David Blough and the Offensive Staffing Thread

[Conn]

This is also about power dynamics imho. Quinn is standing there with egg on his face to a certain degree because he had to let an accomplished coordinator go reportedly because said coordinator didn't want to be told what to do with his offense by a defensive head coach.

His next move is to hire a guy with no juice whatsoever other than a rep as being a smart up-and-comer. But he's an OC who is going to do exactly what Dan Quinn tells him to do.

Am I the only one thinking this is a big factor in the hire?

I think it factors in. I find myself leaning more towards your framing (cynical), but I guess a more charitable reading would be “he wants someone to collaborate with to create more complementary coexistence between Offense/Defense, to fit his overall vision for the football culture and play style of his team as the HC. And Kliff wasn’t adaptable or enough of a team player to change (or just had understandable disagreement with the concept, as an experienced coach himself)”.

Again, I think yours may be closer to the truth. But I bet Quinn thinks of his own motives a little more charitably lol. He thinks it’ll benefit all, as most who attempt being a benevolent dictator do. But then, that’s kinda the NFL in a nutshell when elite coaches do it. I just don’t think Quinn is among the elite.

 

[Conn]

Throwing this out there. Blough from Detroit and Newmark too, Detroit has had an excellent OL over the past several years. Hank Fraley is their OL and run game coordinator. I might be out in right field but keep on eye/ear open for Steve Oliver, Asst. OL coach. Just a thought.

They can just say no to us, unfortunately. Going from assistant position coach to position coach doesn’t count as a promotion, in regards to hiring guys away. We’d need permission.

 

[Conn]

A silver lining here—by taking such a risk and going all-in on the inexperienced Blough, they are extremely incentivized to bring in weapons this offseason and make themselves look smart. They are gonna wanna load this dude up with weapons to make Daniels and the offense shine. From a staff that’s been pretty conservative (outside of trades, ironically), that’s interesting at least.

 

[RWJ]

Conn, I am not disagreeing with you. I googled the question and got this information. Take it for what it is worth.

Conn So if we titled him at OL coach/running game I think he technically could with the other items below thrown in.



Yes, in the NFL, an assistant position coach moving to another team as a position coach can be a promotion if it comes with more money, more responsibility (like a title such as "Passing Game Coordinator"), or a better path to a coordinator role, and teams generally cannot block interviews for these advancement opportunities, especially since a 2020 rule change opened up mobility for assistants to interview for coordinator roles, making lateral moves to another team as a position coach (but perhaps with added perks) a viable career step up.
Why it can be a promotion:

• Increased Responsibility: Moving from a standard position coach to a "Passing Game Coordinator" or "Rushing Game Coordinator" is a promotion, even if the base position title remains similar, as it signifies a step closer to a full coordinator role.
• Salary & Status: A move to another team often comes with a better contract, higher salary, and increased influence, which is a significant promotion in itself.
• Career Trajectory: A new team might offer a clearer path to becoming a coordinator or even a head coach, making it a strategic career advancement.

NFL Rules & Mobility:

• 2020 Rule Change: The NFL now requires teams to allow assistant coaches to interview for coordinator positions, preventing them from blocking these moves.
• Lateral Moves: While promotions can't be blocked, teams could theoretically block a purely lateral move (position coach to the same position coach role elsewhere), but often grant permission out of professional courtesy to maintain good league relations.
• Hierarchy: The general coaching hierarchy (Quality Control < Position Coach < Coordinator < Head Coach) dictates what constitutes a true promotion, but internal titles and financial incentives blur the lines, making many moves a step up.

So, even if the title is just "Position Coach," the context of increased responsibility, better pay, and improved career prospects can make it a definite promotion for an assistant coach.

 

[Dlts20]

I was worried about his age but this was 6 years ago when he was 24 and 4 years ago when he was 26. He's clearly extremely mature beyond his years. He will be good for Jayden.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

I think the idea that we went from Kingsbury to Blough, just on its face, is unexciting to most of us.

