It's no secret that Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn is a defensive guy. He has a defensive background dating back to his playing days when he was a defensive lineman. He has an extensive coaching history, entering the NFL in 2001. Since then, he's held various coaching positions on the defensive side of the ball until he became the Atlanta Falcons head coach in 2015.
Quinn learned a lot from his time in Atlanta, and after spending a couple of years as defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, the Commanders hired him as their head coach. But Quinn knows his limitations, and this year he is entrusting offensive play-calling duties to his first-time offensive coordinator, David Blough.
A recent ESPN article discussed all 32 play-callers
in the NFL, stating their experience, what to know, and a key stat.
Experience: This is Blough's first year as the coordinator after spending two seasons as the assistant quarterbacks coach.
What to know: Blough spent one year in Minnesota learning coach Kevin O'Connell's offense and was on Detroit's practice squad in 2023 under coordinator Ben Johnson. Blough was influenced by Johnson in particular and will use a lot of play-action passes, more snaps from under center and far less no-huddle than Washington used under Kliff Kingsbury the past two years. They will retain some elements of Kingsbury's system -- some run-pass option. Blough also could mimic Johnson when it comes to trickery and creativity. -- John Keim
Key stat: Last season (with Blough as assistant quarterbacks coach and Kingsbury as offensive coordinator), the Commanders rushed on 61.4% of their red zone plays, the highest rate in the NFL. -- ESPN Research
While Blough has never been the actual play-caller in a regular-season game, part of Dan Quinn's development of Blough has included having him call plays during training camp and building his offensive scheme and strategy knowledge. That didn’t start this year; that started when Blough was hired back in 2024. Quinn gave Blough broad offensive evaluation authority over wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs, shifting from a siloed coaching model to a more comprehensive understanding of the offense.
Blough has continued his development for the past two seasons, and Quinn believes he is ready to take over play-calling duties. Washington may see more unpredictability in the red zone with Blough calling plays than it did with Kliff Kingsbury, and we also might see some trickery and creativity the team has lacked in recent years.
We'll get to see what Blough has planned for this offense soon enough. The Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles open Week 1 with divisional play at Lincoln Financial Field, where Blough will learn firsthand what it's really like to call plays during an NFL game against legendary defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders' David Blough heavily influenced by Bears' Ben Johnson
