The Commanders are already transitioning from Kliff Kingsbury to David Blough at OC, giving a recently retired quarterback the play sheet ahead of his 31st birthday. Washington is now adding another key voice for Jayden Daniels.
D.J. Williams, son of Commanders exec and former Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams, is coming over from the Falcons to be Washington’s next QBs coach, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. D.J. Williams spent the past two seasons with the Falcons, first as assistant QBs coach and then as QBs coach.
This decision comes after the Panthers made the move to keep another Commanders candidate. Carolina is promoting assistant QBs coach Mike Bercovici to pass-game coordinator, insider Jordan Schultz tweets. Bercovici received an interview request from the Commanders about the job but will remain on Dave Canales‘ Carolina staff. Bercovici, 32, has been with the Panthers since Frank Reich‘s 2023 stopover.
Previously a five-year Saints assistant, Williams will join his father in Washington after interviewing for the job. The former Grambling State QB mentored Michael Penix Jr. over the past two seasons, being hired just before Atlanta completed an unusually assembled quarterback room by signing Kirk Cousins to a big-ticket contract and then drafting Penix. The latter was inconsistent before being shut down due to injury this season, but Washington will bring in his position coach to work with Daniels.
This will be an interesting setup for the Commanders, who jettisoned a seasoned play-caller in Kingsbury. Blough was on the Lions’ OC radar, leading to this Commanders promotion. Blough entered the 2025 season as Washington’s assistant QBs coach, moving up a rung on the ladder when QBs coach Tavita Pritchard became Stanford’s HC. It will now be Blough overseeing Williams as the top offensive staffers in Washington ahead of Daniels’ third season.
Bercovici has been part of Bryce Young‘s development since the diminutive passer’s 2023 arrival, but he also worked both under Kingsbury in Arizona (2020-22) and with Daniels at Arizona State. Bercovici was with the Sun Devils as a graduate assistant in 2019, Daniels’ freshman season with the then-Pac-12 program. It would appear the Panthers’ decision to promote Bercovici prevented a reunion with the standout quarterback, but Doug Williams certainly carries plenty of clout in Washington. The former Washington starting QB, now working in an advisory role, has been in the franchise’s front office since 2014.