An ESPN analyst thinks Dan Quinn, not Kliff Kingsbury, should have been the one on the chopping block

Kliff Kingsbury took the fall for Washington’s brutal 5-12 collapse in 2025. That much is clear. But an ESPN analyst named Seth Walder made a pretty strong case this week that the Commanders fired the wrong guy. And honestly, after looking at the numbers, it’s hard to totally disagree.

Washington cleaned house after the season, canning Kingsbury and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. while head coach Dan Quinn kept his job. That decision raised some eyebrows around the league, including Walder’s. He pointed out that the defense was the real problem, ranking 30th in EPA per play. The offense, meanwhile, was middle of the pack in that same metric even without quarterback Jayden Daniels for half the year. And get this — the Commanders were actually more efficient on offense without Daniels than with him at times. That’s a weird stat that says more about the coaching staff than people want to admit.

Look, Daniels dealt with injuries in 2025. His late-down efficiency tanked after that monster rookie season in 2024. Those are real factors. But Walder’s argument is that the offensive coaching held things together better than it gets credit for. And if anyone deserved scrutiny, it should have been Quinn.

Quinn didn’t exactly make things easy on himself heading into 2026. He hired 30-year-old David Blough as the new offensive coordinator — Blough’s first shot at the job at this level. That’s a gamble. Quinn’s taken some heat for leaning so heavily on shotgun formations the last two seasons, so the new plan is to have Daniels play more under center in 2026. That should help create more explosive plays and maybe keep Daniels healthier.

Daniels seems on board. He told commanders.com that he loves what Blough is doing with the new approach. said he enjoys how Blough designs things and that he’s focused on getting better as a football player. That’s the kind of positivity you’d expect in February, though.

The question nobody’s answering yet is whether Quinn’s job security is actually as solid as it looks. If the Commanders stumble again in 2026, especially early, that conversation is going to get loud again. And this time, the blame might not land on the coordinator.