Will Commanders coach Dan Quinn call defensive plays in 2026?

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn took over as the defensive play-caller ahead of the Week 11 game against the Miami Dolphins. Quinn didn't fire good friend Joe Whitt Jr., but reassigned him. Whitt remains with the team in a different role.

In two weeks as Washington's defensive coordinator, there's been a noticeable improvement on defense. Sure, the defense still has its issues, many of which are due to injuries, and those can't be fixed during the season. But Quinn has made some defensive changes, such as playing less man coverage and more zone coverage. It's almost a bend-don't-break philosophy that is probably the Commanders' best option for the remainder of this season.

Quinn is also selective about when he brings pressure and where it comes from. The run defense looked better in Sunday's loss against the Broncos, too.

Five games remain this season, so a lot could go wrong for Quinn's defense. But Quinn will face a big decision as soon as the season ends. Will he want to remain as defensive coordinator or hire someone from the outside for the role?

Quinn hasn't wanted to call defensive plays since becoming Washington's head coach. But would he consider doing it next season?

"I think, yeah, there's a possibility of that," Quinn said Monday. "As we're going through it, I'm finding a battle rhythm to go, so I'm not sure where I'm at on that yet. I haven't discussed or gone down that road too far yet, but yeah, I would say that's a possibility."

That sounds a lot different than Quinn's stance before. Quinn has respect across the league. And he has job security. So, hiring a quality defensive coordinator wouldn't be too difficult. But then Quinn would face a dilemma: hire someone who runs his style of defense — which could limit the candidate pool — or hire someone with different ideas?

There are several head coaches, mostly on the offensive side, who still call plays. They also happen to be some of the NFL's best coaches: Andy Reid, Sean McVay, Sean Payton, Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFleur, and Kevin O'Connell all come to mind. Of course, they're all on the offensive side of the ball.

It's not like Quinn's handprints weren't all over the defense when Whitt was calling plays. However, it's different when you are the one calling the plays. What happens the rest of this season will likely help dictate which direction Quinn and the Commanders decide to go in the offseason.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Dan Quinn seems open to calling plays in 2026