The Washington Commanders' search for a new offensive coordinator to succeed Kliff Kingsbury didn't last for very long. David Blough is the guy.
The move has been met with immediate skepticism. Mike McDaniel was available after being fired by the Miami Dolphins, and his personal ties to head coach Dan Quinn would have made him a good fit in Washington.
Instead, the organization is rolling with Blough, a 30-year-old up-and-comer who was the Commanders' assistant quarterbacks coach six weeks ago. It's a risk, to say the least.
Dan Quinn might have just sealed his fate by promoting David Blough from within
The Commanders' decision to promote Blough clearly stems from two factors. The first is that Quinn and company feared losing him to the Detroit Lions, who were interested in his services. During his time with the Atlanta Falcons, Washington's bench boss had both Matt LaFleur and McDaniel on his staff in the early stages of their careers, only to lose them to other teams.
He evidently didn't want history to repeat itself.
Washington has raved about Blough as a future star in the coaching ranks and wasn't going to let him get away easily. The Commanders have faced this dilemma before, most notably with Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay. Still, it screams of desperation.
The other obvious rationale for going the in-house route revolves around Jayden Daniels. After he was blindsided by the decision to move on from Kingsbury, Quinn couldn't risk making him unhappy. He compromised by giving him access to someone already within the organization.
But the NFL is a business, and Daniels has shown himself to be a coachable player who knows his place. He would've accepted the hire and gone to work no matter who was in charge. This should be irrelevant.
With Daniels in the fold, the Commanders had one of the most attractive openings in the league. They likely could have had any candidate they wanted, except for those being considered for head coaching positions. There were countless more qualified and experienced names floating around than Blough.
The Commanders couldn't afford to get this decision wrong. Blough is an intriguing commodity, but whether he's ready for the job remains to be seen. And if he's not, Quinn will be the one to pay the price.
It could prove to be a stroke of genius on Quinn's part, but it could just as easily prove to be the decision that ends his tenure as the Commanders' head coach. Time will tell.