Jan. 19, 2026, 5:02 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
The Washington Commanders<\/a> have a new offensive line coach. Over the weekend, ESPN’s John Keim speculated on his podcast, the “John Keim Report<\/a>,” that the Commanders really liked assistant offensive line coach<\/a> Darnell Stapleton. On Monday, Washington promoted Stapleton to offensive line coach.<\/p>\n The Commanders<\/a> fired offensive line coach Bobby Johnson on January 6 after two seasons with the team. Johnson was fired on the same day that Washington fired defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr.<\/a> and mutually parted ways with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury<\/a>.<\/p>\n Stapleton played collegiately at Rutgers before going undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft. He spent three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, earning a Super Bowl in 2008, when he started at guard. Stapleton’s NFL career ended in 2010, and he quickly turned to coaching, becoming a high school head coach in 2011.<\/p>\n In 2013, he joined Rutgers as a graduate assistant, then landed at Bucknell in 2014 as the offensive line coach for four seasons. Over the next four years, Stapleton was the offensive line coach at both Sam Houston State and Louisiana before joining the Florida Gators in 2022. He was Florida’s offensive line coach for two seasons before coming to Washington as Johnson’s assistant in 2024.<\/p>\n Per Keim, the Commanders love Stapleton’s ability to develop players. Washington’s offensive line is one of the team’s strengths, anchored by left tackle Laremy Tunsil. The Commanders used a first-round pick on right tackle, Josh Conerly Jr., in 2024. Despite struggling early, Conerly drastically improved during the season’s second half.<\/p>\n