The Commanders have moved quickly to fill their passing game coordinator role, promoting tight ends coach David Raih into that position, and they have replaced Raih’s old gig by hiring Ben Steele for that role.
Raih replaces Brian Johnson, who left to join Kliff Kingsbury on Sean McVay’s staff with the Rams after both he and Johnson were interviewed to replace Kingsbury as offensive coordinator, the job that eventually went to then-quarterbacks coac David Blough.
Raih has been on the Commanders’ staff the entire Dan Quinn era and also was an assistant in Arizona when Blough was a quarterback there, so the duo have a lot of familiarity.
The 45-year-old is entering his 11th season coaching in the NFL and 18th overall, and he has served as a tight ends coach, wide receivers coach (his role in Arizona), and offensive line coach in the NFL, and as a quarterbacks coach in college, so he is familiar coaching all facets of the offense.
As for Steele, he comes to DC after spending the last three years as a tight ends coach in Arizona, where he mentored Trey McBride’s breakout into one of the best in the league.
Steele played TE in the NFL, appearing in 17 games for Green Bay in 2004-05, and he has familiarity with Dan Quinn, as he was an offensive assistant in Atlanta in 2019 and the tight ends coach there in 2020 under Quinn.
Steele has also coached with the Vikings, Broncos, and Buccaneers in his NFL career, and enters his 19th season overall after beginning his journey as an offensive assistant at alma mater Mesa State in 2008
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