Kliff Kingsbury stayed off the 2025 HC carousel, preferring to ride the momentum he built for steering Jayden Daniels‘ Offensive Rookie of the Year season. A year later, the Commanders have nosedived. Changes are expected.
As we have discussed a few times, this year’s HC talent pool features more defense-based candidates. That should give Kingsbury an opportunity to potentially return to the HC level despite being tied to a losing team. The Titans are believed to be interested in Kingsbury, whom JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington believes has a “real shot” of landing that job.
But Kingsbury also may find himself in a highly unusual position: a candidate for HC jobs elsewhere but not certain to retain his own position. A disconnect has developed between Kingsbury and Commanders GM Adam Peters, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
Although the Commanders are still expected to retain Kingsbury — in the event he does not land a top coaching job elsewhere — that is certainly notable as a rough season concludes. This comes as rather surprising given the push the Commanders made to dissuade Kingsbury from taking the Raiders’ OC job in 2024.
The 2024 Commanders made one of the most surprising trips to the conference championship game in NFL history. Daniels flashed superstar potential as a rookie, and Kingsbury — who has spoken of wanting another HC shot — was content to stay paired with the rising talent. A three-injury 2025 season for Daniels stonewalled the Commanders’ momentum, and an aging roster will require many changes. It would surprise if the Commanders greenlit a play-caller change considering how much Daniels achieved when last healthy for an extended stretch, but any friction between Kingsbury and the front office could make him more eager to explore opportunities this year.
The Titans have been closely connected to Matt Nagy, who joins Kingsbury as a second-chance candidate with an offensive background. Nagy also worked with Titans GM Mike Borgonzi. Kingsbury has no such tie, but he did appear on many teams’ HC radars after Washington ranked fifth in scoring an seventh total yardage in 2024. With Daniels largely out of the mix this season, the Commanders have sunk to 25th and 21st in those categories. Kingsbury, 46, did not conduct any HC interviews last year. That might change in 2026, as he has also been tied to the Giants’ HC position.
Elsewhere on the Commanders’ staff, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero note Joe Whitt Jr. is likely to be removed from this DC post. We heard last month this was the expected course of action. With Dan Quinn stripping his longtime coworker of play-calling duties, it appeared Whitt — as is the case with Lions OC John Morton after he lost his call sheet — was a clear firing candidate at season’s end.