The Detroit Lions were reportedly interested in former backup quarterback David Blough for their vacant offensive coordinator position, but he is now off the board. The Washington Commanders have opted to hire Blough as their new offensive coordinator, replacing the recently departed Kliff Kingsbury.
It’s been a meteoric rise for Blough, who only retired from his NFL playing days after the 2023 season. Since then, he has been the assistant quarterbacks coach for the Commanders for the past two seasons. He also served as the interim quarterbacks coach for the final month of this past season after Tavita Pritchard left the position to become Stanford’s head coach. While rare, a quick rise up the ranks isn’t unheard of in the NFL. The most recent example is Kellen Moore, who retired from playing in 2017, became the Cowboys’ quarterbacks coach in 2018, and was their offensive coordinator in 2019. Five years later, he was hired to become the Saints’ head coach.
It’s unclear how involved the Lions got in the process of courting Blough to be their offensive coordinator, as there were only reports of interest. It’s not even clear if Detroit ever got to the point of interviewing Blough.
Regardless, they’ll have to go back to the drawing board if Blough was one of their primary choices. There are still three other known candidates Detroit has expressed interest in: former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, Seahawks pass game coordinator Jake Peetz, and Ravens quarterbacks coach Tee Martin.
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