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The Athletic (paywall)
Commanders stay in house for offensive line coach as staff takes shape: Source
The team promoted Darnell Stapleton to offensive line coach in place of Bobby Johnson, who was fired after the season, according to a source with knowledge of the Commanders’ staff changes. To fill Stapleton’s old role as the assistant OL coach, the Commanders promoted quality control coach Shane Toub.
[S]ince Whitt was stripped of his play-calling duties earlier in the season, [t]he team has interviewed six candidates — Seattle Seahawks DBs coach Karl Scott, Kansas City Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen, Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, former Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson and Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores — to replace [him], but it has yet to make a hire.
Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)
Breaking down what Darnell Stapleton’s promotion to OL coach could mean for the Commanders run game
Stapleton is more experienced than Blough, having coached a lot in college. He was the offensive line coach at Florida before joining the Commanders in 2024
It’s not all risk though, there are benefits to promoting Stapleton. He has a rapport with the current set of offensive lineman already, who are largely going to remain the same this offseason. He also supposedly has a good relationship with David Blough, with the Commanders seemingly briefing the media that the pair share an aligned vision for the offense and that Stapleton was “heavily involved in pass protection and helped with game planning” over the past two seasons. Just about every beat reporter had that phrasing in their reports of the news breaking.
The fact they mention pass protection and game planning, but not the run game is of note to me. At Florida, Stapleton coached an almost exclusively zone-based run scheme. Over the past two years, the Commanders have used plenty zone scheme runs but lean more on gap scheme runs. When I wrote last week about lessons David Blough can learn from Ben Johnson first year in Chicago with a young quarterback in Caleb Williams, one of the things that stood out was how Johnson streamlined his run game and focused more on zone scheme runs as a foundation, as opposed to the diverse run scheme he had in Detroit previously.
So I think Blough could potentially be lining up to follow that blueprint and Stapleton makes sense for that with his background being coaching the zone scheme.
We’ve seen from the Commanders this season when they do use zone runs, especially from pistol or under center, they’ve been pretty effective with it.
I’m going to split these clips into two sections, based on that Stapleton coaching clinic. Stapleton likes to draw a line down the middle of the center and split zone blocks into front side and back side blocks. So I’ll do the same when looking at these clips to show how well zone running fits the Commanders personnel.
Commanders.com
Commanders 2025 position review | Defensive line
What to do about the depth up front?
Though it didn’t feel like the case during the season because of all the injuries, the Commanders have a decent amount of depth at defensive line. The problem for the 2026 season, however, is for the Commanders to decide who to keep for next season, as nine players are set to hit free agency. [Jacob] Martin might have the strongest case to re-sign with the team, as he ended the year with a career-high 39 tackles and 5.5 sacks when he was originally signed as a depth piece before taking on a larger role.
Players like [Deatrich] Wise and [Von] Miller have seemingly murkier futures, mostly because of age rather than results. Wise was a solid run-stopper before he got hurt, and Miller proved he can still provide value as a pass-rusher despite being one of the oldest active players in the league. It’s possible one or both players re-sign with the Commanders in March, although both head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters have expressed a desire to get younger and fast players on the roster. Peters even went as far as specifying that getting a younger pass-rusher was on his mind.
A quick count of the players [currently] on either the active roster, practice squad or signed to future deals shows that there are 19 defensive linemen for the Commanders to choose from [many of whom are on tract to enter free agency in March]. There are some foundational pieces in the group, but changes are certainly coming for a team that wants to improve at putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Riggo’s Rag
Sean McDermott firing could improve Commanders’ chances of landing Brian Flores
This could also indirectly impact the Washington Commanders. They are not firing Dan Quinn — not yet, anyway. He generated too much equity in 2024 for that, but parting ways with both coordinators indicates how the pressure is building.
David Blough was the man chosen to replace outgoing offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. It’s a contentious in-house promotion with feast-or-famine potential. Washington’s search for a new defensive coordinator is ongoing, and Quinn is seeking an experienced play-caller. If they’ve been a head coach before, that only sweetens the pot.
McDermott got the job in Buffalo after steering the Carolina Panthers’ defense to unprecedented heights. He’d be a possible candidate for Washington if he didn’t want to jump straight back into the top job. However, his presence on the market may help Quinn land another big fish being considered.
The Commanders caused a stir by bringing in Brian Flores for an interview. He’s getting head-coaching interest, and the Minnesota Vikings are also highly confident of keeping him around. However, if McDermott throws his hat into the ring, that could hinder [Flores’ odds] of getting a second chance.
That might work in the Commanders’ favor. They are biding their time, waiting for the head-coaching cycle to shake out before deciding on their next move. Whether that’s waiting for Flores or someone else remains to be seen, but staying patient is a risk Quinn is willing to take to secure the right successor to Joe Whitt Jr.
Commanders Wire
10 most disappointing Commanders from 2025 NFL season
DT Daron Payne
Payne appears to take off plays, then plays hard some plays. He allows numerous runs up the middle, then will suddenly make a nice play. Has Payne even produced enough that another team would be willing to trade a draft pick to take on his contract?
