Jason Simmons Leaves Commanders to Join Steelers Coaching Staff

The defensive pass game coordinator returns to the team that drafted him after two seasons in Washington.

Nov 2, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; A Washington Commanders player's helmet on the bench during the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

ASHBURN, Va. — The coaching staff is expected to change beyond the newly hired offensive and defensive coordinators, and early this week, the Pittsburgh Steelers confirmed they have hired former Washington Commanders coach Jason Simmons to their staff.

Simmons came to the Commanders’ coaching staff in 2024 along with the rest of the crew that joined head coach Dan Quinn, and had been the team’s defensive pass game coordinator the past two seasons.

Simmons returns to Pittsburgh

With the news this week, Simmons leaves Washington to be the Steelers’ defensive pass game coordinator and will also serve as the team’s defensive backs coach.

In their announcement of the hire, Pittsburgh shone a light on the fact that “while with the Commanders, the pass defense was ranked third in the NFL in 2024, allowing 189.5 yards per game. Their opponents completed only 61.9% of their passes, ranking fourth in the NFL.”

Jan 4, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil (0) celebrates after Philadelphia Eagles failed on a 4th down conversion during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

A tale of two defenses

During the 2024 NFL season, the Washington defense wasn’t great, but it did a good job of getting after opposing quarterbacks, and its pass defense was among the best at preventing explosive passes. 

In 2025, however, things took a turn for the worse, and the Commanders finished with the league’s 31st-ranked pass defense, surrendering 7.63 yards per play on the year.

They also finished near the bottom of the league in interception rate, picking off just 1.48 percent of passes thrown against them, allowed the second-most first downs to opponents, and had the second-worst red-zone defense. 

Not all of that is on Simmons or even the pass defense, of course, as football is a true team sport, but the end result was a unit that allowed 26.5 points per game in 2025, up from the 23-point average it allowed in 2024.

Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive backs coach Daronte Jones against the Los Angeles Rams during an NFC wild card game at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Why the move was expected

The arrival of new defensive coordinator Daronte Jones signaled to me that this move by Simmons was likely. Jones was a defensive pass game coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings himself before taking the coordinator job with the Commanders, and typically, those coaches don’t keep their positional peer on the new staff they take over.

Simmons played for the Steelers after being drafted in the fifth round of the 1998 NFL Draft and spent 10 seasons between the Steelers and the Houston Texans.

He began his career as a coaching administrator in 2011, climbing the ranks, and was most recently the defensive pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach with the Las Vegas Raiders before coming to Washington.

READ MORE: Patriots Star Christian Gonzalez Reacts to David Blough’s Promotion

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