The Washington Commanders are hiring D.J. Williams, the son of Washington legend and current executive Doug Williams, as their new quarterbacks coach, according to a team source. Williams becomes the primary voice in the ear of quarterback Jayden Daniels as a key member of Washington’s altered offensive staff.
Williams fills a role that has been vacant since November, when former quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard left the Commanders to become the head coach at his alma mater, Stanford. The team also parted with former offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury last week and promoted former assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough to that role.
According to the team source, Williams was one of at least two candidates to interview for Washington’s QBs coaching job, including Carolina Panthers offensive assistant Michael Bercovici.
Williams was the Atlanta Falcons’ quarterbacks coach last season after spending the 2024 season as their assistant quarterbacks coach, in which he worked with then-rookie Michael Penix Jr. and veteran Kirk Cousins. Williams spent the previous five seasons (2019-23) as an offensive assistant with the New Orleans Saints. He also helped the Saints during training camp in 2017 and assisted their football operations in 2018.
Williams was a four-year quarterback at Grambling State (2011-14), where his father once starred and later became head coach. D.J. Williams tried out for multiple NFL teams after going undrafted in 2015 before turning to coaching.
Two of the first people on the field today were Doug Williams and his son, D.J. Williams, the Falcons’ QBs coach. They took a moment together on the Falcons’ bench as players started to come out for warmups. pic.twitter.com/XYV09BNIfm
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) September 28, 2025
Doug Williams, the first Black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl, was voted MVP of Super Bowl XXII and is a member of Washington’s Ring of Fame. He is currently a senior advisor to general manager Adam Peters.
The Commanders are undergoing a significant overhaul of their coaching staff and player roster after a disappointing 5-12 season. The team is also seeking an offensive line coach after firing Bobby Johnson, and has been interviewing defensive coordinator candidates to replace Joe Whitt Jr.
Whitt was stripped of play-calling duties in Week 11 and fired after the season.
According to multiple league and team sources, the Commanders earlier interviewed former Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and Seattle Seahawks defensive backs coach Karl Scott, then on Wednesday interviewed former Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. The team plans to talk to former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon on Thursday.