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Articles
Washington Post (paywall)
Which coaches will the Commanders consider for their coordinator openings?
Dolphins quarterbacks coach Darrell Bevell worked with Quinn in Seattle and has been an offensive coordinator four times. New Orleans Saints quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien and Cowboys
quarterbacks coach Steve Shimko worked with Quinn in Dallas.
But Quinn’s best bet may be to look outside of his network. If former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski doesn’t land another head coaching job, he arguably would be the most attractive option.
If the Commanders don’t want to go with a retread, there’s a deep collection of up-and-coming offensive assistants to explore. Rams passing game coordinator Nathan Scheelhaase, Bills quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry, Chicago Bears passing game coordinator Press Taylor, Bears quarterback coach J.T. Barrett, New England Patriots passing game coordinator Thomas Brown and Denver Broncos quarterbacks coach Davis Webb may be in the mix for vacancies.
Minnesota surely would be aggressive in trying to re-sign Flores, but perhaps the Commanders could lure him away. Vikings assistant head coach Mike Pettine is a potential alternative. Behind Flores, Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz would be a close second.
If the Commanders are willing to take a shot on rising assistants, Eagles defensive backs coach Christian Parker, Broncos assistant head coach/defensive pass game coordinator Jim Leonhard, Browns defensive line coach Jacques Cesaire and Broncos defensive line coach Jamar Cain are a few names to consider.
The Athletic (paywall)
Washington Commanders are searching for a new coordinator. Who are candidates to watch?
Klay Kubiak, San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator
Kubiak’s family ties date back to 1994, when Klint’s father, former longtime coach Gary Kubiak, was the quarterbacks coach in San Francisco, where Mike Shanahan was the offensive coordinator. The families have been connected since, with all three of Kubiak’s sons — Klint (Seahawks offensive coordinator), Klay and Klein (Cowboys scout) — all involved in the NFL.
Klay is in his first season as a coordinator after starting as a defensive quality control coach. Then he was promoted to quarterbacks coach and offensive passing game specialist. Although Kyle Shanahan is the play caller, he let Klay Kubiak handle those duties in the 2024 season finale and throughout the 2025 preseason.
Al Harris, Bears’ secondary coach/defensive pass game coordinator
Harris, one of the more well-respected secondary coaches in the league, has evolved his defense over the years and significantly influenced Quinn. In 2024, Quinn said Whitt and Harris were the two who helped him disguise his coverages and turn his Cover 3 scheme into a more modern defense that muddies the looks for quarterbacks pre-snap. Harris, a 14-year cornerback, turned to coaching in 2012 and spent four seasons with the Cowboys as their defensive backs coach.
Three of those were while Quinn was the defensive coordinator. Harris developed a deep group of defensive backs, including Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland, and the Cowboys led the league in takeaways in 2021 and 2022. This past season, his first on Ben Johnson’s staff in Chicago, Harris helped the Bears become the league’s new takeaways leader, with 33.
Heavy.com
Relationship Between Commanders Coaching Staff & Front Office Called Out
Behind the scenes, things might not have been so rosy, which is now coming to light after the Commanders stumbled to a 5-12 finish this season, Daniels missed 10 games due to injuries and Quinn suddenly finds himself on the hot seat headed into Year 3.
“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 — an ongoing problem dating back to 2024 when they were having success,” NFL insider Jordan Schulutz wrote on X on Wednesday, January 7. “With the team struggling this year, it reached new heights and there were notable disagreements. Moreover, I have not gotten the impression Dan Quinn wanted to move on from his coordinators. The entire disconnect is one to watch as we head into 2026. ‘There’s a lot of (expletive) going on there,’ a source said.”
One sure sign any NFL head coach is on his heels is when they fire both of their coordinators — by their own hand or by someone else’s. Either way, it’s bad.
The Commanders cleaned house with their coordinators shortly after the end of the regular season, firing both defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury on Tuesday, January 6.
Riggo’s Rag
Michael Pittman Jr.’s murky future with Colts puts WR squarely on Commanders’ radar
Pittman has a $29 million cap hit in 2026, the final season of the three-year, $70 million contract extension he signed in March 2024. The Colts can save $24 million while only leaving behind $5 million in dead money by cutting him. Put two and two together, and his future with the franchise is in serious doubt, which presents the Commanders with a lifeline.
It’s hard to envision Washington giving up assets to acquire Pittman, considering trading for high-priced veterans has burned Peters in the past. Nevertheless, the Commanders could make a play for the veteran wideout if he becomes a cap casualty in Indianapolis.
