ERIC WASHINGTON comes to the Green & White after most recently severing as the Chicago Bears' defensive coordinator last season. With 17 years of NFL coaching experience, Washington worked with Jets DC Steve Wilks in Carolina for seven seasons. Washington was the Panthers DL coach from 2011-17 when Wilks was the Panthers' defensive backs coach (2012-14), defensive backs coach/assistant head coach (2015-16) and assistant head coach/defensive coordinator (2017). When Wilks left to become head coach in Arizona, Washington assumed the defensive coordinator position for two seasons.
With the Panthers ranking in the top 10 in sacks in five of his seven season as DL coach, Carolina finished No. 1 in 2013, No. 2 in 2016 and No. 3 in 2017. The Panthers defense ranked second in sacks (53) in 2019.
Washington started his NFL coaching trek with the Bears as a defensive assistant in 2008-09 and became Chicago's defensive line coach in 2010. He also coached inside the division with the Bills, serving as Buffalo's DL coach from 2019-23 and holding the titles as senior defensive assistant (2022) and assistant head coach (2023). In 2021, the Bills led the NFL in points allowed (17 pts/g), total yards (272.8 yds/g) and passing defense (163 yds/g). A year later, the Bills ranked second in points allowed (17.8 pts/g).
Washington, a Shreveport, LA native, played tight end at Grambling State from 1989-90 and graduated with a degree in education in 1993. He was a graduate assistant at Texas A&M in 1997 and was an assistant coach at Ohio University (2001-03) before coaching defensive line at Northwestern from 2004-07.
