List of Washington Commanders head coaches

Last updated

Dan Quinn, Washington's current head coach, was hired in 2024. Dan Quinn training camp 2024.jpg
Dan Quinn, Washington's current head coach, was hired in 2024.

The Washington Commanders are a professional American football franchise based in the Washington metropolitan area. They are members of the East division in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). The Commanders were founded in 1932 as the Boston Braves, named after the local baseball franchise. [1] The franchise changed its name the following year to the Redskins and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1937. [1] In 2020, the team retired the Redskins name after longstanding controversies surrounding it and briefly played as the Washington Football Team before becoming the Commanders in 2022. [1]

Contents

There have been 31 head coaches for the franchise, four of which played for the franchise during their career. Joe Gibbs is the only coach to have more than one tenure with the team. [2] Ray Flaherty coached teams that won the 1937 and 1942 NFL Championships, while Joe Gibbs coached teams that won Super Bowl XVII (1982), Super Bowl XXII (1987), and Super Bowl XXVI (1991). [3] Gibbs is the franchise leader in games coached and wins, with Dudley DeGroot leading in winning percentage with .737. [4] Seven are Pro Football Hall of Fame members: Flaherty, Turk Edwards, Curly Lambeau, Otto Graham, Vince Lombardi, George Allen, and Gibbs. [5]

Coaches

#Number of coaches [a]
GCGames coached
WWins
LLoses
TTies
Win % Winning percentage
†Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a coach
‡Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player
*Spent their entire NFL head coaching career with Washington
List of Boston Braves / Boston Redskins / Washington Redskins / Washington Football Team / Washington Commanders head coaches
#ImageCoachTermRegular seasonPlayoffsAwardsRef.
GCWLTWin%GCWL
1 Lud Wray 1921.jpg Lud Wray 1932 10442.500———— [6]
2 William Henry Dietz (cropped).png Lone Star Dietz* [b] 1933–1934*2411112.500———— [7]
3 Eddie Casey* 1935*11281.200———— [8]
4 Ray Flaherty, football coach of Washington Redskins LCCN2016872283 (cropped).jpg Ray Flaherty † 1936–1942 7854213.720422— [9]
5 Dutch Bergman 1927.jpg Dutch Bergman* 1943*10631.667211— [10]
6 Dudley DeGroot 1946.jpg Dudley DeGroot* [c] 1944–1945*201451.737101— [4]
7 Turk Edwards* ‡ 1946–1948*3516181.471———— [11]
8 John Esten Whelchel.jpg John Whelchel* [d] 1949*7331.500———— [12]
9 Herman Ball* [e] 1949–1951*204160.200———— [13]
10 Dick Todd - 1952 Bowman Large.jpg Dick Todd* 1951*9540.556———— [14]
11 Lambeau 1940.jpg Curly Lambeau † 1952–1953 2410131.435———— [15]
12 Joe Kuharich 1954–1958 6026322.448——— Sporting News Coach of the Year (1955)
UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1955) [16] 		[17]
13 Mike Nixon 1959–1960 244182.182———— [18]
14 Bill McPeak 1961.jpg Bill McPeak* 1961–1965*7021463.313———— [19]
15 A photo of Otto Graham.jpg Otto Graham* ‡ 1966–1968*4217223.436———— [20]
16 Vince Lombardi (1913-1970) in 1964 Crop.jpg Vince Lombardi † [f] 1969 14752.583———— [21]
17 Bill Austin 1946.jpg Bill Austin 1970 14680.429———— [22]
18 PCPFSChairmanGeorgeAllen-81-87.jpg George Allen † 1971–1977 9867301.691725 AP Coach of the Year (1971)
Pro Football Weekly Coach of the Year (1971)
Sporting News Coach of the Year (1971)
UPI NFC Coach of the Year (1971) [16] 		[23]
19 Jack Pardee as Houston Cougars head football coach.jpg Jack Pardee 1978–1980 4824240.500——— AP Coach of the Year (1979)
UPI NFC Coach of the Year (1979)		 [24]
20 Joe Gibbs at Dept of Education event, cropped.jpg Joe Gibbs* [g] 1981–1992*184124600.67421165 AP Coach of the Year (1982, 1983)
Pro Football Weekly Coach of the Year (1982, 1983)
Sporting News Coach of the Year (1982, 1983, 1991)
UPI NFC Coach of the Year (1982) [16] 		[2]
21 Richie Petitbon* 1993*164120.250———— [25]
22 Norv Turner from Washington Football Team Rookie Minicamp, at Inova Sports and Performance Center, Ashburn, VA, May 15, 2021 (cropped).png Norv Turner 1994–2000 10949591.454211— [26]
23 Terry Robiskie 2013.jpg Terry Robiskie [h] 2000 3120.333———— [27]
24 Marty Schottenheimer-Aug-11-2006-Autograph.jpg Marty Schottenheimer 2001 16880.500———— [28]
25 Steve-Spurrier-2007.JPEG Steve Spurrier* 2002–2003*3212200.375———— [29]
— Joe Gibbs at Dept of Education event, cropped.jpg Joe Gibbs* [g] 2004–2007*6430340.469312— [2]
26 Coach Jim Zorn.jpg Jim Zorn* 2008–2009*3212200.375———— [30]
27 Coach Shanahan (7984129018) (cropped).jpg Mike Shanahan 2010–2013 6424400.375101— [31]
28 Jay Gruden (50121730372) (cropped) (cropped).jpg Jay Gruden* [i] 2014–2019 8535491.418101— [32]
29 Bill Callahan (American football).jpg Bill Callahan 2019 11380.273———— [33]
30 Ron Rivera Commanders vs Jaguars (cropped).jpg Ron Rivera 2020–2023 6726401.396101 George Halas Award (2022) [34]
31 Dan Quinn Preseason 2024.jpg Dan Quinn 2024–present171250.706321— [35]
#ImageCoachTermGCWLTWin%GCWLAwardsRef.
Regular seasonPlayoffs

