David Blough named Offensive Coordinator

[RWJ]

That all sounds right. And I also think there is an element of blaming the style of Kingsbury's offense for the terrible defense we displayed. I get Kingsbury's likely mindset 'Hey - I am putting up enough points for us to win most games - even with a bunch of scrubs in the game. It's not my fault we can't stop anyone on defense'.

So true but our D's play spoke for itself when DQ took over the play calling during the season. It was out there in the open for all to see. I'm not defending DQ just saying. Our D stunk. It improved when DQ took over a little here and there but not to any great degree.

 

[Chris]

I think he runs a no huddle, slow tempo offense. The no huddle is to prevent the other team from substituting, but often Kliff would still snap the ball when the playclock was around 2 or 3

At least that's what my memory says. I don't remember many snaps with 12 or 16 left on the play clock.

No huddle does not prevent the opposing defense from substituting unless you don’t change personnel. On many occasions we were held from snapping the ball until the play clock was nearly out for that reason, we changed personnel.

 

[HTTR]

More under center, more pre snap motion, more play action and roll outs…all of this sounds great to me. It’s working around the league and probably it will for us too. If not, we can go back. Either way, it’s good that Blough is a clean slate and likely won’t be so attached to a certain style that he’s slow to adjust as conditions change. Kingsbury to a degree struggled with this imo.

 

[Neophyte]

Thoughts after digesting this move overnight:

- McDaniel was really the only experienced guy on the market I was interested in. Every other experienced option came with more red flags than my high school girlfriend.

- With 25% of the league looking for a HC and McDaniel's clear offensive genius, I'll be surprised if he isn't a HC somewhere next season. I just hope it isn't NY.

- If reports are true, Blough was considered a viable OC candidate by more than just the Washington staff. That's a positive.

- No first time OC has play calling experience. Every single great one had a first year - Gibbs, Walsh, Reid, McDaniel, Shannon, etc. And they did it in a day where there was no step between position coach and coordinator.

- Age is just a number except that younger men usually seek to prove themselves while an older man may lean toward being safe.

- There are 2 other experienced play-callers on this staff to help out. It isn't like Blough has been suddenly thrust into a leading roll with nothing but rookies to assist him.

- There is a fair bit of talent on this offense to work with. Blough doesn't have to try to make a Michelin 3 Star meal with ramen, old potatos, and pig ears.

- DQ has seen his fair share of young coaching talent. So has Adam Peters. I trust them more than I trust me when it comes to football decisions.

Having said all that, am I excited? No, not yet. Am I pessimistic? Also no, not yet. If I'm honest, this is the absolute best place I could be right now without the team hiring Mike McDaniel.

 

[DogofWar1]

Re: Quinn, the Blough hire doesn't move me. HCs generally get one mulligan and then they're off the tour. Dan got his, but it was hard to see him surviving another sub-7/8 win season anyway before Blough, so OC for Quinn was kinda irrelevant. It's his call, he knows he's gotta get it right, go get your guy, doesn't make his seat any hotter or colder.

Re: Blough, ultimately, I choose to take it as a very positive thing that the Lions were heavily interested. These dudes had Ben Johnson, lost Ben Johnson, and now need a new Ben Johnson. If the Lions thought Blough had a real chance to be the next Ben Johnson, that's very high praise. Maybe he wouldn't be and Johnson is legit just that special. BUT it's a good sign nonetheless.

 

[burgold]

Playing imagination games, how would Deebo look in a Ben Johnson style offense?

 

[Gooseneck]

David Blough promoted to OC. The Search for next DC and others continues...

escommanders.com

 

[SkinsLife]

Conspiracy theorist in me (Of course it could be that Lions were playing chess... to Wash checkers. Show some interest towards Blough while really courting Mcdaniels so Wash jumps at signing Blough so as not to loose him.. while Det was never seriously interested)

 

[Neophyte]

Conspiracy theorist in me (Of course it could be that Lions were playing chess... to Wash checkers. Show some interest towards Blough while really courting Mcdaniels so Wash jumps at signing Blough so as not to loose him.. while Det was never seriously interested)

I believe reports of the Lions' interest in Blough surfaced before McDaniel was relieved of duties in Miami. If your theory is correct, Campbell isn't just playing chess, he is playing psychic chess.

 

[Faithful Fan]

Nobody knew who Joe Gibbs was when he came here.

Fortune favors the bold. We'll see.

There is no comparison with Blough and Gibbs.

When the Redskins hired Gibbs in 1981, he already had 15 years of coaching experience dating back to when Don Coryell hired him at San Diego State in 1964.

Blough has less than 1 year experience as a quarterback coach.

 

[Faithful Fan]

Setting aside all of the 'pro-Blough' arguments folks are making, this may have been a choice largely designed to make Jayden Daniels happy. Making Jayden Daniels happy is a big, big deal.

I really hope we didn’t hire the guy just because JD likes playing HORSE with him.

 

[Faithful Fan]

I don't get the sense that anything will be half baked this off season.

Except our offensive coordinator, who really hasn’t had any time to bake at all.

 

[Dlts20]

I want to talk about another factor that has barely been raised.

I think Jayden Daniels was really pissed that they let Kingsbury go. He was trying to avert it with public praise for Kliff just 24 hours prior, even Mom chiming in. He wasn't happy. This franchise (not regime, but franchise) has a long history of it's best players not wanting to re-up for a 2nd contract in DC.

