The
Detroit Lions also showed interest in Blough for their offensive coordinator position. The Commanders did not want to lose someone they considered a talented coach, even if he's only 30 years old.
When Dan Quinn coached the
Atlanta Falcons, he allowed coaches such as Mike McDaniel and Matt LaFleur to leave when Kyle Shanahan became the head coach in
San Francisco.
Chicago, Detroit and the
New York Jets showed interest in Blough last offseason.
As a player, Blough spent time with Detroit from 2019 to 2021 and was on the Lions' practice squad in 2023. A year later, he joined Washington's staff under Kingsbury, whom he played for in 2022 for a month before being cut the next season.
Kingsbury often raved about Blough's football acumen. He pointed to his experience in multiple systems, including under Ben Johnson in Detroit and Kevin O'Connell in
Minnesota.
"He's very bright, there's no doubt," Kingsbury said last month. "He's been around some great offensive minds ... so his biggest strengths are he sees it from the lens of the player and yet he can kind of separate and still be the coach."
Blough developed a strong relationship with Washington quarterback
Jayden Daniels -- the two would play a football version of H-O-R-S-E before practice each Friday.
But, Kingsbury said, Blough was demanding of the players. Kingsbury said that likely is because Blough "maximized who he was as a player."
"He knew he had to get every ounce out of every throw and rep," Kingsbury said. "You feel that in his coaching ... he's not going to let him off the hook if it's a lazy rep -- 'Hey, do it again. We need a better one than that.' And I think that's really been good for that room, just watching him work with those guys. They definitely appreciate and respect kind of his honesty and that he's been through it on that level."
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