Tavita (ta-VEE-tuh) Pritchard is entering his third season as quarterbacks coach for the Washington Commanders.
Last season, Pritchard worked closely with quarterback Jayden Daniels. Daniels earned AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, earned Pro Bowl honors and set multiple records his rookie season. Daniels threw for 3,568 yards, 25 passing touchdowns, nine interceptions and had a 69.0% completion percentage. He also added 891 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. 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. He became the seventh rookie quarterback in NFL history with five straight games with at least two touchdown passes.
Daniels finished sixth among all-rookie quarterbacks in league history in passing touchdowns in a single season, first among all rookies in completion percentage (minimum 300 passing attempts). His 891 rushing yards ranks first among all rookie quarterbacks for the most rushing yards by a rookie quarterback in a single season.
In his first season with Washington, Pritchard worked with quarterbacks Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett. During that season, Howell threw for 3,946 yards and 21 touchdowns. Howell's 612 passing attempts ranks first in franchise history for the most by a quarterback in franchise history and his 3,946 passing yards ranks sixth in franchise history.
Prior to joining the Commanders, Pritchard served in a variety of coaching roles with Stanford University. Pritchard played quarterback at Stanford from 2006-09 and joined the staff as a graduate assistant in 2010. He was then promoted to the role of defensive assistant from 2011-12 and moved on to coach the running backs in 2013. He was then promoted to the role of quarterbacks/wide receivers coach from 2014-17 before assuming the role of offensive coordinator from 2018-22.
In Pritchard's time as Stanford's offensive coordinator, eight offensive players were drafted: WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (2019 second round, Philadelphia), RB Bryce Love (2019 fourth round, Washington), TE Kaden Smith (2019 sixth round, San Francisco), TE Colby Parkinson (2020 fourth round, Seattle), OT Walter Little (2021 second round, Jacksonville), QB Davis Mills (2021 third round, Houston), C Drew Dalman (2021 fourth round, Atlanta) and WR Simi Fehoko (2021 fifth round, Dallas).
In 2020, Pritchard coached quarterback QB Davis Mills, a third-round draft pick of the Houston Texans, who guided the team to a 4-2 record, including four straight wins to end the season during a COVID-19 shortened season. Mills earned honorable mention AllPac-12, finishing 129-of-195 (66.2%) for 1,508 yards and 10 total touchdowns (seven passing, three rushing). His 301.6 passing yards per game was second best in the Pac-12.
Stanford averaged 420.2 yards per game offensively, including 287.3 yards per game through the air and 132.8 on the ground.
Stanford improved on third down (48% in 2020 vs. 39% in 2019) and red-zone offense (78% TDs in 2020 vs. 47% TDs in 2019), while totaling 15 TDs on the ground in just six games vs. just eight rushing touchdowns in 2019 over 12 total games.
Pritchard coached QB Kevin Hogan, a fifth-round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs, during his final season at
Stanford. Hogan led the team to the 2015 Pac-12 title and a Rose Bowl win. He threw 27 touchdowns to eight interceptions and completed 67.8 percent of his throws. Hogan finished his career at Stanford with a school-best 36-10 record as a started and ranked first in career total offense (10,634), second in completion percentage (.659) and passing efficiency (154.6), and third in passing yards (9,385) and passing touchdowns (75). He also set school records for career rushing yards (1,249) and touchdowns (15) by a quarterback.
A native of Tacoma, Washington, Pritchard and his wife, Caroline, have two sons, Afi and Manu, and two daughters, Leone and Tala.
