The Washington Commanders promoted assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough to be their new offensive coordinator. Here are five things to know about the coach.
1. He was an experienced starter at Purdue.
Blough's college career began in 2014 after a successful stint as the starting quarterback at Creekview High School in Carrollton, Texas. He took a longer path towards becoming a starter, choosing to redshirt his freshman year, but after 2015 starter Austin Appleby decided to redshirt three games into the year, Blough was promoted from primary backup to full-time starter.
Purdue finished the year 2-10, but there were some exciting moments with Blough under center. They nearly pulled off an upset against No. 2-ranked Michigan State and got their first win with Blough as their quarterback, with the quarterback scoring five total touchdowns against Nebraska. The following year, Blough was named the starter before the start of the season and threw for 3,352 yards with 25 touchdowns, which earned him an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection.
Two years later, Blough was back as the Boilermakers' starting quarterback and had a 6-5 record as a starter. He posted career highs in completion rate (66.5%), passing yards (3,521) and passing touchdowns (25). Purdue finished the 2018 season 6-6, which included an upset over No. 2-ranked Ohio State, and earned a trip to the Music City Bowl. Blough earned a Third Team All-Big Ten selection for his performance.
Blough ended his college career appearing in 43 games with 36 starts. He completed 61.4% of his passes and ranks fourth all-time in passing yards for the program with nearly 10,000 yards.
2. He's been around some of the best offensive minds coaching in the NFL today.
Blough's professional playing career only encompassed five years and seven starts, but the 30-year-old has collected a wealth of knowledge from some of the best offensive minds coaching in the NFL today.
Blough's career started with him playing under Derrell Bevell, who was the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator in 2019. Bevell, currently the Miami Dolphins' quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator, had the Lions ranked 10th in passing offense that year. Blough also spent time with Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell, who had top 12 offenses in his first three seasons, and former Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury when he was the Arizona Cardinals' head coach.
Blough spent his final NFL season as a player as a member of the Detroit Lions' practice squad. The Lions, with Dan Campbell as the head coach and Ben Johnson as the offensive coordinator, ranked top five in total offense, passing yards, rushing yards and points.
Blough was hired by the Commanders in 2024 to be the assistant quarterbacks coach in Kingsbury's offense. That year, Blough helped lead a quarterback unit that had the highest completion percentage in a single season in franchise history (69.5), threw for the fifth-most passing touchdowns in a single season (29), and third-fewest interceptions in a single season (9).
3. He threw a touchdown on his first NFL completion.
Although Blough's playing time in the NFL was short, it certainly had an explosive start.
Blough started the 2019 season as the Lions' third-string quarterback, but injuries to Matthew Stafford and Jeff Driskel led to him getting his first start in Week 12 against the Chicago Bears. Bears starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky got his team on the board, leading the offense on a 50-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown to Allen Robinson.
Blough only needed three plays to respond. After his first pass to T.J. Hockenson fell incomplete, he unloaded a shot to Kenny Golladay, who caught the ball at the Bears' 35-yard line and ran uncontested the rest of the way for the 75-yard score. It ended up being the second longest pass of his career.
The Lions ended up losing to the Bears, 24-20, but it was a solid debut for Blough, who completed 22 of his 38 pass attempts for 280 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
4. And he has a receiving touchdown.
Not many NFL quarterbacks can say they have a receiving touchdown on their resume. Blough only made one career catch during his professional career, but it was a memorable one.
Blough ended up starting the final five games of the Lions' 2019 with the season finale being a home matchup against the Green Bay Packers. The Lions, who entered the game 3-11-1, were looking for anything to jolt their offense, and that's exactly what they got on their second drive of the day.
With the ball at the Packers' 19-yard line, Blough faked a handoff to running back Ty Johnson before flipping the ball back to wide receiver Danny Amendola. Amendola rolled out to his right before passing the ball to Blough, who was wide open for the touchdown. Blough chucked the ball into the stands as a celebration for giving the Lions an early 7-0 lead.
5. He has a strong relationship with Jayden Daniels.
Aside from the belief from the Commanders organization that he is a bright up-and-comer, Blough's relationship with quarterback Jayden Daniels is one of the biggest reasons he is now the team's offensive coordinator. Although injuries derailed his second season, there is still plenty of confidence in Daniels and his potential as the team's franchise quarterback. The Commanders went to extensive efforts to build a strong support system around Daniels, and Blough, whose playing career ended just two years ago, was part of that.
By all accounts, Blough and Daniels have developed a strong connection during their time together. A big part of their relationship is seen on Fridays during the season, when the two try to match each other's throws into a target net. Blough joked last year that their first game didn't go as well as Daniels would have liked, and it's become part of their routine ever since to get "competitive juices" flowing at the end of the week.
While there were intriguing options available for the Commanders in their search for a new offensive play caller, they chose the more familiar path with Blough and his relationship with Daniels. As the assistant quarterbacks coach, Blough has a good idea of Daniels' skill set and how to maximize it. In 2024, Daniels' combined 31 touchdowns ranked third all-time for a rookie quarterback in league history and is tied with Kirk Cousins for the third most in a single season in Washington history.
Although Blough doesn't have any experience calling an NFL offense yet, the Commanders are banking on him knowing how to get Daniels back to numbers resembling his rookie season.