HC Dan Quinn
The Commanders didn’t look intense in preseason. Might Quinn have relaxed, thinking the Commanders were much better than they were? They were undisciplined, having entirely too many penalties this season. Though Whitt was the DC, defense is Quinn’s expertise, and the Commanders’ defense gave up more yards than any team.
Podcasts & videos
HIGHLIGHTS: Top 10 Commanders Plays of 2025 NFL Season
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Big Blue View
NY Giants news: Vikings’ assistant to get defensive coordinator interview
John Harbaugh apparently considering plucking from the Brian Flores’ coaching tree
The New York Giants have requested to interview Minnesota Vikings defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator Daronte Jones for their vacant defensive coordinator position, per ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter.
Jones has already interviewed in-person for the defensive coordinator openings with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets.
Jones, 47, has never been an NFL defensive coordinator. He was defensive coordinator at Bowie State from 2005-2009 and at LSU in 2021.
Jones has been defensive backs coach with the Vikings since 2022, adding pass game coordinator to his title in 2023.
Brian Flores, regarded as one of the NFL’s most creative and aggressive defensive coordinators, has been Minnesota’s defensive coordinator since 2022.
Bleeding Green Nation
Ranking 19 Eagles offensive coordinator candidates by tiers
Category 1: The Proven Adult in the Room
An experienced, lower-risk hire with a clear track record of doing the job competently and raising the floor.
KLIFF KINGSBURY
Former Washington Commanders offensive coordinator
Pros
Kingsbury brings real quarterback development experience and a system that gives QBs defined reads and simplified post-snap decisions. His version of the Air Raid leans on spacing, vertical stress, and RPO elements, which are all areas Hurts is comfortable in from his Oklahoma days. He has helped produce productive seasons from Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield in college, and Jaden Daniels within structures that reduce mental load and allow athletic quarterbacks to play fast. It is also worth noting that Hurts has historically been more comfortable in true shotgun spread looks than under-center timing systems, which aligns more closely with Kingsbury’s DNA. He fits Hurts the best out of anyone on this list.
There is also an upside case that Kingsbury offers the quickest “plug-in” solution to get Hurts back into comfort. His scheme can mitigate Hurts’ slower middle-field processing by creating cleaner perimeter reads and conflict targets. And while his reputation took hits in Arizona, his offenses did not collapse because of a lack of ideas, they often plateaued due to injuries.
Cons
The critique is that Kingsbury tends to arrive with a pre-made system and expects players to adapt to it rather than tailoring it to personnel. His offensive evolution appears average year-to-year and NFL defenses seem to catch up to the system in year 2. Kingsbury reportedly wanted to bring his own staff during the previous Eagles OC interview cycle, which was a non-starter given Jeff Stoutland’s presence and the franchise’s preferences regarding staff autonomy.
His offenses have also shown late-season regression, something fans in Arizona have complained about for years. And unlike other candidates, Kingsbury does not bring a proven track record of hybridizing his scheme with other trees. If the Eagles need answers beyond spread/RPO, those adjustments may not come naturally.
Overall Thoughts
Kingsbury represents real offensive upside, the perfect quarterback fit, but real downside if his system doesn’t evolve. He is arguably the best short-term comfort hire for Hurts, but the least proven long-term builder. The question is whether the Eagles want comfort or reinvention. I have convinced myself that this might be a slam-dunk hire for a year. I’m in.
Bleeding Green Nation
Let’s try to have a nuanced conversation about Jalen Hurts
He’s a complicated player, so let’s talk about it
Let’s get this out of the way right at the top; Jalen Hurts did not have a great 2025 season.
Objectively, it’s a fact. In terms of the traditional numbers, his 98.5 QB rating was 12th out 41 players with at least 150 attempts, he was 16th in passing yards (3,224), tied for 9th in touchdowns (25), his 64.8% completion percentage was 21st, and he tied for 19th in yards per attempt.
The nerd statistics had him at 21st in EPA/Play, 18th in Pass EPA, and a whopping 33rd in success rate. Folks, those numbers are straight-up garbage. Perhaps most surprising for a player whose legs have always been a key aspect to his dynamism, he was 20th in scramble percentage, and his 421 yards on the ground were 6th among QBs. As Ruben Frank noted in an excellent NBC Sports article last week, the offense stumbled in large part because Hurts stopped running with the football this season.
When Hurts ran five times this year, the Eagles were 8-2. When he didn’t, they were 3-4. Throughout his career, they’re 57-24 when he runs five times and 9-12-1 when he doesn’t…
…Hurts was asked numerous times this year why he hasn’t run as much, and he always answered the same way, saying he’s doing what he’s told to do. And the RPO numbers were way down – just 81 RPOs all year compared to 128 last year. And he only ran on 10 of them, compared to 41 last year.