Blough I believe designed (or called or both) the play to Crowder that won the Eagles game in 2024. That was reported in the week following that game.

Blough has been widely reported as an up and comer.

Blough has worked with very successful offenses in different capacities as low as QB and high as QB coach.

I think DQ wanted to keep Kliff if Kliff would agree to tweak a few things. Kliff didn’t. Blough represents that exact option, not saying he runs Kliff’s scheme because frankly the tweaks would make it look different!! But Blough is willing to listen and tweak.

Well- that may work better. It may work extremely poorly too. Too much listening and a lack of confidence and assertiveness can be crippling.

Biggest con is his limited experience and that matters. We don’t know how all of the above translates and if DQ is doing that evaluation… we have to trust him?

We shall see. I would not call this surprising. For me, the fact I thought McDaniel was numero uno guaranteed that they wouldn’t get him (and I did think he was a hard get; there wasn’t real evidence he wanted to come here).

A lot depends on how the structure and dynamics shake out. Given this is a HC who hired and fired within two years, confidence doesn’t spring readily (it shouldn’t). Let’s see how it all shakes out (remaining staff, personnel, etc).

 

[Ashburn Dave]

Win win for me. We win if Blough works out and we win if he doesn't since that will be the end of the DQ era.

 

[KDawg]

As I think about it more it looks more and more desperate.

-Blough was assistant QB coach. Only got elevated when Tavita Prichard took the Stanford job.

- not long after, Kingsbury is let go and he’s hired almost immediately as offensive coordinator.

Either there was something semi shady going on behind the scenes (I’m not sure that is Blough’s style) or we panicked and hired him because we weren’t sure there would be anyone else.

Again, by all accounts he’s bright. He survived in the NFL by his IQ, not his physical talent. So that tracks. But going from assistant QB coach, to QB coach to OC in a matter of a couple of months is a major change. And doing it at 30 years old…

The circumstances around this stink for Blough. And honestly I feel guilty for feeling frustrated because this guy deserves an opportunity to prove his worth without judgement.

That’s why I say it’s not about him. Because it’s not.

But this whole situation feels off.

 

[Simeon]

You know who had balls? Every man walking the Earth, both past and present.

I was born with 1 1/2. So is ball, balls or ball(s)?

 

[Discobob]

I was born with 1 1/2. So is ball, balls or ball(s)?

 

[Commander PK]

For the entire Snyder era this is the kind of move that NEVER would have been made. For that reason alone, I’m stoked. Something we always said we wanted, catching a young up and coming coach before we have to try to outbid everybody else for him.

I’m of an open mind…let’s see what happens. 👍

 

[prodigy]

Either there was something semi shady going on behind the scenes (I’m not sure that is Blough’s style) or we panicked and hired him because we weren’t sure there would be anyone else.

I know it's the nature of speculation...still, I prefer panicking to keep someone we want over panicking because there is no one left. four days out from black Monday and a day away from wildcard weekend...there were plenty of options still out there (albeit with varying levels of realistic probablility). this is not a Zorn situation.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

I know it's the nature of speculation...still, I prefer panicking to keep someone we want over panicking because there is no one left. four days out from black Monday and a day away from wildcard weekend...there were plenty of options still out there (albeit with varying levels of realistic probablility). this is not a Zorn situation.

This is the distinction, but I will add one likely caveat.

I think all things considered, after two years of asking Kliff to run more (not speculation, rewatch the pressers if you don’t believe me), Quinn wanted Kliff to make some tweaks. The pressers don’t talk about motion and other things but.. maybe? The pressers talk about running and Keim reports this specifically now.

Blough represents what Quinn kind of wanted - some continuity, some tweaks, some flexibility- and Blough was being courted seriously. So as you said prodigy - they “panicked to keep someone” (well put) l and I think this someone is hoped to be the unique solution that checks those boxes DQ wanted, including continuity.

I hope he is ready. The main concern is the trust in the evaluator is low so… just hope he is ready.

