Jan. 24, 2026, 4:23 a.m. ET

Just yesterday, we were talking about Joe Cullen as a possibility for the Washington Commanders as their next defensive coordinator.

Thursday, Commanders Wire profiled Cullen and his journey from coaching college defenses to the NFL as a defensive line coach and defensive coordinator.

On Friday, it was reported that the Baltimore Ravens have interviewed Cullen for their defensive coordinator position. The current Kansas City Chiefs defensive line coach has coached in many places, taking on numerous challenges. But as we showed yesterday, he may have conquered his greatest challenge, alcoholism. Cullen, after embarrassing incidents, began going to Alcoholics Anonymous and has been sober since 2006. Twenty years without a drink, and his career has continued growing, and now he is being considered again for an NFL defensive coordinator job.

What does this mean for the Commanders? Simply put, it means if Cullen is offered the Ravens defensive coordinator position, wouldn’t he certainly jump at that opportunity over the Commanders? For Cullen, it would be an opportunity to coach a defensive roster that is much superior to the Commanders. In addition, if Cullen liked the Baltimore area, he could return to the area where he spent five seasons (2016-2020) coaching the Ravens defensive line.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins recently interviewed Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard, which could have created yet another DC opening. Sheppard, an NFL linebacker for eight seasons, played two years with Miami (2014-15). Ultimately, the Dolphins settled on Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley as their new head coach. Speaking of the Packers, that is a much more attractive position than Washington’s is currently.

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How about the Cowboys hiring one from a divisional rival? They hired first-time defensive coordinator Christian Parker (age 34) as their new DC. Parker had been with the Eagles as their defensive passing game coordinator the past two seasons. At this point, one wonders, seeing Al Harris was with Dan Quinn in Dallas coaching the secondary, how come the Cowboys did not want Harris as their defensive coordinator?

How long will it take before the Commanders get someone to agree to come be their defensive coordinator?