Episode 1,237: analysis with PFF's Nick Akridge on what Washington needs to fix its defense and more

The Al Galdi Podcast

Al Galdi

Football, Sports

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 13 January 2026

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Segment 1 - Show open, including reaction to a variety of Washington Commanders-related items in the 2026 NFL Coaching Cycle, and listener feedback Segment 2 - Guest: Pro Football Focus senior data analyst and Washington Commanders fan Nick Akridge on the team's search for a defensive coordinator and on the state of the team's defense, including what the Commanders should be looking for in a defensive coordinator, why head coach Dan Quinn's style of defense is antiquated, the current NFL defenses that the Commanders should be looking to mirror, what happened with linebacker Frankie Luvu, cornerback Mike Sainristil and safety Quan Martin with each guy regressing in the 2025 regular season, why the team's interior defensive line needs a lot of work, the extents to which edge defender Jacob Martin, linebacker Jordan Magee and cornerback Tre Amos were positives in the 2025 regular season and whether the Commanders should be open to re-signing pending unrestricted-free-agent linebacker Bobby Wagner Segment 3 - Washington Nationals: discussion of the significance of the Nats reportedly being expected to have at least two Trajekt Arc machines Visit CateringByUptown.com and mention that Al Galdi sent you For advertising inquiries, email Sales@BlueWirePods.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	And away we go, episode one thousand two hundred thirty-seven of the Al-Galdi
0:20.3	podcast. It is Tuesday, January 13th, 2026. It was one week ago,
0:26.0	Tuesday, January 6th, that the Washington commanders parted with offensive coordinator
0:30.8	Cliff Kingsbury, offensive line coach Bobby Johnson and defensive coordinator Joe Widd, Jr.
0:36.2	We on Monday had a variety of items relevant to our team
0:39.4	in the 2026 NFL coaching cycle. Among the reports, NFL insider Jordan Schultz, he on Monday
0:45.7	evening reported that the commanders have requested to interview Carolina Panthers assistant
0:51.0	quarterbacks coach Mike Berkavici for the commander's quarterbacks coach
0:55.5	vacancy. This stands out because Mike Berkavici was a graduate assistant for Arizona State for the
1:02.3	2019 season, which was the freshman season of Commanders QB1, Jaden Daniels. So the first of his three seasons
1:10.0	as Arizona State's QB1. Meantime, the So the first of his three seasons, as Arizona State's, QB1.
1:12.4	Meantime, the Baltimore Ravens, they on Monday afternoon announced having interviewed Cliff Kingsbury for their head coaching job.
1:19.1	It remains amazing to me that it could be that Kingsbury goes from no longer being wanted by the commanders as offensive coordinator to being hired
1:28.3	by the Ravens as head coach. We shall see. We on Monday morning had this from NFL insider Tom
1:34.9	Pelliserro of NFL Network in a post on X, quote, former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel will
1:41.0	interview this week for the Browns, Falcons, Titans, and Ravens head coaching jobs per sources. McDaniel will interview this week for the Browns, Falcons, Titans, and Ravens head coaching jobs per sources.
1:47.7	McDaniel also is scheduled to interview for the Lions OC job.
1:51.7	One of the NFL's top offensive minds is in high demand, end quote.
1:56.4	Yeah, so when it comes to why the commanders this past Saturday morning announced having promoted assistant quarterbacks coach David Blau to offensive coordinator as opposed to waiting on hiring Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator off the Miami Dolphins this past Thursday morning announcing having fired McDaniel as head coach.
2:15.3	What we discussed on Monday show, episode 1,236, now is even more true.
2:20.8	The commanders, in order to hire Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator, would have had to wait
2:26.2	for a while. And in the meantime, the well-regarded David Blau might be long gone,
	...

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