Sources: Commanders' Kingsbury, Whitt both out

ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Commanders, one year removed from a trip to the NFC Championship Game, have moved on from both coordinators, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The Commanders and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury mutually agreed to part ways after he met with head coach Dan Quinn. Meanwhile, the team fired defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. The latter move had long been expected, considering Quinn took over defensive playcalling duties from Whitt after Week 10.

Washington's defense finished the season ranked last in yards and 27th in points -- it represented a steep drop after finishing 18th in points and 13th in yards the previous season.

That played a big part in Washington's misfortunes. The Commanders, 12-5 a year ago, finished 5-12 this season.

Kingsbury had one year left on his contract and is still receiving money from the Arizona Cardinals, who fired him as their head coach after the 2022 season. He is expected to explore head coaching opportunities.

Washington's offense was hit hard by injuries in 2025, with quarterback Jayden Daniels playing only four full games and receiver Terry McLaurin playing only nine. Both players made the Pro Bowl the previous season.

The Commanders also lost starting running back Austin Ekeler (Achilles) in Week 2 for the season and tight end Zach Ertz (torn ACL) in Week 14.

They finished 22rd in scoring and 22nd in yards. Last season, with Daniels winning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, Washington finished fifth in points and seventh in yards. That represented the first time the franchise had finished top 10 in both yards and points since 2012.

Daniels and Kingsbury were almost always the first coach and first player to arrive at the Commanders' facility. They would conduct walk-throughs in the practice bubble three days a week during the season around 6 a.m.

"I love working with Kliff," Daniels said Monday. "Me and him have a special relationship. I just wish I was out there more to play for him this past year."

But there was a divide in what style of offense to run moving forward, according to multiple team sources, with Quinn wanting to run the ball more to control the clock and help the defense. The Commanders ran 349 more no-huddle plays than any other team -- something Daniels and backup Marcus Mariota both said they liked.

Last week, Quinn said Kingsbury's no-huddle offense added an element of preparation for a defense. But he stopped short of endorsing the approach.

"For sure there's elements that, 'Okay, that's good, that's not,'" Quinn said. "I would say you want to make sure you always are emphasizing the things that you can do best. And so, do they tie together the runs, the passes, and I think that's something that we'll continue to look at, but it's all about the player also, and how do they function best and how does the team function best?

"With Jayden being comfortable into that space, not everybody works in his space, but he and Marcus are certainly confident, familiar with that."

Washington ranked ninth in number of rushes -- but only 25th in runs by its backs. The Commanders ranked third in number of carries by quarterbacks, including scrambles. They finished first a year ago.

"Being able to run the football like we've been able to and running it basically more than anybody in the league this year is unique to me and new and that's the style that we needed to play," Kingsbury said recently.

But he also remained bullish on his no-huddle approach.

"I've seen it done at a high level, whether it's Arizona or here at a very high level and won games and had a lot of yards, a lot of success in that regard," he said. "I'm pretty confident in that style of play when the pieces are there that you can play a really high level and it's a very challenging offensive to stop."

Meanwhile, Whitt joined Washington's staff when Quinn was hired in January 2024, but the two had spent the previous four seasons together. Whitt served as the Atlanta Falcons pass game coordinator under Quinn in 2020 and held the same title from 2021-23 in Dallas when Quinn was the defensive coordinator.

He had not called plays until joining Washington's staff.

The Commanders' defense was impacted by injuries as both starting defensive ends (Deatrich Wise Jr. and Dorance Armstrong) suffered season-ending injuries. Wise missed the final 15 games while Armstrong missed the last 10.

Also, both starting corners -- Marshon Lattimore (torn ACL) and Trey Amos -- were lost for the season after getting hurt in Weeks 9 and 10, respectively. Starting strong safety Will Harris missed eight games with a broken fibula.