The Commanders are hiring Doug Williams’ son, D.J., as their quarterbacks coach, AP source says

By Canadian Press on January 14, 2026.

The Washington Commanders are bringing aboard D.J. Williams, whose father is Super Bowl-winning quarterback Doug Williams, as their new QBs coach, a person with knowledge of the move told The Associated Press on Wednesday night.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not yet announced the hiring of the younger Williams, who was the quarterbacks coach this past season for the Atlanta Falcons.

The move was first reported by ESPN.

D.J. Williams was an offensive assistant and assistant QBs coach for Atlanta in 2024.

Before that, he spent five seasons with the New Orleans Saints as an offensive assistant.

He played quarterback in college at Grambling State, the same school where his father was a QB before being a first-round NFL draft pick. The older Williams went on to play for the Washington franchise and was the Super Bowl MVP when the club defeated the Denver Broncos 42-10 after the 1987 season.

Doug Williams is now an executive with the Commanders.

D.J. Williams replaces Tavita Pritchard, who was Washington’s quarterbacks coach during Jayden Daniels’ AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign in 2024 and left the Commanders during this past season after being hired by Stanford as its head coach.

David Blough, who was the assistant QBs coach under Pritchard and helped fill in after he moved on, was promoted last week to offensive coordinator. The previous OC, Kliff Kingsbury, agreed with head coach Dan Quinn two days after Washington’s 5-12 season ended that it was time to part ways.

Quinn still also needs to find a new assistant QBs coach, offensive line coach and defensive coordinator. The former DC, Joe Whitt Jr., was fired after the season.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press