Senior Commanders defensive lineman Jonathan Allen called the sudden firing of D-line coach Sam Mills on Tuesday "sad." Allen is the unquestioned leader of Washington's defense.
Washington head coach Ron Rivera announced the move to reporters Tuesday afternoon, describing it as a "difficult" decision to make. Mills has been a member of Rivera's coaching staffs in Washington in Carolina, dating back to 2011. He's served as Washington's defensive line coach since 2020, the same year Rivera arrived on the job. Jeff Zgonina, previously Washington's assistant defensive line coach, will step into Mills' role.
"At the end of the day it's sad," Allen told Nicki Jhabvala. "I think me and coach Sam were getting along really well. We were really making some progress as a defensive unit. It's the NFL. People just got to remember it's a great game but a terrible business."
Allen says Rivera informed the defensive line personally of the news early this morning.
Mills III is the son of late NFL linebacker Sam Mills Jr., who died from cancer complications at only 45 years old in 2005. The elder Mills is the only player in Carolina Panthers history to have his number retired and was the first player inducted into their Hall of Honor. He was just posthumously enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2022, the ceremony for which Mills III attended in Canton.
Zgonina played in the NFL for 17 seasons as a defensive tackle, including one season with Carolina (1995), and has been coaching in various defensive line positions in the NFL since 2013. He led San Francisco's defensive line from 2017 to 2018 and has been an assistant with Washington since 2020.
The Commanders open their preseason against the Panthers on Saturday at FedEx Field.
