New Washington Commanders offensive coordinator David Blough talks about his philosophical shift for the offense, running back room, his expertise and more
After parting ways with both coordinators to begin the offseason, the Washington Commanders didn't waste much time filling one side of the ball after moving on David Blough to serve as the offensive coordinator in just his third season of coaching in the NFL.
Washington wasn't the only team to show interest in Blough with Detroit and head coach Dan Campbell interested in bringing the former Lions quarterback on staff, but instead, head coach Dan Quinn kept him with the Commanders elevating the former assistant quarterbacks coach. While the promotion came within a week of Kingsbury's firing, 'surprise' isn't a word that Blough would use to describe his first coordinator role.
"You feel like every step along the way you prepare for these opportunities and surprise may not be the exact feeling," Blough said in his first response.
What he does bring is a close connection to quarterback Jayden Daniels with the two enjoying the competitive nature of weekly P.I.G. competitions ahead of Friday's practices through the season, giving the third-year quarterback a chance to grow on his connection with a young coordinator with recent playing experience.
"That's one of the best parts for me is that we have two years worth of relationship already built up," Blough said of Daniels. "There's already deposits in that bank that we can pull from."
But there are expected to be philosophical changes to the offensive style compared to Daniels' first two seasons with him expected to be under center more in 2026, a key sticking point in the eventual divorce with Kliff Kingsbury. Washington finished last in the NFL by a wide margin with just 17 under center dropbacks in 2025
"It opens up some different schemes in the run game, some things that I believe in. It opens up different play actions and keepers and getting him on the perimeter in different ways," Blough said of shifting to an under-center approach. "I think there's a level of communication that happens under center. I think there's different ways to go about things, and it's something that I'm convicted about that with his skillset, his fundamentals, the things that we absolutely loved about him when he first got here still ring true."
A big part of the Commanders' ability to go under center is the expected commitment to the run game that is, for now, anchored by Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Chris Rodriguez could come back in 2026 as he enters the offseason as a restricted free agent, while both Jeremy McNichols and Austin Ekeler are unrestricted. Croskey-Merritt is coming off a pair of 100-yard games and nine games with ten or more carries, finishing the season fourth among rookies with 805 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.
Blough noted he's "incredibly confident" in Croskey-Merritt's ability of materializing into a starting running back, but he made clear there will be "definitely be acquisitions that take place there." While also noting 23 players currently under contract into 2026 on offense, finding a complementary wide receiver opposite of Terry McLaurin will also be a focus for Blough and general manager Adam Peters with uncertainty about a reunion with Deebo Samuel, who was projected to sign elsewhere this offseason.
How - and who - those pieces to make the offense complete ahead of 2026 is part of the question, but so is how Blough will craft his playbook. There's experience to lean on, though, with Blough credited for the play design on the game-winning touchdown pass from Daniels to former Commander wide receiver Jamison Crowder to take down Philadelphia Eagles, 36-33, in week 17 of the 2024 season. As Blough now shifts to becoming a full-time play caller and crediting the long list of coaches, including Kingsbury, that shaped his philosophy to this point, he knows "adaptability" is the key with a focus on maximizing players' strengths, echoing Daronte Jones' message.
“I had a wise coach share, ‘It's about strong convictions, lightly held.' And so I think there's an adaptability that will be fluid and we're gonna do what our guys do best," Blough said. "There will be staples of what our identity will look like, but there's gonna be some things that are easy for us and hard for defenses. We're gonna make the same things look different and different things look the same and teach in a creative way."