For the second straight season, the Washington Commanders have gotten off to about as miserable a start to the year as possible. Not only have they suffered a pair of losses in their first two games, but star quarterback Jayden Daniels is now set to miss time after dislocating his left elbow for the second straight year.
Again, the new season is still young, but it feels like the Commanders are already beginning to run out of time. On an individual level, that also rings true for head coach Dan Quinn, with one NFL insider predicting that he will get fired by Washington in the near future if the team’s struggles persist.
Commanders Predicted to Fire Dan Quinn
Quinn got his second opportunity as a head coach in the NFL in 2024 when he was hired by the Commanders. He immediately led Washington to the NFC Championship Game, with Daniels putting together one of the best rookie seasons from a quarterback in NFL history. In the blink of an eye, it seemed like the team’s future was set.
Everything since then has gone downhill, though. Daniels has struggled with injuries, and the roster around him isn’t good enough to survive without him making plays to win games for his team. Quinn, who is widely regarded as a defensive mastermind, has struggled to piece things together on that side of the ball, and with Daniels set to miss more time, all eyes are going to be on that unit moving forward.
The 2025 campaign was a nightmare for the Commanders, and the 2026 campaign has now gotten off to an eerily similar start. Daniels should be able to return at some point this year, but he may not be back soon enough to save Quinn, as NFL insider Jason La Canfora of Casino Guru predicted that the veteran head coach will be shown the exit door in the near future.
It was set up for head coach Dan Quinn to fail, they are already 0-2 in the NFC East and QB Jayden Daniels has a dislocated elbow and the defense is not going to be very good,” La Canfora wrote. “The sequence at the end of the first half, where they should have just kicked a field goal and instead got cute with the play calling and Daniels got hurt near the goal line without even threatening the endzone gets people fired.”
Dan Quinn Running Out of Time to Get Commanders Back on Track
Injuries have certainly hampered the Commanders, but that isn’t the only reason why this team is losing. Washington was hoping this season would be different, but the same issues that plagued this team last year have carried over into 2026, and Quinn hasn’t had any answers to this point.
Could that change? Quinn will certainly be given time to get things back on track, but with Daniels set to miss time, that’s going to make an already difficult task even more challenging. The schedule isn’t getting any easier for Washington either, as it has a matchup with the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks on the calendar in Week 3.
Commanders Predicted to Make Bold Dan Quinn Decision by Insider