Joe Whitt Jr. has long been thought to be a coach on the rise in the NFL ranks, with the Cowboys sending the secondary coach and defensive passing game coordinator to participate in the league’s Coach Accelerator program two years in a row in order to increase his exposure for future promotions.
The good news is, it worked. The bad news is that the Cowboys won’t be the beneficiaries.
Whitt has been named the new defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders. He’ll serve under newly-named head coach Dan Quinn, the Cowboys DC of the last three seasons.
The next DC in D.C.
Joe Whitt Jr. is our new defensive coordinator pic.twitter.com/EsMXAQ3wEi
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) February 5, 2024
Whitt, 45, was scheduled to interview with the Cowboys on Monday for Quinn’s old job but pulled his name from official consideration late Sunday night to accept the same position under Quinn in Washington.
Whitt had stints on staff in Atlanta, Green Bay, and Cleveland before coming to Dallas in 2021. He was widely expected to be someone Quinn would target to take with him were he to go elsewhere.
[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]
And Quinn may not be done poaching talent from his former Dallas staff, according to reports.
Josh Harris said Dan Quinn "has some more tricks up his sleeve" with the staff.
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) February 5, 2024
The Cowboys were scheduled to move forward with interviews of current defensive line coach Aden Durde and current defensive backs coach Al Harris. Former Commanders head coach Ron Rivera reportedly met with the team on Monday, while former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer is slated for a visit on Tuesday.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
[mm-video type=video id=01hny84k7nkn6kgqsy4z playlist_id=01eqbwens7sctqdrqg player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01hny84k7nkn6kgqsy4z/01hny84k7nkn6kgqsy4z-f1123cfa8fd007a0e7c989b290448f64.jpg]
[lawrence-newsletter]