{"id":707672,"date":"2026-01-27T00:54:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T00:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/707672\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T00:54:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T00:54:21","slug":"who-will-be-the-new-defensive-coordinator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/707672\/","title":{"rendered":"Who will be the new defensive coordinator?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jan. 26, 2026, 5:31 a.m. ET<\/p>\n

Sunday was a big day in the Washington Commanders<\/a>‘ search for a new defensive coordinator. Two of the candidates Washington interviewed for the position, landed elsewhere in the same role.<\/p>\n

First, it was former Arizona Cardinals<\/a> coach Jonathan Gannon. The Green Bay Packers hired Gannon<\/a> to replace Jeff Hafley. In the NFC East, recently hired New York Giants<\/a> head coach John Harbaugh chose Dennard Wilson to be his new defensive coordinator<\/a>. Both were interviewed early in Washington’s search to replace Joe Whitt Jr.<\/p>\n

We also learned that Washington interviewed Minnesota Vikings<\/a> defensive pass game coordinator Daronte Jones<\/a>. That means the Commanders<\/a> have now interviewed nine known candidates, with three of those candidates off the market. Brian Flores also interviewed but chose to return to Minnesota.<\/p>\n

So, what does that mean for Washington’s search? Could the Commanders already have their guy?<\/p>\n

If that’s the case, two names stand out: former Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris and Seattle Seahawks<\/a> passing game coordinator\/defensive backs coach Karl Scott. Morris, who has extremely close ties to head coach Dan Quinn, is still a contender for the Cardinals’ head coaching position. He was recently fired as Atlanta’s head coach and will likely receive multiple offers to serve as a defensive coordinator. He is also weighing a media career, at least for 2026.<\/p>\n

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n

As for Scott, well, he’s still coaching. The Commanders interviewed Scott<\/a>, likely via Zoom, but on Sunday, the Seahawks advanced to the Super Bowl. If he’s the guy, Washington must wait two more weeks before it can hire him. This week, Washington can interview Scott in-person, but cannot yet hire him, if the two sides agree to work together.<\/p>\n

Both of these are plausible scenarios. Among the candidates Washington interviewed, Scott was the most intriguing outside of Flores. The only problem, and it may not be a problem for Quinn, is that he would be a first-time play-caller, just like new offensive coordinator David Blough. Is that something Quinn wants to do going into a make-or-break year?<\/p>\n

Blough and Scott are viewed as future coaching stars. And while Scott doesn’t have play-calling experience, he can lean on Quinn. Quinn was considered one of the NFL’s best defensive coordinators before coming to Washington.<\/p>\n

While both scenarios seem possible, here’s something else to consider. The Commanders have expanded their search this weekend. In addition to Jones, Washington also interviewed Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin<\/a> on Friday. Why would they be expanding the search if they have already identified their guy?<\/p>\n

Washington could be expanding its search because, even if Morris or Scott appears to be the choice, it’s never a done deal until there is a signed contract. Maybe the Commanders are keeping their options open until a contract is signed.<\/p>\n

Here’s one thing we do know: if Washington doesn’t have a new defensive coordinator by the end of the week, there’s a good chance their guy is still coaching. The only candidate the Commanders have interviewed who is still coaching is Scott.<\/p>\n

Stay tuned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jan. 26, 2026, 5:31 a.m. ET Sunday was a big day in the Washington Commanders‘ search for a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":707673,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2069],"tags":[95878,427,7,6,95993,95994,95882,95890,96243,95976,95988,95891,97021,95888,95895,95899,95977,95884,95883,96006,95881,855,111,2480],"class_list":{"0":"post-707672","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-commanders","8":"tag-accessfree","9":"tag-commanders","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-sstssportsnflcommanders","13":"tag-sstsncommanders","14":"tag-tagamerican-football","15":"tag-tagarizona-cardinals","16":"tag-tagdan-quinn","17":"tag-taggreen-bay-packers","18":"tag-tagminnesota-vikings","19":"tag-tagnew-york-giants","20":"tag-tagnfc-east","21":"tag-tagnfl","22":"tag-tagnfl-hub","23":"tag-tagoverall-neutral","24":"tag-tagseattle-seahawks","25":"tag-tagsports-coaching-training","26":"tag-tagsports-news","27":"tag-tagwashington-commanders","28":"tag-typestory","29":"tag-washington","30":"tag-washington-commanders","31":"tag-washingtoncommanders"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115964337532282275","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=707672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/707673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=707672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=707672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=707672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}