Hurts’ 421 yards rushing were the lowest of his career as a starter, a full 209 yards less than a season ago in which he played one fewer game. He was still successful when he did run (a 53.3% success rate was just a tick under his 55.3% a year ago), but he attempted just 6.6 rushes per game, down from 10.0, 9.2, 11.0 and 9.3 in his first four seasons as a starter.
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ESPN
Sources: Titans finalizing deal to make Robert Saleh coach
The Tennessee Titans are finalizing a deal to hire San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh as their next head coach, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday night.
Saleh, the former New York Jets coach, spent Monday in Tennessee with the Titans, and the sides impressed each other enough to move forward together, sources said.
Tennessee also had completed an in-person interview with Matt Nagy on Monday.
Saleh is set to become the 20th coach in Oilers/Titans history and the seventh since the team moved to Nashville in 1997. He’ll take over a team that fired Brian Callahan in mid-October and finished 3-14 but has a young quarterback in Cam Ward, the No. 1 pick last year.
NFL.com
Dolphins hire Packers DC Jeff Hafley as next head coach
Miami has agreed to terms with Green Bay defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley on a five-year contract to become the team’s next head coach, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported on Monday.
The Dolphins officially announced Hafley’s hiring.
Hafley emerged as a frontrunner for the job over Divisional Round Weekend, a development that made sense roughly a week after the Dolphins had tabbed Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan as their new general manager.
Hafley, 46, spent the past two seasons in charge of Green Bay’s defense. During his first year as DC, his group finished sixth in points allowed and fifth in yards allowed. He then went into the 2025 campaign buoyed by the Packers trading for All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons, but injuries plagued the Packers defense — including Parsons suffering a torn ACL — which faded down the stretch to finish 11th and 12th in points and yards allowed, respectively.
ESPN
Bills fire coach Sean McDermott after 9 seasons, no Super Bowls
McDermott, 51, leaves Buffalo with a 98-50 record and an 8-8 mark in the postseason, including two AFC championship losses to the Kansas City Chiefs (2020, 2024 seasons). He won five consecutive AFC East titles from 2020 to 2024, finishing second at 12-5 behind the New England Patriots this season.
McDermott could emerge as a head coaching candidate for other NFL teams that now have an opening. McDermott told his staff on Monday that he intends to continue coaching, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Beane, who will remain in his role as general manager in addition to taking on increased responsibilities as president of football operations, will lead the team’s search for a new coach as Buffalo prepares to debut a new stadium next season.
“Brandon will oversee all facets of our football operation,” Pegula said. “… I have full faith in and have witnessed Brandon’s outstanding leadership style and have confidence in his abilities to lead our organization.”
Beane was hired by the Bills just months after McDermott in 2017.
Front Office Sports
Bills’ Sean McDermott Firing Marks Staggering 10 NFL Coaches Out
Sean McDermott is out two days after losing to the Broncos in the divisional round, tying a high mark for NFL coaching openings in one season
There have now been a record 10 NFL coaches out this cycle (including those dismissed during the regular season), tying the previous high mark for coaching vacancies, which most recently happened after the 2021 season.
NFL.com
Chiefs plan to bring back longtime assistant Eric Bieniemy as next OC
The Chiefs plan to hire Eric Bieniemy as their next offensive coordinator, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported on Monday.
Bieniemy, who coached the Bears’ running backs in 2025 following stints with UCLA (2024) and the Commanders (2023), previously spent 10 seasons working with head coach Andy Reid in Kansas City. He served as the Chiefs’ running backs coach from 2013 to ’17 before taking over as offensive coordinator in 2018 (Patrick Mahomes’s first season as a full-time starter), a role he held through the 2022 season.
College Football
Front Office Sports
Indiana ‘Culture’ and Cash Land Stunning First Title
The unlikeliness of Indiana winning a College Football Playoff national championship cannot be overstated
Two years ago, the Indiana Hoosiers were one of the worst college football teams in any power conference. Now, they’re national champions.
On Monday night, the No. 1 Hoosiers beat the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes 27-21, capping off a historic—and now perfect—16-0 season.
The Hoosiers have never won a national championship in football. In fact, Indiana hadn’t seen a national championship in football or men’s basketball since the late Bobby Knight led the Hoosiers to a title in 1987 over Syracuse—almost four decades ago.
To climb the ladder to success, Indiana participated in the same trends as its opponents. They embraced the era of the unrestricted transfer portal to build a championship-caliber roster—after all, they were led by transfer quarterback (and Heisman winner) Fernando Mendoza.
The Hoosiers aren’t considered to be in the top five or so programs as far as NIL spending, and they don’t have any five-star players. “You have to understand how you use economics, and I think what’s really set IU apart is—we’re not like, ‘Okay, let’s raise as much money as we can to pay everybody more,’” Cuban said. “It’s more about how do we structure, how do we build a culture.”
And they didn’t participate in one major trend across college football: hiring a general manager. Cignetti proclaimed before the season that he would be the coach and general manager—something that Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson told FOS was a philosophy he insisted upon even during his interview process in 2023.
