Commanders’ latest defensive coordinator candidate would be a status hire over actual results
The Commanders are interviewing Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, and it wouldn’t be the right hire to make after recent results.
The Washington Commanders’ search for the next defensive coordinator continues, and fans are left wondering where they turn next.
They missed out on Brian Flores, who decided to stay with the Minnesota Vikings, but they have interviewed other top candidates. The Commanders could be stuck in a waiting game for candidates like Raheem Morris and Karl Scott, but the search continues in the meantime. Dan Quinn just added another new candidate to the list, and it wouldn’t be as impressive a hire as people think it would.
The Commanders are set to interview Teryl Austin for the defensive coordinator position
While the Commanders wait for other dominoes to fall, they added a new name that we haven’t heard of yet, as Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is set to interview with the team.
The Steelers are making their own drastic changes after Mike Tomlin stepped down after 19 seasons, and Austin likely won’t be retained by the new head coach, and rightfully so. When you think of the Steelers’ defense, you think of a top unit, but that hasn’t been the case lately with Austin as the defensive coordinator. Their defense was 23rd in 2022 and 2023, 17th in 2024, and dropped to 20th this past season, even with all the talent they have.
The Commanders should not hire Teryl Austin
Austin does have a lot of experience, which I’m sure Quinn loves, but it’s a move that wouldn’t move the needle, and the Commanders have a drastically worse roster on defense than the Steelers. I reached out to A to Z Sports Pittsburgh’s beat writer, Rob Gregson, to get his thoughts on Austin, and he agrees that it wouldn’t be a good move to make.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers had a lot of good players during Teryl Austin’s tenure as defensive coordinator. As a matter of fact, they had potential Hall of Famers in T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward, with tons of Pro Bowlers and All-Pros mixed in. Yet every year, there were questions. Blown assignments, bad communication, and just poor execution. It feels like there were yearly questions when it came to the run defense, and for as long as Austin was there, the team could never cover tight ends. It felt like whatever improvements came from that unit occurred when Mike Tomlin had to step in and imprint his DNA on that side of the ball. That shouldn’t be the case for a DC.” – Rob Gregson, A to Z Sports Pittsburgh
The Commanders need to nail this hire, and Austin would be a bad hire. You shouldn’t expect much improvement if he’s the hire. For me, the next defensive coordinator needs to be Karl Scott, Al Harris, or maybe Jonathan Gannon, and anything less than that is a failure.