ClutchPoints
The Washington Commanders decided they couldn’t wait on getting Mike McDaniel, so they pulled the trigger and selected David Blough as their new offensive coordinator. And here is why the promotion of Blough makes perfect sense.
After a 4-13 finish for what started as a hopeful follow-up to the 2024 NFC Championship run, change had to happen for the Commanders. They weren’t ready to end the tenure of head coach Dan Quinn, so other people had to go. That included the firing of offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
And so, the Commanders looked within to replace him. They handed the offensive keys to 30-year-old David Blough. But why?
First, let’s look at the Quinn angle. This is foremost because Quinn had the authority to sign off on the move or reject it.
Quinn had Kingsbury in house, and it worked great in 2024. But Kingsbury’s offenses had a history of getting out of the gates fast before fading. That was an established trend.
And when the 2025 season went in the tank, there was no reason for Quinn to hang his hat on Kingsbury. Why expect a turnaround, even with a healthy Jayden Daniels, when history suggests the league had caught up with Kingsbury once again?
So Quinn opened the door. What would he look for in his next offensive coordinator?
Because of the way Quinn has operated in the past, it may have made sense that he would opt for a good-old-boy choice. That’s how he wound up with the defensive disaster that was Joe Whitt Jr.
But this is a different Dan Quinn. Time is running out because of how badly the 2025 season turned out. This could be Quinn’s last chance to ever be a head NFL coach. There has to be a sense of desperation. Not in a panicky way, because Quinn will land on his feet. If he got fired by the Commanders tomorrow, he would probably be another team’s defensive coordinator the following day.
But desperation in the sense of keeping up with the younger minds in the NFL. Look at the coaches remaining in the NFC playoffs: Ben Johnson, Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, and Mike Macdonald.
The league has young guns racing toward the Super Bowl. Keeping up, for a guy in Quinn’s age category, means joining the crowd and getting younger. And that’s part of what Blough brings to the table.
Has Blough earned this opportunity? Not really. Is he ready to tackle this high-pressure position? Time will tell.
So what is the draw of Blough? Is it his relationship with Daniels? Certainly, the Commanders want to keep Daniels happy. He is their only hope of getting this franchise back to competing for playoff berths and postseason success on an annual basis.
But just being a buddy to the quarterback doesn’t get Blough the head seat at the offensive table. Blough got the spot...