 

[Conn]

I doubt it's ever been done, but just a guess. Pritchard as previously mentioned has been coaching since 2010. I cannot imagine Blough getting this gig if Pritchard is still here. And that begs the question, what kind of 'succession planning' is in place if you plan on replacing Kingsbury and you let Pritchard walk?

Pritchard has been a poor OC before, so maybe they did always plan to elevate a (hypothetically) higher ceiling, but less experienced, guy over him when the time came. And maybe the time came a bit sooner than expected (and then Pritchard wasn’t here anyways).

 

[method man]

Here comes the commissioned fluff to make us feel better.

Blough might be great. This isn’t really anything against Blough. But it’s underwhelming given the entire circumstance of this whole thing.

So many of us are now catching on earlier to this

 

[method man]

For the entire Snyder era this is the kind of move that NEVER would have been made. For that reason alone, I’m stoked. Something we always said we wanted, catching a young up and coming coach before we have to try to outbid everybody else for him.

I’m of an open mind…let’s see what happens. 👍

What are you talking about? Jay made Sean his OC. Jay then made KOC his OC. How is this meaningfully different?

 

[skinzplay]

Congrats to Blough, I wish him well. If he succeeds, we're all happy campers -- JD5 is rollin' and we actually have something that looks like an actual running game. We shall see. I hope we light shit up next season on O.

 

[Commander PK]

What are you talking about? Jay made Sean his OC. Jay then made KOC his OC. How is this meaningfully different?

Neither of those moves felt like what the Blough hire feels like to me because at the end of the day…if McVay and McConnell didn’t work out…Jay was still on the team and he was an offensive minded coach who could assume control of the offense. Just like Dan did last season for the defense.

The safety net that existed during the Gruden years with his OC choices doesn't exist here now. The Blough hire seems to be a true leap of faith by Quinn, a high risk/high reward choice that 99% of the time was deliberately avoided during Snyder’s ownership. Zorn was only given the job after being hired as OC because the fanbase wanted nothing to do with Jim Fassell as head coach and Snyder panicked.

I don’t see this as remotely the same.

 

[Dlts20]

As I think about it more it looks more and more desperate.

-Blough was assistant QB coach. Only got elevated when Tavita Prichard took the Stanford job.

- not long after, Kingsbury is let go and he’s hired almost immediately as offensive coordinator.

Either there was something semi shady going on behind the scenes (I’m not sure that is Blough’s style) or we panicked and hired him because we weren’t sure there would be anyone else.

Again, by all accounts he’s bright. He survived in the NFL by his IQ, not his physical talent. So that tracks. But going from assistant QB coach, to QB coach to OC in a matter of a couple of months is a major change. And doing it at 30 years old…

The circumstances around this stink for Blough. And honestly I feel guilty for feeling frustrated because this guy deserves an opportunity to prove his worth without judgement.

That’s why I say it’s not about him. Because it’s not.

But this whole situation feels off.

How can something be desperate when they chose to let Kliff go and they hired Blough after interviewing a lot of people and he was clearly their first choice. McDaniel may have fell in their lap and they still chose Blough without even interviewing McDaniel or seeing what happens to him.

I believe this is the first hire for any team at any position. That's not desperation. That's going for what you want. He's the least qualified guy in the whole coaching search for any position. That's not someone you choose out of desperation unless every chip is already off the board. Again, we choose him before any chip was taken off the board.

Desperation is us choosing DQ after losing out on Johnson and McDonald. They clearly wanted Blough. Even if Pritchard was the first choice, it doesn't mean he was the only choice. Maybe they felt like we had multiple good options. It maybe like on our old Shanahan team, our first choice may have been McVay but we let him take a job already so we went with Lafleur. Maybe they genuinely liked both or maybe they were ok with letting Pritchard go because they knew they had another gem in the wings.

 

[DCSkinz2023]

This hire isn't surprising, you're not getting a big named candidate when your head coach is one more poor season away from being fired.

And who knows, did anyone know Mcvay was a stud when he was quality control? We'll see.