Could next Commanders' offensive line coach already be on staff?

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The Washington Commanders have yet to hire an offensive line coach after firing Bobby Johnson on January 6. There haven’t been any formal interviews that we’ve known of. That doesn’t mean those interviews haven’t happened. Teams generally publicize only head coaching or coordinator interviews.

What if Washington’s next offensive line coach is already on staff?

On the latest episode of his podcast, the “John Keim Report,” ESPN’s John Keim brought up an interesting name: assistant offensive line coach Darnell Stapleton. While Keim didn’t say that Stapleton was a candidate, he did note that the search has been quiet and that the Commanders really like him.

“I haven’t heard a lot of names there yet, so I’m not sure what they’re going to do,” Keim said. “I do know that they like Darnell Stapleton, who is an assistant offensive line coach there. He’s only been in the NFL, I think this would be his third year; he played three years in the NFL. He had a fourth year on the practice squad, so he’s got some of that. I think the players like that. But he’s only been in the NFL for two years as an assistant offensive line coach. He was at Florida before he came to Washington. That would be a jump to have another new guy leading the room.”

Again, Keim made it clear he was not reporting this, or saying he’d heard Washington was considering the move. He was simply saying he knew the Commanders liked Stapleton. Another feather in Stapleton’s cap, according to Keim, is that the Commanders like his ability to develop players.

Considering they liked Blough, it’s only fair to wonder if Washington would consider a big promotion for Stapleton.

If they did, it would not be a smart move. That’s not because Stapleton isn’t worthy. He may very well be a future OL coaching star. But with Blough already on staff, he needs more veteran voices around him. The offensive line coach is arguably the third-most-important hire for a head coach, behind the offensive and defensive coordinators. If Washington had retained Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator and still fired Johnson, the move would make more sense.

The Commanders interviewed Cowboys tight ends coach Lunda Wells for the offensive coordinator position. Some speculated that it could have been due to Wells’ past as an offensive lineman and assistant offensive line coach before coming to Dallas as a tight ends coach. Could the Commanders have been checking on Wells’ availability?

Washington’s offensive line is one of the team’s strengths, anchored by left tackle Laremy Tunsil. It would make sense to find the right candidate who could also help Blough and give him one less thing to worry about.

Before Stapleton played three years for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2007-09, he was a standout center for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. He made several coaching stops before coming to Washington in 2024, including a two-year stint at the University of Florida as the offensive line coach.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Is the next OL coach already on staff?

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