Jan. 13, 2026, 11:08 a.m. ET
The Washington Commanders may not be looking for a new head coach, but they are looking for other coaches after firing Kliff Kingsbury, Bobby Johnson, and Joe Whitt. To that end, they’ve requested an interview with the Atlanta Falcons’ quarterbacks coach, D.J. Williams.
Williams is the son of Washington legend Doug Williams.
Doug Williams was the first black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl, doing so with the (then) Redskins, earning Super Bowl MVP honors after throwing four touchdowns in a single quarter. Williams is still with the Commanders‘ organization as a senior advisor.
D.J. Williams began his coaching career in 2017, when he worked with the New Orleans Saints during training camp. In 2018, he worked with the team’s coaches and football operations department. He was named a Saints’ offensive assistant in 2019 and remained in that role until 2023. Like his father, D.J. Williams played quarterback at Grambling State.
After parting ways with Kingsbury, Washington promoted David Blough from assistant quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator. So, the Commanders may need to hire a quarterbacks coach and an assistant quarterbacks coach. Tavita Pritchard, Washington’s quarterbacks coach for the past three seasons, left in December to take over as Stanford’s head coach.
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The Commanders also requested an interview with Panthers assistant quarterbacks coach Mike Bercovici for the QB coach position. Bercovici was a graduate assistant at Arizona State in 2019 when Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was a freshman starter.
Williams joined the Atlanta Falcons in 2024 as the assistant quarterbacks coach and was promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2025, helping to develop Michael Penix Jr. in his second season.