The Washington Commanders sent shockwaves through the NFL by promoting David Blough to replace Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator. Until late in the 2025 season, he was the team's assistant quarterbacks coach.
It's a major risk for Dan Quinn to take a chance on someone as inexperienced as Blough, especially when he can't afford for the decision to backfire. But there's also reason to believe it could pay major dividends.
Ultimately, Blough's success in Washington will all depend on one thing. It's no secret to anyone what that one thing is.
David Blough will need to help change the narrative on Jayden Daniels
A big part of the reason Washington wanted to go the in-house route with Blough was that it gives Jayden Daniels a voice in his ear he's already familiar with. The star signal-caller was blindsided by the decision to move on from Kingsbury, and the Commanders can't make him unhappy.
Whether Daniels likes him or not is irrelevant. What matters is that Blough is the right guy for the 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, who will be entering perhaps the most important season of his career.
His third year will determine whether he can achieve sustainable success in the NFL. Blough is his remaining constant after Kingsbury and Tavita Pritchard departed.
As a rookie, Daniels was electric. He had one of the best debut seasons of all time by a quarterback, taking Washington to the NFC Championship game. In Year 2, concerns about his durability and field vision arose. The league adjusted to him, and Kingsbury's offense was no longer setting him up to succeed.
The Commanders' wide receivers struggled to create separation when Daniels was under center. He was forced to do too much and wasn't adequately protected. It was a failure by everyone involved in Washington's offense, but it shows that the Heisman Trophy winner isn't superhuman.
Daniels can't carry this team all by himself.
Now, it becomes Blough's responsibility to make life easy for Daniels again. That will involve establishing the run game more than it was in 2025 and finding ways to open up passing targets.
Blough's experience playing for both Ben Johnson and Kevin O'Connell, as well as working under Kingsbury, should prepare him for his massive step up. He can also lean on Anthony Lynn and Brian Johnson for assistance, provided they remain on the Commanders' staff.
The mission of the Commanders' offense in 2026 is clear: Daniels must bounce back from his underwhelming and injury-plagued sophomore campaign.
It's up to his first-time offensive coordinator to make that happen.