David Blough. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Commanders make risky decision, promote QB coach David Blough to offensive coordinator

By Andrew Wright | Last updated Jan 9, 2026 9:20 PM ET

When the Washington Commanders parted ways with offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, there was a suspicion that a splash hire may have been on the horizon.

Those suspicions were laid to rest Friday with the announcement of Washington's newest offensive coordinator for at least the 2026 season.

Washington decides to hire from within

In a bit of a surprising move, the Commanders have reportedly hired their quarterbacks coach, David Blough, to be the next offensive coordinator. Blough, 30, spent four seasons in the NFL as a quarterback before transitioning to a coaching role.

Blough began the 2025 season as the assistant quarterbacks coach in Washington. He was then promoted to quarterbacks coach after Tavita Pritchard was hired midway through the season to be the next head coach at Stanford.

The #Commanders are hiring former NFL QB and rising assistant coach David Blough to be their new offensive coordinator, sources say.

The #Lions showed real interest in Blough, and Washington acted fast to hire one of the NFL’s youngest and brightest offensive minds. Big hire. pic.twitter.com/FpT83guQk9
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 9, 2026

Is it possible that Washington rushed to hire David Blough?

After firing one coordinator, it feels a bit strange that the Commanders would decide to hire from within. It is evident that head coach Dan Quinn did not want to repeat the same thing he went through in 2017, when he had Kyle Shanahan and Matt LaFleur leave his Atlanta Falcons staff after the season.

The desire from other teams around the league, the Detroit Lions specifically, may have forced Washington's hand in retaining their in-house coordinator, rather than pursuing a big name such as Mike McDaniel or Brian Daboll.

Will the familiarity with Jayden Daniels be good enough to get the Commanders back on track?

Blough spending all of last season with Jayden Daniels was likely a major factor in the decision to hire him as the OC. Blough will be responsible for restructuring a Commanders offense that ranked No. 22 in total offense last season.

If it can lead to success, the decision to promote Blough from within could be one of the more underrated moves of the entire NFL coaching cycle.

Andrew Wright

Andrew "Dew" Wright graduated from Charleston Southern University with a degree in Communication Studies. He is a lifelong Chicago Cubs and Washington Commanders fan.

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