PISA, Italy (AP) — Pisa was promoted to the top tier of Italian soccer on Sunday for the first time in 34 years.
There were wild celebrations in Pisa despite the team’s 1-0 loss at Bari because third-placed Spezia also lost — 2-1 at Reggiana. Pisa is guaranteed second spot in Serie B and automatic promotion to the top flight, with two rounds remaining.
That means Serie A soccer will be returning to the Arena Garibaldi, which sits practically in the shadow of the leaning tower of Pisa, for the first time since the team was relegated in 1991.
Pisa is coached by World Cup-winning forward Filippo Inzaghi, the older brother of Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi.
Serie B champion Sassuolo secured promotion last month and will be joined by the winner of the playoffs, which will be contested by teams that finish third to eighth.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Players lift Pisa manager Filippo Inzaghi as they celebrate the promotion of soccer team Pisa to the Serie A league, after the match between Bari and Pisa of the Italian Serie B, at Stadio San Nicola, in Bari, Italy, Sunday, May 4, 2025. (Donato Fasano/LaPresse via AP)
Coordinators Kliff Kingsbury and Joe Whitt Jr. are both gone from head coach Dan Quinn’s staff with the Washington Commanders after a 5-12 season, a team official with knowledge of the moves told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the staff changes had not yet been announced.
Kingsbury, the offensive coordinator, and Whitt, who had been in charge of the defense until being stripped of play-calling duties during the season, both arrived in Washington with Quinn before the 2024 season.
According to the person who described Tuesday’s decisions to the AP, Quinn and Kingsbury met in the morning to talk about the future of the team’s offense, which stars quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Quinn and Kingsbury then mutually agreed to part ways, the official said.
Whitt was dismissed, which was not surprising given his earlier demotion and just how bad Washington’s defense was this season. One data point: No team in the NFL allowed opponents to gain more yards.
In another change, Bobby Johnson is out as Washington’s offensive line coach.
These switches come two days after the Commanders’ disappointing campaign ended, a far cry from a year ago, when Quinn’s first season in Washington included a 12-5 regular-season record, a run all the way to the NFC championship game and AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors for No. 2 overall draft pick Daniels.
But Daniels kept getting hurt this season, managing to start only seven games and getting shut down in December after a series of injuries to his left knee, right hamstring and left elbow.
“I love working with Kliff. Me and him have a special relationship. We’ve built that over the past two years,” Daniels said Monday, when players cleared out their lockers at the team facility in Ashburn, Virginia. “I wish I was out there more to play for him this past year.”
At their end-of-season joint news conference Monday, Quinn and general manager Adam Peters did not provide answers about possible changes to the coaching staff.
But Peters did make clear whose choices those would be.
“I’m not involved in whatever decision it is,” Peters said. “It’s always DQ’s call and I have his back on whatever he wants to do.”
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FILE - Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn speaks during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Jan. 4, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - Washington Commanders new defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr., speaks during an NFL football news conference at Commanders Park in Ashburn, Va., Feb. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
FILE - Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury stands on the field before an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Dec. 7, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)
