A succession plan has been publicly announced after a shakeup to the Washington Commanders’ offensive staff.
Head coach Dan Quinn noted that assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough will step to replace Tavita Pritchard, who was officially named as the next head coach at Stanford last week, reuniting with his former quarterback, Andrew Luck, in Palo Alto.
“David Blough will take the responsibilities of Tavita for the rest of the regular season,” Quinn said during Monday’s press conference. “Definitely been prepared for this at this position or at others knowing that when opportunities are there for guys to elevate like Tavita. We’ve got a good succession plan in place and David will be a big part of that.”
The move takes effect beginning Monday with Sunday night’s overtime loss vs. Denver marking the final game for Pritchard with the Cardinals shifting their attention to the high school early signing period beginning this week and the transfer portal set to open at the start of 2026.
While the move also becomes a notable move in the Commanders’ offense with Pritchard noted as an integral part of second year quarterback Jayden Daniels, it serves as an expected development after the former quarterback who backed up Andrew Luck at Stanford returns home. After ending his playing career with the Cardinals in 2009, Pritchard shifted into coaching where he became a GA in 2010 before being elevated to a position coach in 2013 then Stanford’s QB coach and offensive coordinator for five seasons beginning 2018. Pritchard then made the move to the nation’s capital for his first NFL coaching stint during the Ron Rivera era before being retained by head coach Dan Quinn on Feb. 15, 2024.
“Tavita has been a great teammate for us, and I say that in the highest regard,” Quinn said of Pritchard after Sunday’s loss.. That's one of the highest compliments that you can give [a] ballplayer or coach, what they mean to the staff, and the development for him. So for him being at Stanford for so long as ballplayer there, GA a coach, so cool [opportunity] for him that he's connected with Andrew [Luck]. So we're all pumped for him. Fantastic opportunity for him. So we're bummed personally, but man, we're very excited. I just think they got great things ahead there.”
Blough, meanwhile, enters his second season with the franchise after also working closely with Daniels during his rookie season. Blough joined the Commanders’ coaching staff after five seasons in the NFL, four of whom were with the Detroit Lions. The Purdue graduate and Texas native drew interest from other NFL teams after the 2024 season with speculation that Blough could materialize into the permanent quarterbacks coach beyond 2025.
“David [Blough] was huge for me,” Raiders QB Aidan O’Connell said of his former Purdue teammate. “He was there my first two years at Purdue and was a starter in and out of playing time like me. Great guy. Great player and an awesome guy off the field. Was a big mentor for me. Taught me a lot about football, but also a lot about life.”