Cardinals Nearly Made This Commanders Coach Their Offensive Coordinator

The Arizona Cardinals brought this name in for an interview before going in another direction.

Sep 25, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Detailed view of the Built to Last alternate rivalries edition helmets of the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Arizona Cardinals recently filled their vacant offensive coordinator role with the hire of Nathaniel Hackett, though the team nearly went in a completely different direction.

According to NFL insider Jeremy Fowler, the Cardinals interviewed Washington Commanders QB coach D.J. Williams for their OC spot.

Before the Nathaniel Hackett hiring, the Arizona Cardinals interviewed Commanders QB coach D.J. Williams for their offensive coordinator role, per source.

Williams was Atlanta's QB coach before joining Washington's staff this cycle.

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) February 4, 2026

Williams is a rising mind in the coaching world after first getting his start with the New Orleans Saints as an offensive assistant from 2019-23. He then moved to the Atlanta Falcons as an assistant quarterbacks coach (2024) and eventually full-time quarterbacks coach last season.

He took a lateral move to Washington to also coach quarterbacks this offseason, where he'll now remain after not getting the Cardinals' offensive coordinator job.

Williams is the son of Super Bowl winning quarterback Doug Williams and has previously worked with quarterbacks such as Michael Penix Jr. and Kirk Cousins. This year, he'll oversee Jayden Daniels.

As for Arizona, they ultimately pivoted to Nathaniel Hackett as their offensive coordinator — a move many Cardinals fans didn't like.

However, Hackett won't be calling plays in the desert and will more than likely serve as a veteran voice for LaFleur to lean on while helping system installs.

The Cardinals still have to fill their defensive coordinator hole, though they're well underway with interviews to make that happen.

Hackett and LaFleur will be working with an offense that owns weapons such as Trey McBride, Michael Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr. in the mix. Arizona didn't score over 30 points in a single game last season.

Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill previously expressed interest in wanting the organization to turn things around in the first year under their new head coach.

LaFleur spoke about having that pressure of instant success:

"This league is pressure. It is. Every year is a blank slate. I'm not worried about what our record was, the record last year, all that means is we got a higher draft pick. That's all that really matters at that point. We got to go to work to build this roster, even if it flipped and it was 14-3, guess what? You go right back to work. So I'm not really concerned about all that kind of stuff. I just am concerned about building this staff and getting to working with these guys so that when the time does come, we're putting our best foot forward to go win football games."