The Washington Commanders announced Monday that Kliff Kingsbury of the University of Southern California and Joe Whitt Jr. of the Dallas Cowboys have joined the coaching staff as offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator, respectively.
Kingsbury served as the senior offensive analyst for USC in 2023, guiding quarterback Caleb Williams, who is a graduate of Gonzaga College High School in the District. Kingsbury has served as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals and the Texas Tech Raiders and the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas A&M.
Kingsbury started his coaching career at the University of Houston as the offensive quality control coach, quarterbacks coach and finally co-offensive coordinator. He played in the NFL with the New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints and New York Jets and attended the Buffalo Bills training camp.
He also played in NFL Europe and the Canadian Football League. He played his college years at Texas Tech.
Before joining the Commanders, Whitt served as the secondary/defensive passing game coordinator for the Cowboys for the past three seasons. Before that, he served in a similar position for the Atlanta Falcons.
Whitt has held defensive coaching positions with the Cleveland Browns and the Green Bay Packers. He entered the NFL coaching ranks with the Falcons in 2007 as an assistant defensive backs coach.
On the collegiate level, he coached cornerbacks at Louisville and wide receivers at the Citadel. He played college football at Auburn University as a walk-on wide receiver, eventually earning a scholarship.
He transitioned to student assistant after suffering injuries and graduated in 2001 with a degree in communications.