The Washington Commanders enter the 2026 season with new coordinators on both sides of the football, after last season's 5-12 nightmare prompted the departures of both Kliff Kingsbury and Joe Whitt Jr.
Daronte Jones is here to lead the defense, which will feature no shortage of new faces in new places. David Blough takes over the offense, which hopes to stay healthy this time around after star quarterback Jayden Daniels appeared in only seven games during the previous campaign.
The new offensive coordinator's task will be difficult as a first-time play-caller. But when it comes to his relationship with Daniels, this isn't the first day of school.
Commanders have a new OC, but the relationship with Jayden Daniels is already established
Blough spent the past two seasons as the Commanders' assistant quarterbacks coach under Tavita Pritchard, until the latter took the head coaching position at Stanford University. It's a big jump, but it's not as if working with Daniels is a completely foreign concept to the former Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals backup quarterback.
For Daniels, he believes the growth the two of them have already experienced together should pay off.
Jayden Daniels on David Blough and the #Commanders new offense
— NBC4 Sports (@NBC4Sports) June 17, 2026
"We've both grown a lot over these years, and now he kind of knows me, knows how I work, knows what buttons to push, how to push me, what I can handle, what I need to grow"@JPFinlayNBCS #RaiseHail pic.twitter.com/634XTY6XBo
Daniels had a close relationship with Kingsbury, but he understands that the NFL is a business and accepts the Commanders' view that his former coordinator did not put him in a position to succeed. Instead, he'll work with Blough, who brings some new tricks to Washington's offense.
Blough played for Kingsbury with the Cardinals in 2022. He also spent time with the Detroit Lions, during which he learned under Dan Campbell and Ben Johnson. That staff has raved about him as an up-and-coming name to watch for in the coaching ranks, and wanted him back in town to serve the same position.
Unfortunately for them, Washington had more cards to play with the opportunity to keep Blough in-house.
Head coach Dan Quinn is taking a leap of faith by putting his trust in the 30-year-old, not wanting to suffer the same fate he faced when his Atlanta Falcons coaching tree was plucked away from him one branch at a time.
In the two years Blough and Daniels have worked together, they have already developed valuable chemistry.
The 2024 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year needs someone who will make him uncomfortable, but also bring out the best in him by making his life easier. Daniels seems to connect well with the former Purdue Boilermaker, and now Washington awaits to see how it will pan out.
The Commanders are counting on Daniels to return to the elite level of play he showcased two years ago. With Blough at the controls of the offense, he's already getting a head start.
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