Everything is different only the face remains the same

[burgold]

This is a counter argument.

The removal of Kingsbury and Whitt represent a major change in how Washington football has operated over the years. How many years did Rivera keep Scott Turner despite fans and the on field product demanding otherwise? How many years did Shanny keep Haslett? How many years did Snyder keep Cerrato or Bruce Allen? In previous regimes, the move was only made when the seat got so hot that no other choice was possible. It was change a coordinator to save your job or change a GM to forestall a complete fan revolution. This is not the case in 2026.

Dan Quinn is safe as a coach. No one believed his seat was even warm. Fans would have grumbled, but probably would have accepted the notion that the injuries were impossible to overcome and those were the chief reason for the team's 2025 failings. Especially on offense, we could look at a team missing its top two receivers, its most proven running back, no franchise QB and argue that Kliff did as well as anyone could have possibly asked for. And yet decisive changes were made. Not to save a job or to save face, but because the team demanded better of itself.

In years past, we probably would have tried to build a mini-campaign around Bobby Wagner and his 2,000 tackles (not that that wouldn't be deserved,) but it would have been a faux celebration meant to distract fans as to the losing season. On Sunday, they didn't even stop the game when Wagner reached that milestone. You know he knew when he got it just like Miles Garrett knew what that sack meant yet it only garnered a clap on the back on the sideline. The moment wasn't bigger than the big picture. The big picture is that Wagner has had an amazing career, but can't get it done anymore. Not in coverage. Not with an anemic pass rush anyway.

And that pathetic pass rush was by design. The team brass knew. Whitt or Quinn or Peters or all of the above must have argued that the run defense was so awful that they needed to fix it at the expense of a pass rush. They had confidence that they could manufacture pass rush. That design was flawed and it failed. It, as much as the injuries, and his lousy play calling is why Joe Whitt was let go.

In seasons past, the coach's best friend and long time subordinate would have been kept. We've seen it. We've seen head coaches dig in their heels regardless of the product on the field or the record. They refuse to make a change to their staff until the writing's on the wall. Even then, they're kept. Why did Rivera never fire Jack Del Rio? I'd argue it was because he felt a personal debt to the man for the way he stepped up when Ron was undergoing cancer treatment. Why did Gruden pick Joe Barry as his second DC. I'd argue it wasn't because the DC who captained the worst defense in NFL history was the best man available.

So changing the OC and DC one year after the NFC Championship Game does represent a seriousness and commitment to results we haven't seen before. The myth of 2024 was that Dan Quinn the coaching staff Dan Quinn assembled was cream of the crop and could not have been put together by anyone without his experience, tenure, and blah, blah, blah. Quinn by firing Whitt and allowing Kingsbury explore different options is stepping on his own reputation. He's making his seat hotter because by downplaying the injuries and circumstances, he is saying "We failed you, Washington."

That is different, maybe even, it will be better.

 

[Chris]

I go back and forth with what has happened. The main factor that I have settled on is that protecting the health and future of the QB is of paramount importance. Whatever it takes to accomplish that gains my full support.

That said…I’m not rushing to give Dan Quinn any flowers because I view this in it’s entirety as a Hail Mary to salvage his career as a HC. It was his decision to surround himself with the guys he advocated for and hired only 2 years ago. Is it commendable that he is moving on and in doing so admitting his tactical error? Yeah, but it shouldn’t whitewash his failure to secure better, or more fitting, choices from the jump.

Kingsbury- Everyone knew who Kliff was when he was selected. He is what he is and that is exactly what Quinn got. My question, along with many other’s is: knowing that, why then was he the choice? If it walks like a duck…

Whitt- Why give Whitt the promotion to a DC job? He was not considered some young wunderkind to hitch your wagon to. He was a older career assistant that had bounced around the league for 17 years. Was it comfortability over proven ability? Seems like it and that is concerning.

I have gone from questioning his initial hire, to celebrating his success, to now questioning his decision making. He now needs to prove that he can be the man. His upcoming decisions will either prove so or will be carved into his Head Coaching gravestone.

Let the games begin.

 

[KDawg]

There is also the distinct possibility that they have simply made bad decisions. Is that the case? I’m not sure. But it’s a possibility. Time will tell.

 

[burgold]

Yep, but making bad decisions isn’t the worst thing. Sticking with them is.

 

[KDawg]

Yep, but making bad decisions isn’t the worst thing. Sticking with them is.

Bad decisions that carry over to more bad decisions are incredibly bad for a franchise that has known nothing but bad decisions for 34 of the last 35 years.

 

[Neophyte]

I go back and forth with what has happened. The main factor that I have settled on is that protecting the health and future of the QB is of paramount importance. Whatever it takes to accomplish that gains my full support.