Look no further than Deebo Samuel Sr., who’s notably slated for unrestricted free agency. He’s proof of concept that Peters won’t be afraid to pounce if an opportunity, albeit a surprising one, to add Pittman comes along.
If Pittman is released, he’ll collect what’s owed to him from the Colts. Not to watch his pocket, but this opens the door to sacrifice cash for a better situation and a chance to win, right? Why not take a heavily incentivized deal to join Daniels and a Commanders squad with potential for a quick turnaround?
Podcasts & videos
Investing in the Future + The Truth About Draft Pick Value | Podcast | Washington Commanders | NFL
I think you need to be a subscriber to either (or both of) Ben Standig or Mark Bullock to view this podcast discussion:
Draft Discussion topic
Over the Cap
Should a Potential Top Draft Pick Return to College?
Every year crazy stuff is said about the draft, but the discussions currently going on about college players, who are projected to go in the top 5, returning to school because of the possibility of being drafted by a bad organization is the craziest thing and it is amazing to see it gaining steam. The main discussion surrounds Oregon QB Dante Moore needing to avoid the New York Jets because of the Jets terrible history and opt to return to Oregon and “save” his career.
The discussions about these topics are completely uninformed about the reality of NFL contracts and earning potential in the NFL. At best they are rooted in ancient history when contracts were not slotted for rookies and certain positions were not drafted as often making it financially viable for players, specifically QBs and RB’s, to consider going back to school to land with a team that might present a better situation and more importantly roll over and play dead at the negotiating table.
If Moore is selected by the Jets this year he will receive a contract that is worth somewhere in the ballpark of $52 million with $35 million being paid this year. This contract will be fully guaranteed the minute he signs it. The clock immediately begins ticking on a contract extension as soon as he enters the NFL and he would then be extension eligible starting in 2029.
There are a handful of outcomes that we usually see for highly drafted players. The best case is that they are perceived as a good player and they wind up signing a record setting or close to record setting contract. Examples of this type of player are anyone from Tua to Josh Allen.
The second is that they are a below average player and considered a bust, but much of that bust label is attributed to bad situations. Another team thinks they can “fix” the player and they take a shot at that player. This group consists of Justin Fields, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, etc…
The final group are those simply considered a bust with limited upside. More often than not they were given up on by a good team and considered a reach in the draft (think a player like Trey Lance) or they had some fatal flaw that turns other teams off (Johnny Manziel types).
The crux of the argument for avoiding the Jets would be that the Jets organization would prevent a player from being good and put him in one of the other two buckets. While player development on the coaching side is an important aspect of the NFL we are always guilty of overstating the impact they have on great players.
If Moore was to go back to college he has to do something to protect his draft status to have any of this make sense. I have no idea what NIL money would be on the table for Moore to go back to college. For the sake of argument let’s call it $7 million, which seems high but whatever. To break even initially he would need to fall to no worse than 5th in the NFL Draft. Anything more than that and he will lose money initially.
He still has to contend with going to a bad football team if he is going to be selected that high in 2027. It could be the Jets again. It might be the Browns. Maybe the Cardinals. The point is the vast majority of the time players drafted highly go to bad organizations. If you are good you overcome that. If you aren’t good you simply aren’t good.
The big risk is what happens when you fall? Moore has no real college history outside of this year and this is a weak QB year meaning it is probably the peak of his draft stock. If he has a bad year or gets injured and falls in the draft the dynamic completely changes. The NFL treats the players with a first round grade as if they are gold. The higher the player is picked the more that gold shines and players get those opportunities like Wilson and Darnold.
The more you drop the less shine you have around the NFL. If you drop out of the first round completely all bets are off. You don’t get the same considerations. One of the best examples of this was Matt Barkley who years ago was projected to be the top pick in the draft before he decided to return to college. Things went poorly and he got hurt to boot. He dropped to the 4th round and his career earnings were in the ballpark of $10 million and he never signed a contract worth more than $2 million. Falling in the draft will have far more of a detrimental impact than being coached by Aaron Glenn and company.
If he goes back to college and collects his NIL all he really does is push the clock back a year. He is still going to a bad team and if he is good he will overcome it except now we have to wait until 2030 for the payday. All the other scenarios remain the same except we push the clock one year. Why would you take the risk of injury and poor play to return to school and at best come out even?
NFC East links
Big Blue View
NY Giants’ TE Daniel Bellinger ‘excited’ as he heads into free agency
Bellinger might be able to find an expanded role elsewhere.
A fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Bellinger started immediately. He caught 30 passes in 35 targets, two for touchdowns, in a promising rookie season.
Since then, though, Bellinger has always played second-fiddle to someone else on the Giants’ tight end depth chart.
