The Washington Commanders hosted the Miami Dolphins on Friday night in their first preseason game of 2026. After the Dolphins scored a touchdown on their first drive, the Commanders shut them down and won the game 20-7.
The win came largely on the back of the defense, which recorded three interceptions, five passes defensed, two tackles for a loss, and allowed just 226 total yards of offense. The Commanders’ offense was to be led by Marcus Mariota after Jayden Daniels did not play, but Mariota went down with an apparent knee injury early in the game, and Athan Kaliakmanis and Sam Hartman took over.
After the game, head coach Dan Quinn spoke with the media about his two new coordinators, David Blough and Daronte Jones.
“I felt both guys felt really prepared going into it in terms of what it looks like,” Quinn said. “There’ll be things to communicate differently- headsets, how does it go? But both of them really felt in control. I was listening a lot tonight just to see how the communication goes. Calls, how in on time and packages. It actually can be difficult in the preseason because you’re not game planning and, ‘Okay, this is what I wanna feature on this third down. This is what they like to do.’ I thought both guys, I’d give them high remarks for starting us off. Good collaboration from the coaches too.”
After last season’s disastrous outcome, the Commanders fired Joe Whitt and Kliff Kingsbury in favor of Jones and Blough, and they weren’t the only two new faces on the coaching staff either.
Quinn has a lot riding on this season, and while he’s technically not on the hot seat yet, if this season doesn’t go well and everyone stays healthy, he will be. His confidence in his coordinators and what they bring to the table makes his job as head coach that much easier.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: What did Commanders' Dan Quinn think of his new coordinators?