Commanders' DC is making a major change at his players' request

Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. won fans over quickly with his no-nonsense approach to football, media interactions, and how he goes about ensuring his players are as prepared as possible for each weekly battle.

As this season has declined further into adversity, some have felt Whitt’s comments have moved further into the realm of focusing on what Commanders players aren’t doing more than what the coach can do to fix it.

That’s the thing about 10-minute press conferences; there simply isn’t enough time to provide all of the context. Because the truth of the matter is that while Washington struggles to get its players in the right place, the coaching staff has been consistently focused on looking inward to find the solution.

“Everything inward, honestly,” head coach Dan Quinn said when asked about the effort to make sure he and his staff are truly giving their players what they need to find success. “That's what our process is about, telling it, hearing it, and for us not to be squared away at this point obviously is as frustrating as I could honestly answer for you.”

Understanding that he needs to do what it takes to get his players on track and looking inward for solutions, Whitt approached Quinn this week with an idea to change the sight picture, and because of it the defensive coordinator will call this weekend’s game against the Detroit Lions from the sideline instead of the booth. But the inspiration for the move came from the most important place it could have: The players.

Sep 28, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Washington Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner (54) on the field during a game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

A Player-Inspired Solution

“Moving to the field, I think the energy that I have in practice that can be probably positive within the game for the players. …A couple of guys have been asking for me to come down as well,” said Whitt.

“Once I heard that from them, okay, I went to Q and said, ‘Hey, Q let's look at it, let me go down there, and it might make a difference.’”

The idea came from the players, and that can be a hard thing for coaches to admit publicly in a world that constantly expects them to have all of the answers when it hits the fan.

Most accomplished leaders in any competitive field will tell you, however, that the fighters on the field should never be ignored, because they have insight into the battle that nobody else can possibly hope to extract from any review, tape, or otherwise. So, instead of taking the request to change his own rhythm as criticism or questioning, he’s taken it as an opportunity not just to influence the outcome, but put his hands on it during the conflict.

“It's evident that the last four weeks have not gone the way that we want them as a defense or a team,” Whitt said. “And so, the play has not been, especially this last week, to the standard at all. …And like I said, that starts with me. I gotta do a better job getting the coaches to get the players to understand how we're going to do it. …We gotta get this thing turned. We gotta get it turned right now.”

The Sideline Pros and Cons

The upside to the move is Whitt getting a better feel of the game flow and hopefully being able to rally his players early and keep them on the same page throughout the game. But there are potential pitfalls.

“You just can't see as well, and so when I'm in the box, I don't have to…you always have a guy telling personnel. …On the field, you can't see it as well; you can't see if the ball's on the hash or in the middle either. …But we have guys, we're going to adjust and we're going to work around it.”

The downside can be a reason to avoid solutions, but in this case, there’s already plenty to worry about, making matters worse when trying to find answers.

When what has been tried hasn’t worked, it’s time to change, and sometimes getting your feet on different ground can breathe new life into old processes.

Nov 2, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn walks off the field after the loss to Seattle Seahawks at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

'Exhausting Everything'

“I'm going to say that we're going to try something different because the results that we've been getting aren't good enough,” Whitt continued. “We changed the structure of the meetings. …We changed the, not necessarily the structure of the practice, the practice is the same, but the structure of the meetings, adding more walkthroughs, doing more voiceovers so they can come to work ready instead of just coming to work.

“We're exhausting everything that we can to get this thing turned, and like [coach Quinn] said, the only people that can get it turned are the people in the building.”

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