Commanders scramble at camp after DWI fallout costs a coach his job

Training camp is supposed to be the boring part of the NFL calendar, the stretch where teams quietly install offenses before the games start counting. Washington blew that up on Monday when word broke that Ben Steele, hired to coach tight ends this offseason, was suddenly out.

This wasn't a performance-based firing. Steele was pulled over at 1:15 a.m. on June 7 in Loudoun County, Virginia, on suspicion of DWI, and he refused both a breath and blood test, which added obstruction and resisting-without-force charges to the mix. Washington had already suspended him for spring practices and minicamp while the case worked its way through the system, with a court date set for August 13. Firing him days before camp opened made clear the club wasn't waiting around for that hearing to play out.

The replacement wasn't a stranger to the building. Wes Welker, the former All-Pro slot receiver who led the NFL in receptions 3 times and made 5 Pro Bowls during his Patriots heyday, had already been filling in on tight ends during Steele's suspension. He'd joined Washington's staff in 2025 as a personnel analyst before getting bumped up to offensive assistant this offseason, so this promotion is less a leap of faith and more a formality catching up to what was already happening on the practice field.

For a Commanders offense trying to build off last year's momentum, continuity at position coach matters, and Welker at least offers that even if the circumstances are messy. He's not walking into a totally unfamiliar room — he already has reps coaching this exact position group under Dan Quinn's staff.

Still, losing a coach you specifically hired months into the job is never a good look heading into camp, and it puts extra scrutiny on how Washington vets staff hires going forward. Steele's legal situation isn't resolved yet, with his court date still on the calendar for next month, so this story likely isn't fully closed even with the coaching change made.