With a glaring vacancy at defensive coordinator, important roster decisions, and a slew of impending free agents, what exactly are the Washington Commanders planning?
“As we’re getting rolling [with the offseason], I think as the season’s over, a lot of [people] would say, ‘Alright, now what now?’ head coach Dan Quinn said the Monday after the Commanders’ season came to an end. “And for [general manager Adam Peters] and I, we would say, ‘Man, it’s just the beginning. We got a lot of work to do.’”
“Just to echo what DQ said, I mean, this season was a disappointment in a lot of ways and certainly didn’t meet our standards,” Peters added. “And you know, we’re going to do everything we can to not let that happen again. And that starts today with this offseason.”
Those were a few of the final words publicly uttered by the Commanders’ leadership during their season-ending press conference on Jan. 5, 2026.
Only three weeks have passed since. there’s a long runway ahead, but the general tenor hasn’t matched the fervor a 5-12 campaign demanded.
The Blough gamble and what’s next
It only took four days after Quinn and Peters’ press conference for the Commanders to promote 31-year-old David Blough to offensive coordinator, replacing the outgoing Kliff Kingbury.
Blough, who was on an NFL roster as a player in 2023, only carries two years of coaching experience, both as the Commanders’ assistant quarterback coach. He was highly regarded around the league and an obvious candidate to become “the next Sean McVay,” the youthful offensive savant that every franchise dreams of finding.
Multiple reports from Commanders insiders indicated the team wanted to complement the youthful and inexperienced Blough with a well-traveled and proven defensive coordinator. That was likely due to the task that lay ahead, which included salvaging the usable parts and mostly rebuilding a defense that posted the third-worst EPA per play over the last two seasons.
The general belief was that the team would spend more time identifying the next leader of their defense, while still handling the process earnestly. Yet here they are entering the fourth week of their offseason with nine interviews and zero hires under their belt.
At the time of writing, defensive coordinator interviews have been conducted with:
- Teryl Austin
- Joe Cullen
- Brian Flores
- Jonathan Gannon
- Patrick Graham
- Al Harris
- Daronte Jones
- Karl Scott
- Dennard Wilson
The team also held a strong interest in Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich and has its eyes on ex-Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, who could go to the television booth if he doesn’t land a new head coaching job.
That’s 11 interviews and hopeful targets on the list. On one hand, it is certainly a comprehensive search, but on the other, it suggests the team lacks clear direction.
Who will be the Commanders next defensive coordinator?
This could all come to nothing if the team hires Karl Scott, the Seattle Seahawks’ passing game coordinator. Scott already interviewed for the job and can participate in a second interview until Feb. 1, but he cannot be hired until the day after the Super Bowl (Feb. 9).
Any assumptions could also prove to be premature if Morris eschews the booth and winds up in D.C. That timeline could be sped up now that the Los Angeles Rams’ season is done, and their offensive coordinator, Mike LaFleur, can turn his attention to his Arizona Cardinals head coaching candidacy—one of the few spots where Morris has a realistic shot.
Regardless, the Commanders’ persistence in continuing to interview new candidates indicates several possibilities: first, they aren’t sold on their candidates; second, they are worried they will be rejected; third, they are preparing contingencies; and finally, they are directionless.
The first possibility would be troubling if it were true. The team had since Joe Whitt Jr. was removed from play-calling duties on Nov. 10 to begin assembling a list of possible replacements, and they would have squandered that head start.
The second might hold merit. Three of their candidates, Flores, Gannon and Wilson, already agreed to positions with different teams.
The third would be intelligent, but equally disheartening. The team was turned down by top head coaching candidates such as Ben Johnson and Mike MacDonald during the 2024 coaching cycle, and they need a defensive mind that puts them on an even playing field with the best play-callers in the NFL.
The fourth possibility? That speaks for itself. It’s a reality that fans of the Washington franchise have known for decades under deplorable management and ownership, both of which were expected to dissipate when the new regime was handed the reins.
The $28 million Daron Payne dilemma
The NFL free agency period doesn’t open until the evening of March 11. However, Commanders reporter Ben Standig already provided information on the team’s plans for their most expensive player in 2026.
According to Standig, the front office’s early conversations with defensive tackle and 2022 Pro Bowler Daron Payne have centered on him playing the final year of his contract without an extension or restructuring.
Any decision about Daron Payne’s future isn’t about one season. It’s about peak vs. baseline. What Washington can realistically replace right now.
Inside the Commanders approach with the rugged defender, his significant salary cap charge and roster math.https://t.co/Ts4Kt3jP6i pic.twitter.com/gkuybPjE7l
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) January 26, 2026
Payne, who will turn 29 in May, is entering the final year of a four-year, $90 million deal that activated in 2023. He’ll make $16.4 million in base salary and carries a $28 million cap hit. The Commanders would save $16.8 million and pay $11.2 million in dead cap if they traded or signed him before June 1.
Payne finished the 2025 campaign with 46 tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble. That marked the second-fewest tackles of his career and his fewest sacks since 2020, his third year in the NFL.
Pro Football Focus’ (PFF) grades are to be taken with a grain of salt, but Payne ranked 58th of 129 qualified defensive tackles—totally unremarkable for a player taking home his game checks.
Payne is on the 10th-largest contract on a per-year basis among all defensive tackles at $22.5 million annually. For comparison, PFF ranked the players who make more than Payne:
- 31st
- 26th
- 46th
- 90th
- 18th
- 2nd
- 3rd
- 15th
Note: Nnamdi Madubuike has the fourth-most-expensive contract among defensive tackles, but he only played two games before he was lost to an injury.
The rankings show that Payne had the second-worst season of all DTs in the top 10 for contract value, only behind the Detroit Lions’ Alim McNeil. He was also well below the mean (28.9) and median (20.5).
The players with the 11th- and 12th-highest contracts, Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams, also ranked 11th and 12th on PFF, perfectly mirroring their salaries.
Losing Payne would create another hole on a Swiss cheese defense that was encumbered by injuries, a lack of chemistry, and constant changes in personnel. However, his play wasn’t in the same ballpark as his contract value during two seasons in the Dan Quinn era.
Running it back with Payne under the status quo would be banking on him producing another career year during a contract season just the same way he did in 2022, when he tallied a career-high 11.5 sacks.
It would also take away upward of $16 million in cap space and the draft pick or player compensation that would be received in a potential trade, while running out his deal would presumably result in him hitting the free agency market without receiving a commodity in return.
The window is… where?
The sun has only just risen on the Commanders’ offseason, but every decision is crucial.
The New England Patriots and the Seahawks, the competitors in Super Bowl LX, ranked first and fourth in contract value awarded during the 2025 free agency period, showing the championship contention is never too far away. The Commanders are also entering year three of Jayden Daniels’ rookie contract window, which are the most valuable years he will ever have in the NFL relative to his contract burden.
An elite defensive coordinator, a fruitful resolution to Payne’s contract, an intelligent draft, and an effective free-agency period are all on the menu for the Commanders if they want to reach the heights they did just one year ago… but that’s not going to just be handed to them.
