Detroit Lions quarterback David Blough talks to reporters after the team’s NFL preseason football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Don Wright)AP
One of the first candidates for the Detroit Lions’ open offensive coordinator job is now off the market.
The Lions expressed real interest in bringing former Detroit quarterback David Blough back to serve as the next OC under coach Dan Campbell, however he is staying on with the Washington Commanders as their new offensive coordinator, according to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport.
The Lions, Chicago Bears and New York Jets — the latter two coached by ex-Detroit coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn — reportedly have tried to hire him away from Washington, but he’ll remain after a fast ascent from assistant quarterbacks coach to interim quarterbacks coach and now OC.
Blough, 30, takes over for Kliff Kingsbury — who coached him as a player with the Arizona Cardinals — after he mutually parted ways with the Commanders on Tuesday.
In just his second season after retiring from football, Blough took over as interim quarterbacks coach when Tavita Pritchard took the Stanford job in late November.
While it’s been a rough year for the Commanders dealing with injuries — particularly to star quarterback Jayden Daniels — Blough became one of the top rising offensive assistants in the league.
Blough didn’t see much play time in the NFL after going undrafted out of Purdue, but he spent the majority of his career in Detroit. Injuries to Matthew Stafford and Jeff Driskel in 2019 saw Blough make his debut as a rookie on Thanksgiving against the Chicago Bears.
He would start five games for Detroit that season, where the Lions finished 0-5.
Blough continued on with the team for two more seasons — primarily on the practice squad — as Campbell took the helm of the franchise. After stints with the Minnesota Vikings practice squad and the Cardinals he returned as a practice-squad QB in Detroit for the 2023 season before retirement in 2024.
Campbell has always spoken highly of Blough and would’ve been a familiar face to bring back to the building who knows the QB room and the offense well.
“Look, I love the kid if I’m being totally honest with you,” Campbell said of Blough in 2021. “He’s just a little football player. And when I say that, I mean that in the highest regard.
“He’s smart. He’s extremely smart. He knows where to go with the football, I love his timing. He knows how to command the huddle. He communicates well, and on top of that, he’s a hell of a dude, by the way.”
Instead, Blough will remain with the Commanders and play a larger part in trying to right an offense that ranked 22nd in the NFL.
The Lions have been connected to ex-Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and Seattle Seahawks passing game coordinator Jake Peetz in the days following John Morton’s ousting as OC.
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