Dan Quinn’s public addresses probably won’t ever air on the Disney Channel. There were plenty of illuminating and interesting things learned about the Washington Commanders’ new coach during his introductory news conference Monday afternoon, such as that he wants his defense here to resemble his top-five unit with Dallas. That he calls Stacey, his wife of almost 30 years, his “ride or die.” And that he really likes to swear.
Washington
Perspective | For Dan Quinn’s Commanders, ‘rebuild’ is a four-letter word
Quinn telegraphed his first PG-13 word soon into his nearly 50-minute question-and-answer session with reporters. The next several just flowed through his responses, like “kick a–” and “competitive a–” and “work our a–es off.”
But there’s one curse word that Quinn won’t say: rebuild.
Or, for the purposes of keeping this family friendly: “r—–.”
You want to make NFL coaches blush in embarrassment, start dropping that seven-letter word. They might make you throw money into the swear jar and then wash your mouth out with soap. It’s the most censored word in NFL circles, at least publicly.
“R—–” is so dirty and so dishonorable that only mature audiences can handle it. Coaches, wanting to protect the innocent ears of their fan bases and especially their locker rooms, will use any word but that one. Even when the truth is, the Commanders under Quinn will be rebuilding. Oops. Pardon my French. I mean, they will be recalibrating.
This revelation came up innocently enough when an apparently foul-mouthed reporter asked Quinn for his timeline in turning around the Commanders and used the “R” word. To his credit, Quinn didn’t instinctively raise both hands to the sides of his head and scream, “Earmuffs, kids!” He did, however, politely correct the counterfeit cuss word into something a bit more palatable.
“Your words, not mine,” Quinn said. “I’m really, honestly glad you brought it up. I know it’s a big topic. I would say this is a recalibrate. Finding our north again. And that starts with our identity of our club. So, [you] will not hear me say the word ‘rebuild’ at all. This is about accessing what we have, how do we add to that and how quickly we can accelerate this process together.”
Washington’s new general manager, Adam Peters, has to draft a quarterback, someone who can potentially become the franchise guy. The offense will look different for the third time in three seasons because Quinn hired Kliff Kingsbury as the offensive coordinator. The defense will be overhauled under Joe Whitt Jr.
So much new is happening all at once. For the change to take effect, it will need time. And at the risk of sounding crude, the franchise appears to be entering a complete teardown, with a willingness to start everything over. A classic redo. In a word, a rebuild.
However, in the NFL, you can’t say that word. Veterans cringe at the prospect. While seven-year pro Jonathan Allen has since expressed excitement over the arrival of Quinn and Peters, as he played in the final weeks of the Ron Rivera era, he rejected the thought of starting over.
“I do want to win,” Allen told the Junkies on 106.7 the Fan in December. “ … I’m not in the business of going through another rebuild.”
While players in their prime have little time to waste, fan bases can be just as impatient when waiting on their teams to show improvement. Why stay calm watching your team flail through a rebuild when other teams have revved up the standings in warp speed? In every season but two over the past 21 years, at least one franchise has gone from worst to first in its division. The Houston Texans — recently a doormat in the weak AFC South — became the latest team to do so. Houston won three games a year ago, but after hiring DeMeco Ryans as coach and drafting a franchise-shifting quarterback in C.J. Stroud, the team leapfrogged its division rivals and even won a playoff game.
The woebegone Cincinnati Bengals can rise up as Super Bowl contenders in Zac Taylor’s third season as coach (when Joe Burrow’s healthy, at least), and the Detroit Lions can go from being a perpetual punchline to playing in the NFC championship game in Dan Campbell’s third year. That’s fun for football fans. Rebuilding is not. And Quinn gets it.
Reality strikes, however, when reading through the Commanders’ long to-do list. Quinn has a vision of creating a physical and explosive team on defense, offense and special teams — “I hope teams that will have to play against us are like: ‘Damn! This is going to be hard today,’” he said — but developing that standard could take time.
As fired up as Quinn seems to be over his inherited defense, he’s still getting a unit that collapsed near the end, surrendering 30 points or more five times over the final seven games of the season. Allen and Daron Payne anchor the interior, but every position group from the front four all the way to that leaky secondary could use a — what’s the word again? — recalibration.
And it’s not just the defense. Quinn will have his hands full. But these are the hefty responsibilities Quinn has wanted since being fired by the Atlanta Falcons five games into the 2020 season. While building back the Cowboys’ defense, the 53-year-old hoped for another shot.
“I so wanted this moment,” he said.
Though Quinn might have waited patiently, he didn’t express that same sentiment for the Commanders’ reload, reconstruction, reshuffle, recarpeting, whatever they want to call it here.
“There is no timeline on that, but we will push it hard to see how good we can get and how fast we can get it [there]. But I see it much more as a recalibration. Okay, let’s find our north, form our identity and how we’re going to get it on and then push hard to reach that,” Quinn said. “And like all things, it takes trust between teammates, staff, personnel, ownership, but the more connection we have, the faster we’ll get there.”
This all sounds very good and encouraging for the players in the locker room and loyal fans in the region. And it also sounds like — earmuffs, kids — a rebuild.
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Incidents like the one in 2023 along the Baltimore Beltway — a crash that killed six highway workers — are the reason why officials gathered to stress the need for better work zone safety during National Work Zone Awareness Week.
This week, officials, workers and residents are calling for safer roads as they say there is still more work to be done when it comes to safety.
“It’s about understanding that each of us has a role to play in the safety and protection of one another,” William Pines from the Maryland State Highway Administration said.
With an active construction site as the backdrop — at the interchange between Pennsylvania Avenue and Suitland Parkway — roadway workers spoke up.
“We are not just workers, we are people — real people. We are parents, siblings, friends and neighbors. So when you see us out there, please pay attention to that.” Dawn Hopkins with Flagger Force Traffic Control Services said.
