The Detroit Lions are looking for their next offensive coordinator after axing John Morton. They seem to be casting a wide net of candidates, but on Saturday, a former Lions QB got a promotion and took himself out of the running for the gig.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Washington Commanders named David Blough the team's new offensive coordinator. The Lions had interest in Blough, but the Commanders didn't even allow him to speak with other teams after parting ways with Kliff Kingsbury.
Former Lions QB David Blough Continues Rise in NFL Coaching Ranks
Blough was a member of the Lions from 2019 to 2021 before returning to the practice squad in 2023. Shortly after retiring following that campaign, he jumped into coaching and landed with the Commanders. He started as an assistant quarterbacks coach but has quickly climbed the ranks.
The Lions expressed a great deal of interest in Blough, per Rapoport, although it was never confirmed if they planned to interview him. Last offseason, Detroit tried to interview Blough and bring him onto their staff after Jayden Daniels breakout rookie season. Washington valued Blough so much that they blocked the New York Jets from interviewing him to be their QB coach.
Now, one year later, Washington acted quickly to keep the coveted coach in-house by promoting him to become their offensive coordinator. Even though he hasn't called plays in the NFL, the excitement around him is real.
Kingsbury pointed out Blough's football sharpness, citing playing in multiple systems, including Ben Johnson's in Detroit and Kevin O'Connell's in Minnesota.
"He's very bright, there's no doubt. 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," Kingsbury said, via ESPN's John Keim.
The fact that Blough was inside that Lions building and was spoken highly of around the league makes it easy to see why they had interest in bringing him over. Unfortunately for them, the Commanders were steadfast in their desire to keep him around.
There's certainly a risk that would have come from adding Blough to a position in which he has no experience, but Detroit found success doing that before with Ben Johnson. The Lions were eyeing another young, upcoming mind but weren't given the chance to make things shake.
They are now tasked with finding their next OC elsewhere. Detroit is set to interview Seattle Seahawks passing game coordinator Jake Peetz and Baltimore Ravens QB coach Tee Martin. There will likely be more candidates added to the list, but the dream of bringing back Blough has come to an end.