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Joe Whitt Jr.

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Joe Whitt Jr.
Washington Commanders
Position:Defensive coordinator
Personal information
Born: (1978-07-19) July 19, 1978 (age 46)
Auburn, Alabama, U.S.
Career information
High school:Auburn
College:Auburn (1998–2000)
Career history
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
Record at Pro Football Reference

Joe Whitt Jr. (born July 19, 1978) is an American professional football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers and has served as a defensive backs coach with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and Dallas Cowboys.

Early life and education

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Whitt was born on July 19, 1978, in Auburn, Alabama. He graduated from Auburn High School in 1997 and played college football for the Auburn Tigers football team as a wide receiver before earning a degree in communications in 2001.

Career

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Whitt was hired as a student assistant for the Tigers after graduation. He worked as wide receivers coach at The Citadel in 2002 before joining Louisville the following year as a cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator under head coach Bobby Petrino. In 2007, Whitt followed Petrino when he was hired as head coach of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, working as an assistant defensive backs coach before joining the Green Bay Packers in 2008 as a defensive quality control coach.[1] He was promoted to cornerbacks coach in 2009. Under his coaching, Charles Woodson was named the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year.[2][3][4] He was fired following the 2018 season, which he spent as a defensive passing game coordinator.[5]

Whitt worked as the secondary coach and pass game coordinator for the Cleveland Browns in 2019 and Falcons in 2020.[6] Serving as secondary coach and pass game coordinator, Whitt helped the Browns finish seventh in the league in pass defense.[7] On January 9, 2020, the Atlanta Falcons hired Whitt as secondary coach.[7] On January 13, 2021, Whitt joined the Dallas Cowboys for the same role.[8] During his time with Dallas, he was credited with developing cornerbacks Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland, with Diggs leading the NFL in interceptions in 2021 with 11 and Bland setting the single-season record for interceptions returned for a touchdown with five in 2023.[9] On February 5, 2024, Whitt was hired by the Washington Commanders as defensive coordinator under head coach Dan Quinn, who he had been working under since the Falcons in 2020.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Green Bay Packers, Joe Whitt Jr. Archived July 27, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, retrieved July 27, 2014.
  2. ^ Hudson, Ryan (December 29, 2009). "2010 NFC Pro Bowl Roster". SBNation.com.
  3. ^ Parr, Dan (January 19, 2010). "Manning, Woodson lead PFW/PFWA All-NFL team". www.profootballweekly.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2010.
  4. ^ Spofford, Mike (January 12, 2010). "Award Continues Woodson's Green Bay Journey". Archived from the original on January 15, 2010.
  5. ^ Silverstein, Tom (January 11, 2019). "Packers dismiss defensive pass game coordinator Joe Whitt Jr". Packers News.
  6. ^ Edwards, Josh (January 16, 2019). "Report: Browns hiring ex-Packers coach Joe Whitt Jr". theOBR.com.
  7. ^ a b McFadden, Will (January 9, 2020). "Report: Falcons add Joe Whitt Jr. to defensive staff". Atlanta Falcons. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  8. ^ Drummond, K. D. (January 13, 2021). "Breaking: Cowboys hiring Joe Whitt, Jr. to run secondary". Cowboys Wire. USA Today. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  9. ^ Selby, Zach. "Five things to know about Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr". Commanders.com. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  10. ^ "Washington Commanders name Joe Whitt Jr. defensive coordinator". February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
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