Hopkins says she’s had to sound an alarm to get her crew out of dangerous situations.
“Please slow down, stay alert…and watch out for us in the workzones,” Hopkins added.
While the number of crashes in Maryland work zones in 2025 remains concerning, it is lower than in 2024. In 2025, there were:
- 1,148 work zone crashes
- 9 work zone deaths
- 449 injuries
In 2024, there were:
- 1,302 work zone crashes,
- 12 work zone deaths, and
- 492 injuries
“While citations are down, we still had 19 citations that were issues where the automated system recorded drivers traveling in excess of 130 miles an hour in work zones,” Pines said.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has proclaimed April 22 as “Go Orange Day” in Maryland, urging everyone to wear orange in support of highway worker safety.
A moment of silence for road workers who have been killed will be observed at noon this Friday.
This regularly scheduled column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. If you would like to work with Eli and his team in Northern Virginia and the greater D.C. Metro area, you can reach him directly at [email protected].
Question: How has the local real estate market performed so far this year?
Answer: After a year where market conditions softened in favor of buyers, the Northern VA real estate market became more favorable for sellers in the first quarter of 2026, while the Washington DC condo market continued to reel.
What is in this article:
- Northern VA, Arlington, and Washington DC Absorption Trends (demand)
- Northern VA, Arlington, and Washington DC Inventory Trends (supply)
- Washington DC List Price Trends (market values)
Northern VA & Arlington Inventory is Being Absorbed Faster
After four straight quarters of double-digit decreases in year-over-year absorption, the Northern VA and Arlington markets saw a ~8% increase in absorption rate.
What this means: Demand increased in Q1
Northern VA & Arlington New Listing Volume is Declining
After a promising trend of six straight quarters of year-over-year increases in the number of homes listed for sale in Northern VA, new listing activity fell by ~1% each of the previous two quarters.
What this means: Sellers have less competition, buyers have fewer choices
Washington DC Condo Absorption is Plummeting
The absorption rate for DC condos has declined year-over-year for 16 quarters straight and 23 out of the past 26 quarters.
What this means: It is difficult to find buyers for DC condos
Washington DC Condo Inventory Declined Slightly
Total inventory declined by 3.4% year-over-year, the first quarterly drop since Q4 2023. Still, there were great than 2x more condos for sale in DC in Q1 2026 than Q1 2020
What this means: Motivated sellers must compete aggressively with each other for buyers
Washington DC Condos Keep Getting Cheaper
The average price of a DC condo listed for sale is 9.4% less than it was in Q1 2025 and ~9% less than it was ten years ago.
What this means: Even lowering the price won’t guarantee a buyer
If you’d like to discuss buying, selling, investing, or renting, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].
We have access to the most pre and off-market listings across the DMV of any brokerage and are happy to share what’s available with anybody who asks.
Below are some of our team’s pre/off-market listings, details and additional listings available by request:
- Westover – 4BR/2BA/2,000sqft – Detached Single Family (2000) – 23rd St N Arlington VA 22205
- Green Valley – 5BR/4.5BA/3,000sqft – Detached Single Family (2020) – 24th St S Arlington VA 22206
- Ballston – 4BR/3.5BA/2,400sqft – Townhouse (2008) – N George Mason Dr Arlington VA 22203
- Ballston – 4BR/3.5BA+office/4,000 sqft – Four Townhouses (2026/2027) – 11th St N Arlington VA 22201
- Rosslyn – 2BR/2BA/1,800sqft – Condo (2021) – 1781 N Pierce St Arlington VA 22209
- Rosslyn – 3BR/2.5BA/2,400sqft – Condo (1986) – 1530 Key Blvd Arlington VA 22209
- Williamsburg – 6BR/5.5BA/5,500 sqft – Detached Single Family (2026) – 27th St N Arlington VA 22207
- Yorktown – 6BR/6.5BA/6,000+ sqft – Detached Single Family (2026) – N Greencastle St Arlington VA 22207
Eli and his team believe that your real estate needs should be managed by advisors, not salespeople. Their mission is to guide, educate, and advocate for their clients through real advice, hands-on support, and personalized service.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), “on behalf of the Department of Education (ED),” on Monday released a Notice Inviting Grant Applications for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program. Applications are due by May 29.
Last November, ED announced that it had entered into an interagency agreement with HHS to administer the CCAMPIS program. This is the first CCAMPIS competition conducted under this arrangement.
Approximately $73.5 million will go to institutions of higher education that awarded at least $250,000 in Pell grants to enrolled students in FY 2025. HHS will award about 148 grants, ranging from $150,000 to $1 million.
The terms of the grant competition are not significantly different than prior competitions. As before, there are two absolute grant priorities that every application must address – leveraging non-federal resources and utilizing a sliding-fee scale for low-income parents.
This year’s competition includes only one invitational priority that reflects the Trump administration’s general educational policy. The new priority, entitled “Expanding Education Choice in Early Learning Settings,” encourages applications that “expand access to education choice … including by empowering parents in choosing the early learning setting that best meets their family’s needs.” Flexible childcare programs that include drop-in care and care during nontraditional hours are also encouraged.
One other notable difference from prior competitions is an expanded “Terms and Conditions” section that not only requires compliance with applicable civil rights laws, but also refers to Trump administration Executive Orders and guidance on racial discrimination that clarify “the application of federal antidiscrimination laws to programs or initiatives that may involve discriminatory practices, including those labeled as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) programs.” This includes any “discriminatory equity ideology [as defined in Executive Order 14190] in violation of a federal antidiscrimination law.”
The exact scope of these terms is unclear because courts have not found many of the practices described in these Executive Orders and guidance documents to be violations of federal law.
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