With the season reaching its midway point, the hot seat is getting hotter for some coordinators around the NFL. The Green Bay Packers have had the heat turned up on special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia all season long, and it's reached the point where even some of the franchise's former coordinators are looking over their shoulder as teams make changes for the stretch run.
That includes former Packers cornerback coach Joe Whitt Jr.. Tabbed to run Dan Quinn’s defense with the Washington Commanders, Whitt has been stripped of his play-calling duties, according to The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov. The move could signal that Whitt’s time in Washington could be coming to an end, and he could be the next coach fired after his demotion.
Ex-Packers Coach Joe Whitt Jr.’s Demotion Paints a Bleak Outlook
Whitt was hired as the Commanders’ defensive coordinator upon Quinn’s arrival in Washington last season. The group performed well under Whitt, ranking 13th in total defense and 18th in scoring defense in his first season, but has taken a big step back in 2025, ranking 30th in total defensive yards and 29th in points allowed.
As a result, the Commanders are 3-7 one year after reaching the NFC Championship Game and Quinn felt like it was time to make the change.
“When something’s not working, we shift from the question of why isn’t it working to what do we need to do to get it right?” Quinn told reporters when announcing the move during Monday’s press conference. “Right now, that’ll call for some change. I’ll take over the role as the defensive coordinator and all that entails. Joe’s been my right-hand man for years and took the news like the pro he is. As a defensive staff, including Joe, we’re all consumed by getting it right, and that’s exactly what we intend to do.”
Before heading to Washington, Whitt was a staple of Mike McCarthy’s staff in Green Bay. He arrived as the defensive quality control assistant in 2008 before becoming the cornerbacks coach in 2009, when Packers cornerback Charles Woodson won the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year Award.
After winning the Super Bowl the following year, Whitt remained in Green Bay until McCarthy’s departure in 2018 and had a one-year stint as the Cleveland Browns’ defensive backs coach before originally joining forces with Quinn during his final year as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons in 2020. Whitt followed Quinn when he became defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys in 2021 and when he got the job in Washington as head coach. And while Quinn referred to Whitt as “his right-hand man,” one has to wonder how long that will remain the case.
If Quinn is truly taking over everything that Whitt was doing, his chances of sticking around this season aren’t good. Even if he does stay, it will likely be in a reduced role, which could lead the ex-Packers coach to look for a better opportunity somewhere else.
The Commanders' change-up is the type of move that desperate teams make this time of the year, and it might end up being the final coffin in the former Green Bay coach's time with the franchise.