Joe Whitt Jr. had the opportunity from the Washington Commanders that he had to wait a football lifetime to have as an assistant with the Dallas Cowboys.
ASHBURN, Virginia Coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters of the Washington Commanders are receiving high marks for the group of people they have assembled.
Defense coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. was the name everyone expected to follow Quinn from the Dallas Cowboys staff as he was named to lead the Commanders into what managing partner Josh Harris hopes will be a new era of winning football for the team.
Whitt also informed us on Thursday that he is prepared to begin work on a task in Washington that he has been waiting eight years to take on. Really, a lifetime of football.
When asked if he could identify a moment in time when he realized he was ready to take the next step in his coaching career, Whitt responded, “I probably felt that I was ready in 2015.” “I knew exactly what I wanted to do that year in terms of my package, including how to get to the quarterback again and how to control the pressure and fronts. Therefore, I think I was ready in 2015, and I haven’t had the chance to do it since.
Whitt coached the Green Bay Packers’ secondary and cornerbacks in 2015. The team finished with ten wins, a victory against Washington in the Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs, and a loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
The same Cardinals under new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury of the Commanders.
The Packers finished in the top 10 in interceptions with 16, had two players selected to the Pro Bowl, and the 12th-best scoring defense in the NFL that season.
Whitt stayed with Green Bay for three more seasons before going on to become the defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach for the Cleveland Browns. In 2020, he took on the same role with Quinn’s Atlanta Falcons, and in 2021, he joined him at the Cowboys.
Quinn was the defensive coordinator in Dallas, so Whitt patiently awaited his opportunity. This opportunity. the one Quinn is receiving during his second opportunity to lead a head coaching staff.
Whitt knows without a doubt that he is prepared.
Whitt explains, “I’ve been coaching in (the) league for eighteen years.” “I see that many of these young men were given opportunities years, years, years ago, and no one really asked them questions. Do you understand what I mean? I’ve been prepared; Coach Quinn’s moment has just presented itself. However, I am completely confident in my capacity to organize and call defense in this regard.