Footnotes

  1. ↑ A running total of the number of coaches of the Redskins. Thus any coach who has two terms as head coach is only counted once.
  2. ↑ George Preston Marshall, owner and founder of the franchise, sought to rename the Boston Braves after leaving the stadium they shared with the baseball team of the same name. He chose the name Redskins in honor of Dietz, who was Sioux.
  3. ↑ DeGroot was a member of the United States rugby team that won an Olympic gold medal during the 1924 competition in Paris.
  4. ↑ Fired after seven games
  5. ↑ Fired after three games in the 1951 season.
  6. ↑ Lombardi died from cancer during the 1970 preseason
  7. 1 2 Gibbs full coaching record with the Redskins is 248 regular season games coached with a record of 154–94–0 and a W–L percentage of .621. He is also 17–7 in 24 Playoff games.
  8. ↑ Took over for last 3 games of the season.
  9. ↑ Fired five games into the 2019 season, with Bill Callahan taking over for the rest of the year.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Washington Commanders Team History". Pro Football Hall of Fame . Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "Joe Gibbs' Coaching Record". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Washington Redskins Championship History". NFLTeamHistory.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2008. Retrieved March 14, 2008.
  4. 1 2 "Dudley DeGroot's Coaching Record". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Hall of Famers by Franchise". Pro Football Hall of Fame . Retrieved March 14, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Lud Wray's Coaching Record". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Lone Star Dietz's Coaching Record". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Eddie Casey's Coaching Record". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Ray Flaherty's Coaching Record". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Dutch Bergman's Coaching Record". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Turk Edwards' Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  12. ↑ "John Whelchel's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Herman Ball's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Dick Todd's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Curly Lambeau's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved March 22, 2008.
  16. 1 2 3 "NFL Coach of the Year Award". Hickok Sports. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2008.
  17. ↑ "Joe Kuharich's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Mike Nixon's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved March 14, 2008.
  19. ↑ "Bill McPeak's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Otto Graham's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Vince Lombardi's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  22. ↑ "Bill Austin's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  23. ↑ "George Allen's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  24. ↑ "Jack Pardee's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Richie Petitbon's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  26. ↑ "Norv Turner's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  27. ↑ "Terry Robiskie's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  28. ↑ "Marty Schottenheimer's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  29. ↑ "Steve Spurrier's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  30. ↑ "Jim Zorn's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  31. ↑ "Mike Shanahan's Coaching Record". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  32. ↑ "Jay Gruden". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Sports Reference. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Bill Callahan". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Sports Reference . Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  34. ↑ "Ron Rivera Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  35. ↑ "Dan Quinn Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 27, 2025.

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