Dan Campbell Wanted A Coach from Washington
Dan Campbell is not the kind of coach who likes to spend a lot of time talking about other teams, but he made an exception this week during an interview at the NFL combine, being covered by Lions Talk by Chat Sports. During the press conference, Campbell stated that he was interested in acquiring the Washington Commanders’ new offensive coordinator, David Blough.
“Oh, god. Yeah. I thought you were like, you didn’t. Yeah. Sorry. No, it’s not you. It’s not you. Uh, I love Blough. I mean, he was one of the guys that I wanted to bring in, and and, uh, you know, Coach Quinn and those guys went ahead and named him OC, which is smart by them. I I think uh Blough is a young rising coach in this league. Um, I’ve been around him firsthand and, uh, he’s another one, man. He’s sharp, you know, he understands football, understands quarterback play, he knows the run game. Um and and he’s a detailed guy, and he’s competitive, man. He’s very competitive. So, I think he’s going to do a great job.”
Dan Campbell says the Lions wanted Blough and it was smart of Dan Quinn to move fast and make him offensive coordinator pic.twitter.com/9Ou1qTqSXy
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) February 24, 2026
Who is David Blough?
Blough previously served on the Commanders’ staff as an assistant quarterbacks coach. In this role, he was responsible for working closely with the signal callers and understanding the offense. His familiarity with the offensive system and the fact that he was well-liked in the locker room made the promotion to offensive coordinator a natural fit. Dan Quinn was very excited about the promotion of Blough and stated the following during a recent press conference about him
Commanders Coach Dan Quinn on David Blough
“Yeah, I know he hasn’t been coaching a long time, but he has, obviously, when you’re the backup quarterback at different stops, you had different experiences, much like a younger coach coming up, but I can also speak from experience that you haven’t called plays, you’ve been waiting for it, you’ve been doing it, and in the practices you’ll probably find some spaces where we go to have more call it periods. But we’ll be really intentional about that. Some of the benefits of me going through this experience as a head coach for the second time, I learned some lessons to say, when there’s talent in place, and you can find that certainly going through Atlanta and some of the coaches that were part of that staff, had we done things different? You might have. So, I think what you want to find out from yourself is, are you growing, are you learning? And this guy’s absolutely ready to go attack. And so, it was evident to see that. But when you’re around somebody a lot, you know that too.”
Who Did the Detroit Lions Hire Instead?
Since Blough was off the market after committing to Washington, Campbell had to move on and find someone else to fill the role of offensive coordinator. Ultimately, he landed on Drew Petzing, who spent the past three years as the offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals. Petzing replaces John Morton, who was let go in 2025 after the Lions fell short yet again in the playoffs.
Blough’s Name is on the Rise
Blough’s name is definitely on the rise in the NFL. It sounds like even if he did not get the job in Washington, he had one waiting for him with the Detroit Lions. Campbell openly stated he wanted to bring him in, and the Commanders clearly saw the same qualities in him that Campbell described. Those qualities being competitiveness, detail, and intelligence. But being wanted is different than performing. The spotlight is now on David Blough to deliver in Washington and prove that he has what it takes to be an offensive coordinator in the NFL.