New Commanders assistant coaches bring championship experience, D.C. ties

ASHBURN — Wednesday was a new day for the Washington Commanders, assistant coaches said when they met the media.

The 2024 coaching staff features an array of familiar faces for Commanders fans, including former Washington linebackers Ryan Kerrigan and Darryl Tapp.

Other notable additions include former Los Angeles Chargers coach Anthony Lynn, former cornerback William Gay and former quarterback David Blough, who ended his playing career after the 2023 season. 

In discussions with reporters, several assistants praised new coach Dan Quinn, citing his leadership, adaptive nature and willingness to collaborate.

“When Danny got the job, it wasn’t a hard decision,” said Lynn, who joins the organization as a running backs coach and run game coordinator. “Because I feel like we’re not as far away as people think.”

Quinn pulled coaches from his previous stops and other teams around the league. 

Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr., Gay and Floyd worked under Quinn with the Dallas Cowboys last offseason. Quinn coached Tapp, the defensive line coach, when the two were in Seattle in 2009. But other additions, like Lynn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, have never worked on a team with Quinn. 

Several members of the Commanders’ staff have ties to the Washington area. Quinn played college football at Salisbury University in Maryland. New special teams coordinator Larry Izzo, who won four Super Bowls as a player with the New England Patriots, grew up in the area and attended Broad Run High School in Ashburn. He told reporters he was a fan of Washington’s NFL team in the late 1980s. 

“I’m ecstatic to be back here. I lived here a long time ago … In 34 years, the place has changed quite a bit,” Izzo said. “So, I know the passion that this fan base has, and so to be a part of that is something I’m really excited about.”

Tapp was also a fan growing up in Virginia. He played for the franchise in 2013 after his college career at Virginia Tech and he later coached in Blacksburg in 2020. The former linebacker said working with Quinn on the Commanders was a perfect fit. 

“You’re like, ‘Man, one day it’d be pretty cool to coach with the Commanders and be at home, to work with those guys.’ Sure enough, God works in mysterious ways,” Tapp said. 

Kerrigan said he and Tapp, who played together in 2013, sat down together recently in their old meeting room. 

“It’s very cool and kind of a full-circle moment in that sense, to look back and still see Darryl Tapp in there, just 11 years removed,” the former pass rush specialist said. “It’s a very cool opportunity and one that he and I are both very excited about.”

Kerrigan is one of four holdovers on this year’s staff, alongside quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard, wide receivers coach Bobby Engram and quality control coach Shane Toub. They noted that the atmosphere is shifting in Ashburn. 

“It’s really cool. I think one of the unique things about this whole staff is that you got coaches from everywhere,” said Kerrigan, who is the assistant linebackers coach. “You’ve got college, you’ve got pros … I think that’s going to be really beneficial because you’re going to have input from a lot of different ways of doing things.”

That excitement about new additions continues on the offensive side of the ball, where Pritchard will work closely with Kingsbury and assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough, who spent the 2023 season on the Detroit Lions practice squad.

Pritchard noted that things are changing for the Commanders, and he said that getting to know new coaches and a fresh scheme excites the football nerd in him.

“Last year, I was one of a few coming into a kind of established staff. Now, it’s a little bit flipped on its head. Most guys are new. For all intents and purposes, it’s a full new staff,” he said. “We’re working on alignment right now. That’s the exciting part.”