The Washington Commanders made a bold move after the conclusion of a disappointing 2025 season. Washington moved on from successful offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, replacing him with assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough only days later.
Blough was viewed as a rising star as soon as the Commanders hired him in 2024. He served as a quarterback for Kingsbury with the Arizona Cardinals in 2022 and head coach Dan Quinn took a special interest in developing Blough as a coach because he saw the potential.
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Philosophical differences led Washington to move away from Kingsbury. The Commanders wanted a more traditional offense for quarterback Jayden Daniels, where he’d be under center more and marry the run game with the passing game. Blough, who also played for Bears head coach Ben Johnson when he was the Lions’ offensive coordinator, and also for Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, is expected to run something similar to Johnson’s offense with the Commanders.
While there’s no doubt that Washington was bullish on Blough’s future almost immediately after hiring him, the Detroit Lions may have helped push along his promotion to offensive coordinator.
The Lions, where Blough spent three seasons, needed a new offensive coordinator after moving on from John Morton. Morton replaced Johnson, who left to become Chicago’s head coach in 2025. While in Detroit, Blough also worked for head coach Dan Campbell. Campbell, like Quinn, saw big things in Blough and was looking to interview him for Detroit’s offensive coordinator position in 2026.
He admitted as much on Tuesday at the NFL combine in Indianapolis.
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“I love Blough,” Campbell said. “I mean, he was one of the guys that I wanted to bring in, and, you know, Coach Quinn and those guys went ahead and named him OC, which is smart by them. I think Blough is a young rising coach in this league. I’ve been around him firsthand and, he’s another one that he’s sharp. He understands football and quarterback play. He knows the run game. And he’s a detailed guy, and he’s competitive. He’s very competitive, so I think he’s going to do a great job.”
Campbell joins Johnson in giving Blough the stamp of approval. While it remains to be seen how things will work out for Blough in Washington, the Commanders were smart to promote him because if they didn’t, he wouldn’t have been around long.
Detroit eventually hired Drew Petzing as its new offensive coordinator.
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This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Dan Campbell wanted David Blough
