Washington’s coaching staff appears to be a case of talent seeking its own level

Can Dan Quinn keep them in balance?

Earlier this week, Washington put the finishing touches on the upper ranks of its coaching staff, and it’s a truly interesting mix of people who have “been here before” – terms of their roles, up-and-comers, and individuals who have taken parallel positions, perhaps seeking a change of scenery and opportunity.

The Peter Principle is Real

An occasional recurring topic of conversation on the threads of Hogs Haven, as it comes to coaching talent, is the idea of the “Peter Principle,” the management principle developed by Laurence J. Peter in the late 1960s that suggests:

People in a hierarchy tend to rise to “a level of respective incompetence”: employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent, as skills in one job do not necessarily translate to another.

Now the term “incompetence” here is a loaded one, and people tend to interpret it more negatively than it was intended in this case. In practical terms, what the Peter Principle means is that very often, people who are technically proficient in certain roles will eventually get promoted into managerial roles, where they lack the skills or acumen to do that job well.

How does that translate in football terms? Just like in the outside world, technicians – position coaches, coordinators, etc. – who are good at their jobs are often targeted for promotion, as a way to recognize and reward their performance, and under the assumption that their success at a less managerially-encumbered position in the hierarchy will transfer smoothly. And, just like in the outside world, that assumption is often flawed.

An excellent, recent, example of this is Chiefs’ defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Last week, Spags became the first coordinator to win four Super Bowls. By all accounts, he’s a great defensive coordinator. Nevertheless, early in his career, he was given two opportunities to head coach (with the Rams and Giants) and failed miserably each time, notching an 11-41 record in those roles. That’s not a personal indictment of Spagnuolo, but suggests that – at 64 – defensive coordinator is probably his ceiling of competence. And that he’s indeed highly competent there.

A Head Coach with a Second Chance

Dan Quinn currently finds himself in a very similar situation to Spagnuolo a decade ago, with a second – and probably final – chance to try to break through that ceiling. There’s no question that Quinn is one of the best DCs in the business. He showed it in Seattle before his head coaching stint in Atlanta and he’s showed it in Dallas since. He’s mastered that level.

The real question is, can he enjoy sustained, meaningful success as a head coach. Humbled and experienced from his time in Atlanta, the hope of those here in Washington is that he can.

Dan Quinn

Role: Head Coach

Previous Career High: Falcons Head Coach (2015-2020)

Most Recent Job: Cowboys Defensive Coordinator

Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images

Coaches Who Had Setbacks

Washington has an impressive coaching group which includes two former head coaches and three former coordinators in this category. Some of these coaches (Lynn) are at least two steps down from their prior career high. All, at least at the time, were probably promoted beyond their competency level at some point in the past.

For these guys, this is a career reset. An opportunity to remind the league that they were once excellent at something, and that – ideally – they still are, and that they should be given the opportunity to show they have even more down the road.

Several of these coaches – Kingsbury (44), Johnson (37) – are still very young, and would surely like to eventually become head coaches. Anthony Lynn (55) is probably in that same boat, but on a much tighter schedule. At this point in his career, John Pagano (56) may be content to simply excel in his current role.

This should be the hungriest bunch of the group, former technical excellence hardened by some real-world adversity. I’d expect most, if not all, to have a bit of chip on their shoulders.

Kliff Kingsbury

Role: Offensive Coordinator

Previous Career High: Cardinals Head Coach (2019-2022)

Most Recent Job: USC senior offensive analyst

Brian Johnson

Role: Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Pass game coordinator

Previous Career High: Eagles Offensive Coordinator (2023) (Fired)

Most Recent Job: Same as above

Anthony Lynn

Role: Run game coordinator/RB coach

Previous Career High: Chargers Head Coach (2017-2020)

Most Recent Job: 49ers asst head coach/RB coach

Ken Norton Jr.

Role: LB coach

Previous Career High: Seahawks defensive coordinator (2018-2021)

Most Recent Job: UCLA LB coach

Tom Donatell

Role: DB coach

Previous Career High: Chargers Defensive passing game coordinator/secondary coach (2023)

Most Recent Job: Same as above

John Pagano

Role: Senior Defensive Assistant

Previous Career High: Raiders Defensive Coordinator (2017)

Most Recent Job: Broncos OLB Coach

Photo by: 2019 Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images

Coaches On the Ascendancy

This group of coaches, depending on your perspective, is the most optimism-inducing. These are the guys who did their jobs so well somewhere else that they’re getting an expanded opportunity in Washington.

Several are essentially starting their NFL coaching careers here, with either no, or only collegiate, coaching experience previously. These guys are the unmolded clay that could potentially become the coordinators of tomorrow.

The one variant from that template is Joe Whitt Jr., who has been coaching NFL DBs in some form or fashion since 2007. Whitt, by his own admission, thinks he had been ready for a DC role since around 2015. He’s finally getting his shot in Washington to show the world he’s up to the task.

Joe Whitt Jr.

Role: Defensive Coordinator

Previous Career High: Cowboys secondary coach and pass game coordinator (2021-2023)

Most Recent Job: Same as above

David Blough

Role: Asst QB coach

Previous Career High: First coaching job

Most Recent Job: Lions PS QB

Darnell Stapleton

Role: Asst OL coach

Previous Career High: University of Florida OL coach (2022-2023)

Most Recent Job: Same as above.

Darryl Tapp

Role: DL coach

Previous Career High: 49ers Asst DL Coach (2021-2023)

Most Recent Job: Same as above

William Gay

Role: Asst DB coach

Previous Career High: Missouri State DB Coach (2020)

Most Recent Job: Same as above

Photo by Jane Gershovich/Getty Images

The Lateral Transfers

These are the coaches who have assumed parallel roles to the ones they held most recently, either because they lost their prior job (Bobby Johnson), or because they saw a better opportunity and/or promotional trajectory in Washington.

Larry Izzo

Role: Special Teams Coordinator

Previous Career High: Seahawks Special Teams Coordinator (2021-2023)

Most Recent Job: Same as above

Bobby Johnson

Role: Offensive Line Coach

Previous Career High: Giants offensive line coach (2022-2023) (Fired)

Most Recent Job: Same as above.

David Raih

Role: TE coach

Previous Career High: Cardinals WR coach (2019-2020)

Most Recent Job: Buccaneers Senior Offensive Analyst

Jason Simmons

Role: Defensive passing game coordinator

Previous Career High: Raiders Defensive passing game coordinator (2022-2023)

Most Recent Job: Same as above

Sharrif Floyd

Role: Asst DL Coach

Previous Career High: Cowboys Asst DL Coach (2023)

Most Recent Job: Same as above