Apparently, the Carolina Panthers and head coach Frank Reich have a thing for Detroit Lions staffers.
As announced by the team on Thursday night, they’ve agreed to terms with Todd Wash to become their new defensive line coach. Wash is now the second man to be hired away from Detroit, joining assistant head coach and running backs coach Duce Staley.
Before hitting the NFL sidelines, the Miles City, Mont. native spent 12 years at the college level—serving as a head coach, defensive coordinator, defensive line coach and linebackers coach for a handful of programs. Those schools included Fort Lewis College, the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Missouri Southern State University and his alma mater of North Dakota State.
Wash’s pro start began as a defensive quality control coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2007. He’d later be promoted to defensive lines coach, a role he’d have for the next three seasons.
Since then, Wash picked up stints as the defensive line coach for the Seattle Seahawks (2011-2012), the defensive line coach, run game coordinator and defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars (2013-2020) and—most recently—the defensive line coach for the Lions.
He’s already crossed paths with Panthers senior defensive assistant Dom Capers over at Jacksonville in 2019 and with general manager Scott Fitterer and assistant general manager Dan Morgan in Seattle.
