Dan Quinn is blunt when discussing what went wrong for 2025 Commanders

Dan Quinn says the Commanders were not as tough in 2025.

That’s right, the Washington Commanders head coach told Evan Washburn of CBS that 2025 was not all about the injuries. Of course, there were injuries, too many of them, but Quinn was direct, telling Washburn, “It wasn’t all injury related. We weren’t as connected, we weren’t as tough, we weren’t as clutch.”

That’s what a real leader does. Instead of taking the easy way out mentally, and blaming the injuries as the only thing. Quinn is doing the more difficult thing: taking responsibility and challenging returning coaches and players to do the same for some of the causes of the dreadful 5-12 season in 2025.

Washburn acknowledged the Commanders missed the second-most games by starters in 2025. So yes, injuries were significant. I mean, come on, their starting quarterback, Jayden Daniels, missed 10 games himself. Of the teams that lost their starting quarterback for ten games, how many had a winning season in 2025?

But Quinn told Washburn the 2025 Commanders were not as elevated, as desperate, as hungry. Observing a 2024 OTA practice and a 2025 OTA practice, Quinn said it was obvious that the 2024 team was desperate and the 2025 team was not. Using a golf analogy, Quinn pointed out that the 2025 team might have been only one degree off in July, but that one degree, if not rerouted, is more in August, increases in September, and is much more by the time a team reaches October.

“What the hell?” said Quinn. “It was such a hard lesson to go through and to learn. But it’s also one I wanted to take the lessons from 2025, learn them, and then burn them. Quinn said that before the new coaches were hired this offseason, he took other coaches outside, and they literally wrote down lessons learned from 2025, what lessons they are taking into 2026, and what we are leaving behind from 2025.

Quinn really is a good leader. He has taken the bad results and clearly articulated the severity of the situation. He didn’t confuse his staff and players by softening the message. He then also outlined a better path the team needs to go and the direction he is leading them in 2026.

I won’t mention names, but I can immediately think of a few Washington head coaches who simply were not this mentally strong, nor as direct or as clear as Dan Quinn.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Dan Quinn shows ultimate leadership