan and Ohnegian’s firings fall in that category, as did the decision to move on from offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
With all these guys gone, it creates more openings that Quinn is going to have to immediately work on filling. Quinn has moved with a sense of urgency to begin the offseason, though, and that should carry over to his work in finding new faces to fill out his defensive coaching staff. It’s an important offseason for Washington, and how Quinn builds out the rest of his staff will play a big role in determining whether or not this team can return to the postseason in 2026.
Owen Crisafulli Owen Crisafulli is a Breaking News Writer at Heavy. In addition to writing for Heavy, Owen works as a Content Producer for More Views Media. His work has also appeared on ClutchPoints, The Sporting News, Athlon Sports, Basketball Network, and FanSided, where he shared his insights on a variety of sports topics primarily surrounding the NFL, NBA, and MLB. More about Owen Crisafulli
More Heavy on Commanders
Loading more stories