The Commanders promoted David Blough to offensive coordinator this month and they’ve found a new assistant quarterbacks coach as well.
According to multiple reports, the Commanders are hiring Danny Etling to fill that role. Blough and Etling were teammates at Purdue during their playing days.
Etling would go on to transfer to LSU and he was a 2018 seventh-round pick of the Patriots. He won a Super Bowl ring as a rookie on the practice squad and would go on to spend time with the Seahawks, Vikings, Broncos, Packers, Jaguars without appearing in any regular season games.
Etling also played in the UFL the last two seasons and this is his first coaching position at any level.
It was previously reported that the Chiefs fired wide receivers coach Connor Embree, but he wasn’t the only departure after the team’s 6-11 season.
Head coach Andy Reid also let go of running backs coach Todd Pinkston, and two other assistants left for other jobs, Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star reports. Defensive assistant Louie Addazio accepted the offensive line job at UNLV last week, and assistant defensive line coach Alex Whittingham joined his father, Kyle, at the University of Michigan.
Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is interviewing for head coaching jobs. He is among the leading candidates for the Tennessee job, where former Chiefs assistant General Manager Mike Borgonzi is leading the search as the Titans’ General Manager.
Nagy also could pursue offensive coordinator jobs to become a primary play-caller again.
Jonathan Gannon may be heading back to the NFC East.
Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Gannon is interviewing with the Commanders on Thursday for their defensive coordinator vacancy.
Gannon was fired after three seasons as Cardinals head coach last week. But before his Arizona tenure, he spent 2021-2022 as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator.
In 2022, Philadelphia ranked No. 2 in yards allowed and No. 8 in points allowed, becoming NFC Champions. But the team lost Super Bowl LVII to the Chiefs.
Gannon is one of several candidates for the role, with Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and Seahawks defensive backs coach/pass game coordinator Karl Scott also interviewing for the job in recent days.
The Commanders unveiled renderings of their new stadium on Thursday morning.
The images show what the design firm HKS, which also designed SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, has in mind for the old RFK Stadium site. The stadium is set to include a transparent roof and is set to hold 70,000 people.
“We are proud to share the first visuals of our future stadium, a defining milestone in the next phase of the development process,” Commanders president Mark Clouse said in a statement. “This moment underscores the strength of our partnership with HKS, whose thoughtful, forward-looking approach has helped us shape a concept that is worthy of its extraordinary site along DC’s Monumental Axis and truly embodies the spirit and character of the District. We are deeply grateful to the District and the Mayor for their leadership, collaboration, and continued support, which have been instrumental in bringing this vision to life.”
Construction on the new stadium is expected to be completed in 2030.
The Commanders are hiring D.J. Williams as their quarterbacks coach, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports.
Williams is the son of franchise legend Doug Williams, the Super Bowl XXII MVP in Washington’s 42-10 win over the Broncos. Doug Williams remains a senior advisor to the General Manager for the team.
D.J. Williams most recently was the quarterbacks coach for the Falcons, who fired head coach Raheem Morris after the season.
The younger Williams played quarterback for his father at Grambling and became an NFL assistant with the Saints in 2019. He joined the Falcons as an assistant quarterbacks coach in 2024 and moved into his current role in 2025.
The Commanders needed a new quarterbacks coach after promoting David Blough to offensive coordinator. Blough replaces Kliff Kingsbury, whom the Commanders fired at the end of the season.