That said…I’m not rushing to give Dan Quinn any flowers because I view this in it’s entirety as a Hail Mary to salvage his career as a HC. It was his decision to surround himself with the guys he advocated for and hired only 2 years ago. Is it commendable that he is moving on and in doing so admitting his tactical error? Yeah, but it shouldn’t whitewash his failure to secure better, or more fitting, choices from the jump.

Kingsbury- Everyone knew who Kliff was when he was selected. He is what he is and that is exactly what Quinn got. My question, along with many other’s is: knowing that, why then was he the choice? If it walks like a duck…

Whitt- Why give Whitt the promotion to a DC job? He was not considered some young wunderkind to hitch your wagon to. He was a older career assistant that had bounced around the league for 17 years. Was it comfortability over proven ability? Seems like it and that is concerning.

I have gone from questioning his initial hire, to celebrating his success, to now questioning his decision making. He now needs to prove that he can be the man. His upcoming decisions will either prove so or will be carved into his Head Coaching gravestone.

Let the games begin.

Sometimes even the best thought out hire doesn't work out.

I thought the Kingsbury choice was questionable when it happened but the national media seemed to think it was an inspired choice. Something of a coup even. And for a year, it seemed they were all correct. If I'm honest, I think Kingsbury may have been the right man for the job with Daniels, at least for Year 1. They were a dynamic duo last year for sure. Kliff just failed to adapt to changing needs this year, IMHO.

Whitt is a different matter. I've watched coworkers do amazing work in lower level jobs before and celebrated when they got promotions only to watch them fail in bigger roles. It is a common theme in the business world. The truth is no one knows if an individual is going to make it in a given position until they get the job and have to perform. I can't throw shade at Quinn for making the decision to promote a guy who did great things under Quinn with two different teams. Remember, Dallas wanted to promote Whitt when Quinn came here. He was well thought of. Sadly, the job proved to big for him and Quinn has earned respect for recognizing that, and making the tough call.

 

[Chris]

I wouldn’t necessarily use Dallas’ hiring decisions as the basis for comparative analysis, Neophyte. 😉 But that’s just me. 0 for 2 isn’t a good look.

The best thought out hires better work out positively this time though.

 

[Conn]

I don’t remember a single report that Dallas wanted to promote Whitt themselves. They blocked us from stealing Al Harris, is that what you’re thinking of Neophyte?

 

[burgold]

Sometimes even the best thought out hire doesn't work out.

I thought the Kingsbury choice was questionable when it happened but the national media seemed to think it was an inspired choice. Something of a coup even. And for a year, it seemed they were all correct. If I'm honest, I think Kingsbury may have been the right man for the job with Daniels, at least for Year 1. They were a dynamic duo last year for sure. Kliff just failed to adapt to changing needs this year, IMHO.

This is an intersesting point. One thing I noted in season was how Kingsbury had a different gameplan for Mariotta then he did for Daniels. Mariotta was treated more as a traditional QB with a lot of quick game. Daniels, more or less, got the designed runs and a game plan that relied more on slower developing downfield shots. I don't know if that was all on Kingsbury though. Maybe Mariotta was more inclined to take the quick hitters when they presented themselves and Daniels rejected them in favor of a bigger play? It seemed though that Kingsbuy had a "Daniels Plan" and he failed to change enough even though this year Daniels kept getting hurt.

So, maybe Kingsbury was a great choice in year 1, but his failure to evolve with his QB was the problem. He wanted to keep the magic of year 1.

 

[Discobob]

I'd like to know more about the KK "firing" before really making up my mind.

It's clear that there was a disconnect between AP / Quin and KK. However, is it possible that KK told AP / Quin that he would consider HC gigs this offseason, and AP / Quin felt like they didn't want to wait around in limbo while he assessed those other opportunities, and then are potentially left with many of the hot young coaches already signed elsewhere?

Its possible that AP / Quin wanted KK to commit to staying in Washington through the hiring cycle as a condition of bringing him back and he wasn't willing.

This is all speculation on my part, but it would really change how I view the decision to move on.

 

[DWinzit]

I'd like to know more about the KK "firing" before really making up my mind.

It's clear that there was a disconnect between AP / Quin and KK. However, is it possible that KK told AP / Quin that he would consider HC gigs this offseason, and AP / Quin felt like they didn't want to wait around in limbo while he assessed those other opportunities, and then are potentially left with many of the hot young coaches already signed elsewhere?

Its possible that AP / Quin wanted KK to commit to staying in Washington through the hiring cycle as a condition of bringing him back and he wasn't willing.

This is all speculation on my part, but it would really change how I view the decision to move on.

Yes seriously, everything is speculation at this stage so no no right or wrong ones!

