Eric Bieniemy, the Commanders’ assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, has one yr left on his contract.
Kingsbury, 44, beforehand was a middling head coach for the Arizona Cardinals and Texas Tech however has a powerful observe document of growing quarterbacks. By factors scored, his Cardinals offenses completed sixteenth, eleventh and tenth earlier than falling to twenty third the yr quarterback Kyler Murray tore his ACL; Washington’s finest end since 2018 is twenty third.
In school, Kingsbury tutored Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes, Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel and Houston’s Case Keenum. Within the NFL, he coached Murray.
In April, after being fired by Arizona with a document of 28-37-1, Kingsbury joined USC to assist mentor Caleb Williams, projected to be a prime choose on this yr’s NFL draft. If Washington hires Kingsbury, it is going to gasoline hypothesis the Commanders may commerce up with the Chicago Bears to pick the D.C. native.
Kingsbury runs a diffusion offense derived from the Air Raid, a pass-heavy scheme based mostly out of the shotgun. However he calls runs at a better fee than Bieniemy did final season.
A former quarterback at Texas Tech, Kingsbury excelled within the Air Raid from 1998 to 2002. The New England Patriots drafted him within the sixth spherical in 2003, and he turned a journeyman backup within the NFL and the Canadian Soccer League till he retired in 2007. The subsequent yr, he joined Houston as an offensive high quality management coach and commenced ascending the teaching ladder.
On the defensive aspect, the Commanders are strongly contemplating Joe Whitt Jr., the Cowboys’ secondary coach and move recreation coordinator, two folks conversant in the state of affairs stated. Whitt held the identical title in Atlanta in 2020, when Dan Quinn was the Falcons’ head coach, then adopted Quinn to Dallas the subsequent season.
The Commanders, who formally introduced Quinn’s rent as their head coach Saturday, are nonetheless working by means of the interview course of for coordinators. Per NFL guidelines, groups should interview at the very least two exterior candidates for who’re individuals of shade or girls earlier than hiring a coordinator.
Listed below are some candidates, and different names price watching as Washington rounds out its teaching workers.
Kliff Kingsbury, USC senior offensive assistant
Mahomes’s former school coach went 28-37-1 in his first foray as an NFL head coach however might get a shot as a coordinator in Washington.
Brian Griese, San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach
Griese, a quarterback who performed 11 seasons within the NFL, jumped from the “Monday Evening Soccer” sales space to the sideline with none teaching expertise in 2022. In two years, Griese, 48, has helped Brock Purdy, the final choose of the 2022 draft, turn into the league’s chief in passer score and is headed to Tremendous Bowl LVIII. He’s on the Commanders’ checklist of candidates, an individual with data of the matter stated. But when the group desires him, it must wait till after the Tremendous Bowl to interview and rent him.
Brian Johnson, former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator
A former Utah quarterback, Johnson, 36, spent the previous three seasons with the Eagles — two because the group’s quarterbacks coach and one as its offensive coordinator. He was let go in January after the Eagles misplaced to the Buccaneers within the first spherical of the playoffs. Johnson reportedly is anticipated to interview for the Commanders’ OC job.
Chip Kelly, UCLA head coach
The longtime coach and play caller has been speculated for years to wish to get again into the NFL after 4 seasons teaching the Eagles (2013-15) and 49ers (2016). Kelly, 60, has been at UCLA since 2018 and may very well be on the Commanders’ radar for play-calling candidates.
Brian Fleury, San Francisco 49ers tight ends coach
Fleury, a Maryland native who performed at Maryland and Towson, was an assistant at each colleges earlier than making the leap to the professionals in 2013 as a high quality management coach for the Buffalo Payments. After a stint teaching the Cleveland Browns’ linebackers (2014-15), Fleury spent three years (2016-18) with the Miami Dolphins as a soccer analysis analyst. He left in 2019 — simply as Eugene Shen, the Commanders’ vice chairman of soccer technique, started his time in Miami — to hitch the 49ers and work his means as much as tight ends coach in 2022.
Tanner Engstrand, Detroit Lions passing recreation coordinator
Darrell Bevell, Miami Dolphins quarterbacks coach/passing recreation coordinator
Tee Martin, Baltimore Ravens quarterbacks coach
Ronald Curry, New Orleans Saints passing recreation coordinator/quarterbacks coach
Joe Bleymaier, Kansas Metropolis Chiefs passing recreation coordinator
Eric Studesville, Miami Dolphins affiliate head coach/working backs coach
Joe Whitt Jr., Dallas Cowboys secondary coach/passing recreation coordinator
A former walk-on receiver at Auburn, Whitt turned to teaching in 2000 and joined the professional ranks as a defensive backs coach for the Falcons in 2007. After 11 seasons as a defensive assistant for the Packers, with whom he gained Tremendous Bowl XLV, Whitt, 45, hung out with the Browns and Falcons earlier than following Quinn to Dallas because the Cowboys’ secondary coach and move recreation coordinator in 2021. It’s price noting that Whitt and Quinn share an agent.
Joe Cullen, Kansas Metropolis Chiefs defensive position coach
Cullen, 56, has 17 years of NFL teaching expertise, totally on the defensive position. After stops in Detroit, Jacksonville, Cleveland, Tampa Bay and Baltimore, he spent a yr (2021) because the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defensive coordinator earlier than heading to Kansas Metropolis in 2022 to teach the Chiefs’ D-line. Ought to the Commanders wish to interview Cullen, they’ll have to attend till after the Tremendous Bowl.
Chris Harris, Tennessee Titans passing recreation coordinator/cornerbacks coach
The previous Commanders defensive backs coach has been within the combine for coordinator jobs over the previous couple of seasons. He spent final season on Mike Vrabel’s workers in Tennessee, however the arrival of latest Titans coach Brian Callahan may open up new alternatives for him. Gamers in Washington nonetheless view him in excessive regard, making his identify price monitoring for a potential return.
Christian Parker, Denver Broncos defensive backs coach
George Edwards, Tampa Bay Buccaneers exterior linebackers coach
Brandon Staley, former Los Angeles Chargers head coach
Don “Wink” Martindale, former Baltimore Ravens and New York Giants defensive coordinator
Chris Hewitt, Baltimore Ravens passing recreation coordinator/secondary coach
Patrick Graham, Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator
Aubrey Nice, Los Angeles Rams passing recreation coordinator/defensive backs coach
Glenn Schumann, College of Georgia defensive coordinator
