The Commanders surprised the NFL world and the Washington fan base this week with news of a recent consultant hire.
General manager Adam Peters, during his weekly appearance on “The Sports Junkies” on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C., elaborated Friday on what went into hiring former NFL head coach and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks as a part-time consultant. Peters made clear from the start that this hire was not the result of anything that happened during this 2026 regular season.
“I know Steve; we worked together in San Francisco, and so he’s an awesome person, a good man,” Peters said. "This is something we had talked about really throughout training camp. DQ (Dan Quinn) and Daronte (Jones) had talked about this during training camp in adding
another experienced mind, especially in the secondary.”
When the story broke, those of us who have covered teams for years knew something was wrong or inadequate, so someone high up the chain wanted to hire another man to help change what was happening during the season. But Peters denies that and insists it actually started with Daronte Jones, who wanted to add to his defensive staff.
"Daronte’s expertise is in the secondary, and with him coordinating the defense, he wanted to get another set of eyes back there as he (Daronte) took over the whole defense. So that’s where it started. The guys started talking about it in training camp, and these things take time.”
Yes, understandably, it would take more time at that point in the year, because most coaches are hired back in the early months of the off season, well before training camp. So, Jones had his work cut out for him, attempting to find a quality defensive mind to help him that late in the process.
“As they were looking for someone who is the right fit, they found Steve, who’s close by. He is living in Charlotte. He still has some obligations that he is doing with Appalachian State, and I think it took a little bit longer going through all the different people we can go through in terms of who is available and how they’re available.”
It is also understandable that Jones, in his first season as an NFL defensive coordinator, felt the need to have another experienced man assist him with the secondary. The Commanders’ secondary in 2025 was, if not the worst, certainly one of the worst in the NFL. Secondly, perhaps Jones realized as offseason workouts began that he needed help he hadn’t initially thought he needed. Hey, it’s his first time, and anyone going through something for the first time in life learns more than you think. That is simply the human experience for all of us.
“This ended up being the fit that we liked, and he just got here last week. He’s coming in a few days a week. We think it will give an extra set of eyes on our next opponent and our self-scout. (We're) just trying to get another set of experienced eyes in the building.”
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders GM breaks down why Washington hired a former head coach to defensive staff
