The Washington Commanders made some unexpected moves when they announced Daronte Jones and David Blough as their defensive and offensive coordinators, respectively, opting to bet on potential rather than settling for experienced play callers.
It's unclear how those decisions will pay off, but they've gotten positive reactions from national media members, who can't wait to see how Blough and Jones fare in their first seasons with the Burgundy & Gold.
"Offense is going to be fascinating," NFL Insider Ian Rapoport said when asked on the "Get Loud" podcast about Blough.
Blough, 30, will be one of the youngest play callers in the NFL after being promoted from assistant quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator. The Commanders were his first employer after he ended his playing career in 2023, as he joined head coach Dan Quinn's staff in February of 2024. Blough has spent the last two seasons establishing a strong connection with former No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels and helping the quarterback develop into what the franchise believes is its long-term answer at the position.
Although he has never called plays at any level, Blough is highly regarded both inside the Commanders' facility and around the league. He has spent time with several of the league's best offensive minds, including Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson and Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell. Blough was reportedly requested to interview with the Detroit Lions, who were also in need of a new offensive coordinator.
Washington, which was going through its own search for a coach to lead the offense, believes Blough has a bright future in store for his career. The Commanders wanted to make sure that if Blough blossoms into the league's next great offensive orchestrator, he would be doing so in the DMV.
"Most people have thought that Blough would be an offensive coordinator or head coach since he was 22," Rapoport said. "He doesn't have the experience, but I am really interested in how this goes, because he's supposed to be excellent."
Rapoport was also positive about how Jones, who was most recently the Vikings' defensive backs/pass game coordinator, will do leading the Commanders' defense, despite not calling plays at the professional level at other stops with the Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins and Vikings. "DQ's [Quinn's] fingerprints are all over" the defense, but Rapoport seemed confident that Jones can bring some of the success from the Vikings' scheme, which ranked third in yards allowed per game, to the Commanders.
ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio said that bringing over concepts from the Vikings' defense will mean "chaos and unpredictability."
"Certain guys will drop out into coverage and just confuse the offense," Florio said. "It just makes it easier to impose your will."
The Commanders could use some of that chaos as they try to turn themselves back into a playoff contender. They finished at or near the bottom of nearly every major statistical category, including last in yards allowed per game. Quinn took over the defensive play caller near the end of the season, which did make the Commanders more competitive on that side of the ball but was not enough to remedy the myriad issues that plagued the unit.
Like Blough, Jones has been around some of the league's best minds, from Lou Anarumo to Brian Flores. He's also coached at every level from high school to college and the NFL, so he has a wealth of knowledge of how to teach players at a variety of skill levels.
The Commanders are also set to go through a major rebuild on defense with several players set to enter free agency. Jones is expected to play a pivotal role in reshaping the unit to match his scheme.
"The players are always the key," Florio said. "Great players always make coaches look better, and that's gonna be one of the challenges for this team ... They really need to start building the team out around Jayden Daniels."
