Dan Quinn and Commanders actually set fire to the useless parts from 2025 in order to ensure it doesn’t happen again
Dan Quinn recently revealed a tactic he used to help motivate the Commanders players that experienced the dismal 2025 season and it should help them avoid repeating last year’s mistakes.
Injuries. Bad play-calling. Poor execution. Miscommunication. Low effort.
There were all kinds of issues with the 2025 version of the Washington Commanders and Dan Quinn knows it. And while it’s a bad idea for teams to stew on failure and/or rest on laurels, value remains in taking away certain aspects that can lead to improvement in the future. Whether said aspects are negative or positive.
That’s why Quinn gathered those who were present last year and literally set fire to the unnecessary facets that won’t help the Commanders turn things around in 2026.
“I wanted to take the lessons from ’25, learn them, and then burn, you know, all the others,” Quinn recently told CBS Sports’ Evan Washburn. “In fact, before the new coaches came in here for ’26 to everybody else outside, we wrote some things down on a piece of paper, [used] a couple big, like, paint stirs, wrote down some stuff, [and] lit a big fire in one of those big cans. [We] said, ‘All right, what’re the things we’re leaving behind?’
“There’s got to be the lessons that we’re taking from this past season, because it wasn’t all injury-related. We weren’t as connected, we weren’t as tough, we weren’t as clutch, and so some of that’s practice, some of that’s connection, some of that’s, you know, the scheme, the coaching, all of it. You can put everything into one big pot.”
It’s an impactful and intentional tactic, which should come at no surprise considering it’s Dan Quinn we are talking about, here. Say what you want about the Commanders’ 2025 season, but DQ is one of the league’s best communicators and motivators and actually setting fire to visual props totally backs that up.
Dan Quinn noticed a change in the Commanders during 2025 OTAs
Torching useless talking points wasn’t the only way Quinn got his message across and once again, he used a visual to get things done. Apparently, he found some 2025 practice tape that would, at the time, unknowingly set the tone for the rest of the season.
“I pulled out some tape from a random 2024 OTA practice, and one from a ’25 OTA practice, and I showed some of the players this offseason to say this was a team [that was] desperate, and this one wasn’t as desperate,” said Quinn.
“Sometimes, you might just be one degree off, and then in July you’re this far, August [a] little further, further, and by October, what the hell, you know? And it was such a hard lesson to go through and to learn.”
Quinn made sure to exclude any new coaches and players who weren’t around last year and for good measure. They had zero to do with anything that went on, therefore, it wasn’t their burden to bear, so to speak.
“It wasn’t fair for any of these new coaches coming in [for] them to have any other baggage that we’re bringing into this season. There was no chance for that,” said Quinn. “We’re not bringing this old s*** from ’25 into this season with these new coaches that are being a part of this. So the day before they arrived, I did that exercise with the coaches that, you know, were with us the season prior, and I also showed that video that I spoke to you about.
“I didn’t show this year’s players, they had nothing to do with that. But I wanted the other players to see, let’s make sure that practice here, the competitive nature, that’s our standard. That’s the most important thing, and so I was going to get that across come hell or high water going into this offseason.”
It’s a smart strategy that can really help the staff and players discern between what is important and what’s not. I mean, who doesn’t like torching pointless aspects that only slow them down?
Will it help accelerate success in 2026? That remains to be seen, but the process is sound. Therefore, the results should reflect as much.