Daniels may be a 'team guy' and 5x the professional than RG3 was, but I think there is still the concern that if his rookie tenure in Washington becomes a clown show/disaster like it sort of looked like in 2025, that he would look for greener pastures. I absolutely could see that happening. The kid wants to be a HOFer and he's not going to risk derailing those kinds of aspirations by hitching his wagon to a franchise that can't figure out how to put together a consistently winning organization.

Setting aside all of the 'pro-Blough' arguments folks are making, this may have been a choice largely designed to make Jayden Daniels happy. Making Jayden Daniels happy is a big, big deal.

I'm the biggest Jayden fan there is but he didn't play well enough or stay healthy enough for us to worried about making Jayden happy. Burrow has a injury history but you've seen him play well enough that you make moves to make him happy. If Jayden struggles next year then he's only had one great year out of 3 and may not be the guy to lead the Franchise anyways, let alone dictate terms.


I think that Jayden was a major factor in the teams mindset to choose Blough but it wasn't to make him happy. It was to make him better. Blough unlike some great minds is actually a QB himself and probably the closest removed QB in history to be an OC. That is big for Jayden, especially if we lose a mentor like Mariota.

I just truly don't believe that their priority is to make Jayden happy or they would have kept Kliff or Pritchard but they know the fate of the Franchise for the near future depends on his development and they believe that Blough is the best guy for that in a multitude of ways.

I also don't feel like they are naive enough to think that everything will be A1 from the jump with no issues. I believe they view Blough as a #1 draft pick. He may have his rookie struggles but he will be better by the end of the season than the start and he will be comfortable in his 2nd with the potential to be a Drew Brees of coaching or something.

They envision him and Jayden growing and becoming elite together while still hoping he catches lightning in a bottle at coaching as Jayden did in his rookie year of QB because they believe that Blough can be that special. I could see him blowing up and us wanting to keep him and naming him assistant HC with HC money, and eventually taking over for DQ. That's what they want to happen.

 

[Faithful Fan]

So, what style of offense will Blough run? I know he's never run one before, but do we have any insight on what it will look like?

Run first?
West coast?
Play action?
Aggressive?
Under center more?
No huddle?

We have no way of knowing because the guy has no resume. Really the only possible answer to the poll question is “wait and see.”

If you are speculating, his only coaching experience was under Kliff who is a no-huddle, pass first, shotgun guy. But DQ fired KK because he wanted less of that.

As a quarterback he played for Jeff Brohm, Darrell Bevell, Anthony Lynn, Ben Johnson, and Kevin O’Connell. Maybe you can glean something from that experience?

 

[NickyJ]

Conspiracy theorist in me (Of course it could be that Lions were playing chess... to Wash checkers. Show some interest towards Blough while really courting Mcdaniels so Wash jumps at signing Blough so as not to loose him.. while Det was never seriously interested)

The problem with that is considering what McDaniels could have wanted. 1. A head coach job, 2. A coordinator job at one of the most stable teams in the past 5 years, 3. A coordinator job for a head coach that both the media and the fanbase think is one season from the chopping block without a miraculous turnaround.

I wanted McDaniels, but I don't McDaniels would have wanted us.

 

[skinsinparadise]

I'd get a FA back and Love if he's there*

You know who I want at wide receiver. It's a pipe dream, but if we had an offensive offseason (Blough thread, sticking to offense) of:

RB: Hall, Love
WR: Sarratt
LG: Warm body who can get in the way
TE: One of: Njoku, Trautman or even Moreau

This team is absolutely dangerous.

I don't think this happens. Too many variables. Too few resources. But I'd be ecstatic.

*-pending DC hire/FA period

Trautrman, that was one of my guys on the draft, he hasn't lived up to expectations but he's been ok. Njoku would be fun. Goedart. Likely.

WR: I've liked Sarratt for awhile too. But I'd sign a marquee FA: Alec Pierce (though he might get too much money), Romeo Doubs. If slot, Wandale Robinson. I want them to treat Fa like the draft doesn't exist. And they do have the resources to do it.

RB: Hall or Love would be a dream. If they are shooting lower: Etienne, Walker or lower than that R. White.

 

[Faithful Fan]

Good stuff. But it begs the question, can Jayden Daniels run that type of offense? Because he never has before. Whether it was a good thing long-term or not, Kingsbury was in some ways the perfect OC for Daniels because his offense took advantage of the things Jayden does exceedingly well. It may have been too risky a style for Daniel's long-term health, and there are other valid criticisms, but as far as matching Jayden's skillset, Kingsbury knew Jayden could execute that offense masterfully.

Will he be the same level of dangerous QB in a completely different offense? Maybe. But it's certainly not a given.

This is a good question.

 

[DogofWar1]

I'm not too worried about Jayden picking up a new system. Everything everyone has ever said about him is how hard of a worker he is, how he's in the building before everyone else, using VR to run plays, etc. Have to imagine he'll put in the work and be fine.

 

[Chris]

I'm not too worried about Jayden picking up a new system. Everything everyone has ever said about him is how hard of a worker he is, how he's in the building before everyone else, using VR to run plays, etc. Have to imagine he'll put in the work and be fine.

Except now he is being labeled as lazy or potentially lazy by some here because he mentioned being comfortable in Kliff’s system. FFS.

 

[Boone]

David Blough promoted to OC. The Search for next DC and others continues...

escommanders.com

I believe this is the first link anyone has posted to that site. We are not on a friendly basis with them and don't need their content here. Nothing personal with you.