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The Commanders have hired LSU Tigers safeties coach Jake Olsen to join their staff
The Washington Commanders have proven early on this offseason that they are not happy with how the 2025 campaign unfolded. After missing the playoffs entirely, head coach Dan Quinn has quickly worked on revamping his coaching staff, and it looks like the final pieces are beginning to come together.
Quinn fired both his offensive coordinator, Kliff Kingsbury, and defensive coordinator, Joe Whitt Jr., opting to hire David Blough and Daronte Jones to replace them, respectively. The staff on the defensive side of the ball is still coming together, and it looks like former LSU Tigers safeties coach Jake Olsen has become the latest guy to get hired by Washington.
Commanders Hire Jake Olsen to Fill Defensive Assistant Role
The #Commanders are expected to hire LSU safeties coach Jake Olsen, sources tell @CBSSports.
Has worked at LSU the last two seasons and helped the Tigers finish this past season ranked top 25 nationally in scoring defense.
Jones put himself on Quinn’s radar for his work with the Minnesota Vikings, where he served as their defensive backs coach and defensive pass game coordinator for the past three seasons. Prior to his time with the Vikings, Jones was LSU’s defensive coordinator in 2021, so while this is his first stint as a defensive coordinator in the NFL, he has experience working in the same role for a high-profile school in the world of college football.
One guy who Jones worked with during his time at LSU was Olsen. After spending the 2021 season working as an analyst for the Tigers, Olsen found his way to the Missouri Tigers for two years, where he worked as a linebackers coach. He returned to LSU in 2024, where he has spent the past two seasons working as their safeties coach.
Now that Jones has earned another defensive coordinator job, he quickly began to look for guys he previously worked with to come join him on his staff. That led him to Olsen, as the two former LSU coaches will reunite with each other in Washington, as Olsen will reportedly be joining Jones’ staff in an unknown defensive role.
“The Commanders are expected to hire LSU safeties coach Jake Olsen, sources tell CBS Sports,” Matt Zenitz reported in a post on X. “Has worked at LSU the last two seasons and helped the Tigers finish this past season ranked top 25 nationally in scoring defense.”
Commanders’ Coaching Staff Getting Stronger Early in the Offseason
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JANUARY 04: Head coach Dan Quinn of the Washington Commanders looks on after the game agains the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on January 04, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Quinn’s decision to move on from both Kingsbury and Whitt was risky, but after laboring through the 2025 season, he clearly felt that changes needed to be made. While Quinn could have lamented the team’s poor luck in the injury department, he’s decided to be proactive and make some risky moves, but the early returns on his new coaching staff are encouraging.
There’s still some work to be done when it comes to finalizing Quinn’s coaching staff, but the pieces are beginning to come together. Once that is finished, the team will turn its attention to free agency, where the front office will be tasked with finding a way to surround star quarterback Jayden Daniels with more talent. If that can be done, Washington will be in a good position to post a bounce-back campaign 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
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