With Kliff Kingsbury Fired, Who is Favored to be the Commanders’ New OC in 2026? Who is the Top Candidate to Replace Kliff Kingsbury?
Full Story on Kingsbury Being Fired by Washington
Just a year removed from their NFC Championship Game appearance, the Commanders’ future looked bright heading into 2025. In fact, Washington recently snapped its 20-year playoff win drought last season thanks to the wild card victory vs. Tampa Bay. But unfortunately, the Landover-based team struggled this year that included an eight-game losing skid. Despite pulling off a season finale upset vs. Eagles, the Commanders made some significant coaching changes. While keeping Dan Quinn as head coach, Washington fired offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and top defensive caller Joe Whitt Jr. There had been reports where Kingsbury had internal tensions with General Manager Adam Peters.
At the time of the coaching announcement, the 5-12 Commanders have only accomplished two winning records over the past several years. One of the main reasons the team underperformed in 2025 was due to QB Jayden McDaniels’s injuries relating to his elbow and hamstring. Perhaps their biggest win of the season came on January 4, where the football squad defeated Philadelphia 24-17 and prevented their division rival from securing a #2 seed in the NFC Conference.
In terms of finding talent, Washington has selected the following recent college prospects in the NFL Draft: OT Josh Conerly Jr. (Oregon, 2025), QB Jayden McDaniels (LSU, 2024), CB Emmanuel Forbes (Mississippi State, 2023), and WR Jahan Dotson (Penn State, 2022). Kingsbury becomes the second offensive coordinator to lose his job in the offseason along with Lions top offense caller John Morton. In 12 games this season, the Commanders scored 25 points or less per contest and even got shutout by Minnesota on December 7.
Kliff Kingsbury’s Career with the Washington Commanders
Kingsbury became the offensive coordinator in 2024 after the departure of Eric Bieniemy. The former helped the Commanders end their 20-year postseason victory drought last season and took them to the NFC Championship Game. However, the boys from Landover have only made the playoffs three times over the past decade. The team is aiming for its first Super Bowl title since defeating the Bills in 1991. Throughout the former top offensive caller’s time in Washington, the team compiled a 17-17 record (2-1 in the Playoffs).
Before joining Washington, Kingsbury was the senior offensive analyst for the USC Trojans in 2023. Most notably, he served as the head coach for the Arizona Cardinals (2019-2022) and Texas Tech (2013-2018). Kingsbury led the Cardinals to a postseason berth in early 2022, but lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. He coached future NFL star QB Patrick Mahomes for three seasons and took the Red Raiders to the 2015 Texas Bowl.
What’s Next for the Washington Commanders?
Many Commanders football fans might wonder: Who is the leading candidate to replace Kliff Kingsbury in 2026? The top coaches in consideration listed in this article have prior coaching experience. In addition, those candidates have been on the coaching staff for at least five years. Please refer to the information below for the list of top candidates to replace Kingsbury as Washington Commanders Offensive Coordinator!
Possible Candidates to Replace Kliff Kingsbury as Washington OC
Internal Candidates
Anthony Lynn-Washington
- Jets RB Coach (2009-2012)
- Jets Associate HC & RB Coach (2013-2014)
- Bills Associate HC & RB Coach (2015-2016)
- Bills Interim HC & OC (2016)
- Chargers Head Coach (2017-2020)
- Lions Offensive Coordinator (2021)
- 49ers Associate HC & RB Coach (2022-2023)
- Commanders RB Coach (2024-Present)
- Led Los Angeles to Playoff Berth in 2018
- Took New York to Two AFC Championship Games in 2009 and 2010
Top Offensive Coordinator Candidates for Washington Commanders to Consider
Brian Daboll-New York
- Patriots WR Coach (2002-2006)
- Jets QB Coach (2007-2008)
- Browns OC (2009-2010)
- Dolphins OC (2011)
- Chiefs OC (2012)
- Patriots TE Coach (2013-2016)
- Alabama OC & QB Coach (2017)
- Bills OC (2018-2021)
- Giants HC (2022-2025)
- 5-Time Super Bowl Champion with New England
- Won National Championship with Crimson Tide
- Guided Buffalo to AFC Championship in Early 2021
- Led New York to Postseason Appearance in 2022
Kevin Stefanski-Cleveland
- Vikings Assistant QB Coach (2009-2013)
- Minnesota TE Coach (2014-2015)
- Vikings RB Coach (2016)
- Minnesota QB Coach (2017-2018)
- Vikings OC (2019)
- Browns HC (2020-2025)
- Helped Cleveland Snap 18-Year Playoff Drought in 2020
- Took Minnesota to Two NFC Championship Games in 2009 and 2017
Grant Udinski-Jacksonville
- Baylor Graduate Assistant (2019)
- Panthers Offense Assistant (2020-2022)
- Vikings Associate HC (2022)
- Minnesota Assistant QB Coach (2023)
- Vikings Co-OC & Co-QB Coach (2024)
- Jaguars OC (2025-Present)
- Guided Jacksonville to AFC South Division Title in 2025
Brian Callahan-Tennessee
- Broncos Offense Qualities Coach (2011-2012)
- Broncos Offense Assistant (2013-2015)
- Lions QB Coach (2016-2017)
- Raiders QB Coach (2018)
- Bengals OC (2019-2023)
- Titans HC (2024-2025)
- Won NFL Championship with Denver in 2015
- Led Cincinnati to Super Bowl in Early 2022
- Also Took Bengals to AFC Championship Game in Early 2023
Leading Candidate to Replace Kliff Kingsbury as Washington OC in 2026
Tommy Rees-Cleveland
- Northwestern Graduate Assistant (2015)
- Chargers Offense Assistant (2016)
- Notre Dame QB Coach (2017-2019)
- Notre Dame OC & QB Coach (2020-2022)
- Alabama OC & QB Coach (2023)
- Browns TE Coach (2024)
- Browns OC (2025-Present)
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