The Washington Commanders’ honeymoon phase is officially over. Following a dismal 5-12 season, the organization has been rocked by reports of major disagreements between head coach Dan Quinn and the front office. Reason? Direction of the coaching staff and personnel control. 

“Sources: Part of the issue the Commanders have had in the building is the front office meddling with the coaching staff on personnel and which players to use,” revealed NFL insider Jordan Schultz. 

And it’s not something new. There has been disagreement since 2024, even though the season was quite successful. 

Despite reaching the NFC Championship Game that year, disagreements over player usage were already simmering behind the scenes. This season, that frustration boiled over as the team’s performance fell off a cliff. They couldn’t string together a single winning streak and suffered a demoralizing eight-game losing streak that only ended in Week 15. 

As the season concluded, the Commanders have already begun cleaning the house. General Manager Adam Peters has parted ways with Kliff Kingsbury (OC) and Joe Whitt Jr. (DC). Interestingly, this move was supposedly made against the head coach’s will. Schultz added that he did not get the impression that Quinn actually wanted to move on from his coordinators. 

“The entire disconnect is one to watch as we head into 2026. ‘There’s a lot of shit going on there,’ a source said,” added Schultz. 

Peters seems to have acted on his own due to the sheer lack of results by Quinn’s coordinators. Whitt Jr.’s unit allowed the most yards in the NFL this season. Things went so out of control that the head coach actually took over defensive play-calling himself for the final seven games. Then, Kingsbury’s unit turned out to be even a bigger disaster, finishing 22nd in the league. The run game didn’t give a chance to complain, but the passing attack sank the entire ship. 

Kingsbury’s exit is not entirely a surprise for those keeping tabs on GM Peters. He apparently disconnected himself from the offensive coordinator, as per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.

With the coordinators gone, the Commanders’ front office’s next big concern is fixing the roster. Peters is already looking toward the 2026 NFL Draft, holding the No. 7 overall pick, and the Commanders are desperate for defensive talent. 

“A lot of spots we can look at… certainly another pass rusher,” said Peters, via John Keim of ESPN. 

While there aren’t many appealing names, Peters might go after names like Reuben Bain Jr. from Miami and David Bailey from Texas Tech. 

Washington saw a dramatic drop, going from the NFC Championship game to a 5-12 record this season. It rarely happens without a total internal breakdown. That’s what happened in Washington. Injury plague hit them in Week 2, taking down Austin Ekeler, defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr., and Jayden Daniels. 

The second-year quarterback was majorly affected by the injuries, sustaining multiple before making a home on the Injury Reserve for the remaining season in Week 14. This plague disrupted the consistency and execution in key moments for the team, which had almost reached the Super Bowl doors a season before. However, Daniels isn’t in sync with Peters’ latest move. 

Jayden Daniels upset with Kliff Kingsbury’s firing

While head coach Quinn hasn’t made any comments on the firing of his coordinators, star quarterback Daniels refused to stay quiet. The 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year is reportedly “disappointed” with Kingsbury’s firing, which he didn’t see coming. Sources say the locker room was only expecting Kingsbury to leave if gets a head coach offer from somewhere else. 

“I love working with Kliff,” Daniels told reporters just a day before the firing. “Me and him have a special relationship. We have kind of built that over the past two years.” 

Daniels’ early success that led the Commanders to the NFC Championship game and earned him OROY was inextricably linked to Kingsbury’s system. Without missing a single game, he finished with an impressive passer rating of 100.1 with 3,568 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. Firing the coach his star quarterback trusts most, Peters might have taken a massive gamble. 

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