Commanders fire TE coach Ben Steele following DWI arrest in Virginia

The Washington Commanders have dismissed tight ends coach Ben Steele, the team announced on Monday. A replacement is expected to be announced on Tuesday, one day before the Commanders open training camp.

In the announcement, the Commanders said they would share no further information. But The Athletic's Nicki Jhabvala reported that Steele was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated on June 7 in Loudoun County, Virginia.

Additionally, Steele was charged with obstruction/resisting an officer without force for refusing to take a blood/breath test on the scene, according to court records (via ESPN's John Keim).

The Commanders reportedly let Steele go for violating team policy. Following the arrest, he was placed on leave and the team reported Steele's arrest to the NFL. Wes Welker, who's been on the Washington staff as a personnel analyst and offensive assistant, coached tight ends during minicamp while Steele was on leave, according to Jhabvala.

Steele, 48, was hired by the Commanders in February after he coached tight ends for three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals under Jonathan Gannon. He joined Dan Quinn's staff in Washington after Gannon was fired by Arizona.

Prior to his three years with the Cardinals, Steele also had assistant coaching stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos, working as an offensive quality control coach, coaching tight ends and as an assistant offensive line coach.

Steele played six seasons in the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Mesa State. He was on the practice squad with the San Francisco 49ers, then-Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings during his first four seasons. In 2004, Steele played on the regular roster with the Green Bay Packers for two seasons. In 17 games with Green Bay, Steele tallied four receptions for 42 yards.

His playing career ended with the Houston Texans in 2006 and he went into coaching two years later.