 

[Miskinske]

I dont know if this has been floated as a possibility. Is it not possible that Peters/Quinn thought the writing was on the wall that Kliff would get a HC opportunity elsewhere. Despite all the injuries, we somehow finished with the 12th ranked offense. (I think..lol). Is it possible that they wanted to get in front of it NOW while there were more options instead of playing catchup becuase every other good candidate was hired if we waited too long? I don't think they would do that unless Kliff said, Im no longer getting paid by Arizona and I want to find a HC job?

 

[BayouBrave86]

I think you’re giving Quinn too much credit. The rest of the league is laughing at us and wondering why Kliff is on his way out. Same as it ever was.

 

[Bulldog]

I think you are giving Kingsbury too much credit. What has he ever won in the league?

He drafted Kyler Murray in Arizona at #1 and over time that decision showed he was too small and not durable enough to last in the NFL in Kliff's system. Clearly Kliff didn't calibrate well the factors that make for a franchise passer in the NFL at the time.

He worked with Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. Great, he worked with guys with uber talent, he didn't develop anyone into something special.

We are seeing in Ben Johnson with Caleb Williams in Chicago that there are other offensive minds that are capable of doing this job, and at a higher level.

McVay, Shanahan, Lafleur, Johnson, etc. - all of these guys are way above Kingsbury.

I sincerely doubt that Kingsbury gets out of Jared Goff what Ben Johnson did over his 3 years in Detroit.

 

[philibusters]

I think you are giving Kingsbury too much credit. What has he ever won in the league?

He drafted Kyler Murray in Arizona at #1 and over time that decision showed he was too small and not durable enough to last in the NFL in Kliff's system. Clearly Kliff didn't calibrate well the factors that make for a franchise passer in the NFL at the time.

He worked with Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. Great, he worked with guys with uber talent, he didn't develop anyone into something special.

We are seeing in Ben Johnson with Caleb Williams in Chicago that there are other offensive minds that are capable of doing this job, and at a higher level.

McVay, Shanahan, Lafleur, Johnson, etc. - all of these guys are way above Kingsbury.

I sincerely doubt that Kingsbury gets out of Jared Goff what Ben Johnson did over his 3 years in Detroit.

I think Kingsbury has an eye for finding and developing QB's. In 2011 he became the OC of the University of Houston and Case Keenum has a break out year. The next year he takes the OC job at Texas A&M and Johnny Manziel breaks out and wins the Heisman. Then he goes to Texas Tech where he recruited two three star QB who will have long NFL careers in Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield. He developed Mahomes as a three year starter at Texas Tech. Then he goes to the Cardinals and draft and develops Kyler Murray who made consecutive pro bowls in his second and third years in the NFL and who has not had the same success he had with Kliff in the three seasons since Kingsbury left. Finally he takes the Commanders OC job and has a rookie QB Jayden Daniels have arguably the best rookie season a NFL QB has ever had in the NFL.

Kliff Kingsbury is NFL's most interesting free agent coach: Here's what's next

Kinsgbury got a tough deal in Washington, but he'll land on his feet

www.cbssports.com

 

[CuredFromBatteredFanSyndrome]

Haven’t seen this anywhere on here yet. Ugh.

 

[burgold]

Interesting, reading between the lines, I think this means that Peters like the rest of us were pushing to see Kain, Sinnott, and Magee in action. I mean really what is the upside of trotting out 39 year old journeyman QB on the final game of a 4 win season? Does 5 wins make anyone feel differently about this team?

 

[SkinsInSATX]

I don’t remember a single report that Dallas wanted to promote Whitt themselves. They blocked us from stealing Al Harris, is that what you’re thinking of Neophyte?

This! I also remember Quinn wanting Harris and instead settled for Whitt because of the block by Dallas.

 

[method man]

I think you are giving Kingsbury too much credit. What has he ever won in the league?

He drafted Kyler Murray in Arizona at #1 and over time that decision showed he was too small and not durable enough to last in the NFL in Kliff's system. Clearly Kliff didn't calibrate well the factors that make for a franchise passer in the NFL at the time.

He worked with Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. Great, he worked with guys with uber talent, he didn't develop anyone into something special.

We are seeing in Ben Johnson with Caleb Williams in Chicago that there are other offensive minds that are capable of doing this job, and at a higher level.

McVay, Shanahan, Lafleur, Johnson, etc. - all of these guys are way above Kingsbury.

I sincerely doubt that Kingsbury gets out of Jared Goff what Ben Johnson did over his 3 years in Detroit.

The only guy “who has won anything in this league” of the guys you cited is McVay. The other guys haven’t won any Super Bowls.

 

[method man]

I don’t remember a single report that Dallas wanted to promote Whitt themselves. They blocked us from stealing Al Harris, is that what you’re thinking of Neophyte?

Meh. Jerry loves his big name DCs. DQ, Zimmer, Eberfluss and now their public pursuit of Flores