David Blough has quickly risen through the coaching ranks in Washington. The Commanders have decided to hire Blough as their new offensive coordinator after his first season with the team, according toESPN's Adam Schefter.
Hired as an assistant quarterbacks coach before the 2024 season, Blough finished the year as QB coach after Tavita Pritchard was hired as the head football coach for Stanford University. Washington felt strongly enough about his potential to block him from interviewing with the New York Jets, Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears.
Commanders hired David Blough as their new offensive coordinator. He had interest from Detroit for their OC role, so Dan Quinn acted fast to retain him.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter)January 9, 2026
Blough, 30, will replace former Commanders offensive coordinatorKliff Kingsbury, who was fired after his second seasonon Dan Quinn's staff. A quarterback with the Lions from 2019-21, Blough also received interest from his former team for their offensive coordinator vacancy. Rather than risk losing him, the Commanders gave Blough a promotion before he could interview in Detroit.
This season, Washington ranked No. 22 among NFL teams in total offense, a significant decline after ranking No. 7 the previous year. Jayden Daniels being limited to only seven games due to elbow, hamstring and knee injuries was a major factor in that slide. In 2024, Daniels won Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
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With Daniels' absence, the Commanders compiled the third-fewest passing yards (3,129) in the NFC, averaging 184 per game. The offense also averaged just under 21 points in its 17 games.
"He's very bright, there's no doubt. He's been around some great offensive minds,"Kingsbury said to ESPNabout Blough, who played for him with the Arizona Cardinals in 2022. "So his biggest strengths are he sees it from the lens of the player and yet he can kind of separate and still be the coach."
Blough's rapport with Daniels may also have been a factor in promoting him to offensive coordinator. The coach and player reportedly competed in a game of "P.I.G." before practice each Friday.
"Just a guy that's recently just got out of football, has been around and knows Matthew Stafford, [Jared] Goff, [Kirk] Cousins,"Daniels said to The Athleticlast season. "Bringing different knowledge of how he's seen the game, how he's seen those guys prepare day in and day out, so he is very knowledgeable. You can go ahead and talk to him about anything."
