Dan Quinn’s decisions in 2025 could lead to the Commanders making a drastic change this offseason that nobody saw coming
Dan Quinn’s nightmare 2025 season could be warming his seat up. Here’s a list of everything that’s gone wrong.
The 2025 season has been an absolute nightmare for the Washington Commanders and a real culture shock compared to last year.
We knew it would be a much harder season than last year, but nobody saw these results coming. Just one year after reaching the NFC Championship game, the Commanders are being dominated week to week, and it looks like a completely different team.
There are four more games left, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if head coach Dan Quinn’s seat was at least warm if nothing turns around. Having a bad season is one thing, but mismanaging your franchise quarterback and being non-competitive is a whole different story that shouldn’t be accepted.
No excuses for multiple historically bad losses this season
The Commanders have lost five games by 21+ points this season, which is hard to do in today’s NFL. That includes a stretch of four straight losses by 21+ points for the first time by any NFL team since 2002. The Commanders were handed their worst shutout since 2005 after getting blown out by a 4-8 Minnesota Vikings team 31-0 just one week after Quinn said the team lost to the Denver Broncos, but wasn’t lost anymore. Yikes. That was a new low that made me reflect on how bad this season has been, and why Quinn’s seat should at least be warm.
The Commanders are on an eight-game losing streak, which is the longest in the league. They have four NFC East games left to end the season, and losing those four should be heavily frowned upon, especially with that resulting in a 12-game losing streak to end the season.
A defensive-minded head coach has the worst defense in the league
Not only did Quinn wait way too long to finally make a move to take over the defense after four straight blowouts, but he couldn’t even fire Joe Whitt Jr, he just sent him back up to the press box. We thought the defense would be better after looking improved against the Miami Dolphins, but it didn’t take long to go back to being a liability. The Commanders allowed 31 points to a bottom-three offense last week, and they have the worst EPA in the entire league.
The defense should be what Quinn hangs his hat on, but instead, it’s the most embarrassing part of the team. He also said there was a possibility he remains the play-caller next season, which should be a fireable offense in itself, and there’s no promise he will make the right hire for the next defensive coordinator, and not just another close friend.
Injuries are a factor, not an excuse
Yes, injuries have been a major factor in the Commanders’ season, but that can’t be a crutch to lean on after the Vikings game. You finally had Terry McLaurin and Jayden Daniels back together, with Will Harris healthy on defense as well, and you still gave up 31 points and had nothing to show for on offense.
Every team in the NFL has had injuries, including major ones to key players, but even those teams have competed all season long. The Commanders have a bad roster and not much depth, but other bad teams have stolen a win or two against a good team this season, and Washington should be well above that tier of teams. Good coaching has players ready, and we just haven’t seen that this season as they look unprepared for everything.
Lack of development is showing in recent draft picks
Outside of Daniels, there aren’t many young pieces on the team to be excited about. I will say Josh Conerly Jr. and Trey Amos have impressed, but they were both high draft picks as well. We’ve seen players like Quan Martin, Mike Sainristil, and Brandon Coleman take a huge step back, and not many others have shown any progress as future pieces that can start.
There have been two draft classes with 14 players total, and there are more questions about who can actually contribute instead of being sure starters. The Commanders can’t afford to keep swinging on players that don’t develop, just to send them somewhere else to flourish. Daniels is your one prized possession, and he’s been given all of the pressure to carry the team, and it’s hurting him and the team.
Dan Quinn’s handling of Jayden Daniels’ injury has been concerning
It started during the Sunday Night Football game against the Seattle Seahawks when Quinn kept Daniels in during a slaughter of a game. Quinn said after the game that he never considered pulling Daniels out for his safety, which was not what people wanted to hear. The next day, Quinn corrected himself and finally took accountability for having Daniels in the game still when they were down 38-7 at home, and said that he simply missed it.
The injury saga hasn’t gotten any better as Daniels has been brought back, injured, pulled again, held back when cleared, and just given no real clarity on what the plan is. Daniels is missing yet another game on Sunday due to doctors’ orders, after Quinn said doctors cleared him to return to the game against the Vikings, but Quinn made the decision to hold him out because the team looked “off”.
Quinn also said the score was 17-0, but didn’t feel like 17-0 with the team playing poorly, which is a bad look. This team won’t be competitive against the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles twice, so they need to shut Daniels down and get him ready for the 2026 season. General manager Adam Peters should be furious at how the 2025 season has gone, and he has his biggest offseason ahead with a lot of work to do, including a tough evaluation of Quinn.