Washington Commanders Coaching Tracker: Joe Whitt Jr interviews with the Jets

Coaching news and rumors

The Washington Commanders are in the playoffs and they’ve advanced to the Conference Championship game after defeating the Detroit Lions last night. They are waiting to find out their next opponent after Sunday’s games conclude.

There are currently six head coach openings in the league, with the Patriots making the first hire(Mike Vrabel). A lot of teams are looking at coaches from teams that are still in the playoffs. Teams like the Lions who were just eliminated can now be poached.

Kliff Kingsbury and Joe Whitt Jr are both in their first season with the Washington Commanders as as offensive and defensive coordinators respectively. They have helped guide the team to a 14-5 record, and will likely continue on with the team next season despite getting head coaching interest.

Kliff Kingsbury has already been an NFL coach with the Arizona Cardinals, and he is still getting paid by them into 2026. He has received head coach interview requests from the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports that he won’t take interviews until after Washington’s playoff run is over. This will likely leave him out of this year’s head coach hiring cycle, but Washington could be eliminated as soon as Saturday night when they visit the Detroit Lions.

Defensive Coordinator Joe Whitt Jr has an interview request from the New York Jets, and he completed that interview on Sunday. He said he was focused on the Detroit Lions last week, and with their win Saturday night, he had the opportunity to get his first NFL head coaching interview. The Jets are casting an unusually wide net for their next head coach, and hiring a first-year coordinator like Whitt Jr was always considered a long-shot.

There are also executive-level jobs open around the NFL, and Washington Commanders assistant GM Lance Newmark has completed his second general manager interview, this one with the Las Vegas Raiders. He had previously interviewed for the Jets open GM position. He has been linked with Lions OC Ben Johnson, who he worked with for years in Detroit. The story has been that Ben Johnson wants Newmark to be the GM of the team he signs with and the Raiders are reportedly very interested in Johnson.

Joe Whitt Jr interviews with the Jets:

Raiders interview Lance Newmark:

Kingsbury will wait until after the playoffs to interview:

Kingsbury might decline interview requests:

Per a league source, Kingsbury might ultimately decline one or more of the interview requests. (He might even decline one or more if they lose.)

Kingsbury, who coached the Cardinals for four years, has no financial urgency to become a head coach again. His buyout from the Cardinals runs into 2026, at mid-level head-coaching compensation. This allows him to wait for the right spot to open.

Jets are also interested in Joe Whitt Jr:

Jets interview Lance Newmark:

Saints are also interested in Kingsbury:

Jets interested in Kingsbury:

Kingsbury will be selective:

Fowler: I do. I expect Kingsbury to interview there. As was told to me, most or all the names that have been linked to the Bears are people Chicago would like to interview. Observers believe experience will be a key factor in the hiring process, and Kingsbury has experience coupled with quarterback cachet.

Now, we’ve heard the buzz word “selective” with Johnson’s approach to the cycle. Kingsbury will also be selective, I’m told. He’s still getting paid head coach money from Arizona and gets to coach Daniels on a Washington team that should be even better next season. I don’t think he’s ironing shirts for job interviews just yet. Keep in mind, Kingsbury was down the road with the Jets in 2019 before he took the Arizona job, so New York could double back with him.