Over the past two seasons, Bellinger has been usurped by 2024 fourth-round pick Theo Johnson. He caught just 14 passes in 2024 and 19 this season.
Bellinger is looking ahead to free agency for the first time as his rookie contract expires is “exciting.”
“I’ve never gone through it,” Bellinger said. “I’ve talked to a bunch of guys that have gone through the free agency process and all that, so I’m excited and just ready to see what happens next.”
NFL league links
Articles
NFL.com
Weighing fifth-year options for 2023 NFL Draft’s first-round selections
Pick 16 – Emmanuel Forbes – Los Angeles Rams · CB
Exercise the option? No.
Original drafting team: Washington Commanders
Forbes was waived by Washington a year and half after he was drafted. He only made seven starts for the Commanders and was benched in both seasons. Claimed off waivers by the Rams in November of 2024, Forbes had a resurgent year in 2025, generating three INTs, 18 passes defensed and a forced fumble in 17 games (14 starts). He’s making the most of his fresh start, but at this point, I don’t see the need for Los Angeles — which took over the fifth-year option in his contract — to commit to him for 2027.
Over the Cap
Falcons Modify Kirk Cousins Contract for Post June 1 Release
The Falcons and QB Kirk Cousins have agreed to a modified contract per ESPN’s Field Yates which sets the stage for Cousins release from the Falcons while also helping the Falcons with their salary cap situation in 2026. Here is a breakdown of what the Falcons did.
In Cousins’ prior contract he was set to count for $57.5 million against the salary cap in 2026 which would have had the Falcons somewhere around the salary cap limit for 2026. Nobody expected Cousins to be a member of the Falcons next year and he would carry a dead money charge of $35 million once cut. That would allow Atlanta to free up about $22.5 million in cap room, giving them some breathing room with the cap.
The problem for Atlanta was Cousins’ contract has a $10 million salary guarantee which prevented the team from releasing Cousins prior to the start of free agency, meaning his $57.5 million cap charge would need to be carried on the books for the start of the 2026 league year, perhaps causing the team to restructure some other contracts for cap relief that they really did not want to touch. This modification gives the Falcons the breathing room they need to deal with Cousins and make out in the best way possible for their cap situation.
The team reduced Cousins paper salary from $35 million to $2.1 million. The reason for the $2.1 million number is because it equals the maximum payment that Cousins could have received if he were injured in the final game of the season in 2025 and that injury prevented him from playing in 2026. This allows Cousins to still collect in the event he had been injured. His roster bonus, which is guaranteed will remain in place. This drops Cousins cap charge immediately to $24.6 million, a savings of $32.5 million on the cap.
This low cap charge allows the Falcons to designate Cousins a post June 1 release at the start of the new league year. He would remain on the teams cap at $24.6 million until June 1 at which point his cap charge will drop to $22.5 million for the year. $12.5 million in dead money will be deferred to 2027. To ensure the Falcons release him, Atlanta gave him a guarantee trigger on his entire 2027 salary of $67.9 million of the 3rd day of the league year meaning that the Falcons will cut him on March 12th to avoid that trigger.
Pro Football Talk
John Harbaugh plans to wait until next week to start interviewing for coaching jobs
Harbaugh is not expected to conduct any head-coach interviews until next week, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The Ravens fired Harbaugh on Tuesday after 18 years as their head coach. That instantly made him an attractive candidate for other head coaching vacancies, and perhaps for some teams that don’t yet have vacancies but would fire their current coach if Harbaugh wanted to replace him.
Because Harbaugh is viewed as the top candidate in this hiring cycle, he can take his time and be selective about interviews. Other candidates who are eager to get any head-coaching job will jump at the first chance to interview, and assistant coaches on playoff teams have to schedule their interviews in accordance with league rules that dictate when they can interview and when they’re with their current teams. But Harbaugh has the freedom to tell teams that if they want to interview him, they’ll have to do it on his schedule.
Chris Russell special
Front Office Sports
NFL Sees Highest Viewership in More Than 35 Years
The NFL finished the 2025 regular season with a per-game viewership average of 18.7 million, up 10% from last year’s mark, the best such total since 1989, and the second-best figure on record. Unlike more modest audience increases in recent years, and even a 2.2% drop during the 2024 campaign, this season featured sizable, across-the-board boosts involving every broadcast window and every rights holder.
Some of the viewership boosts owe to Nielsen methodology enhancements such as an expansion of out-of-home tabulation and the arrival of the Big Data + Panel measurement process. The NFL, however, has been insistent that its rising popularity is transcending those process improvements, particularly as it still has some issues with the agency.
A heavily front-loaded schedule to begin the 2025 season also gave the league a strong boost at the outset of play, one that ultimately held throughout the season.
