The Detroit Lions are going through an eventful offseason. After their disappointing loss to the Commanders in the divisional round of the playoffs, the Lions saw a mass exodus among their coaching staff. The coveted coordinators Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson took new head coaching gigs and were replaced by Kelvin Sheppard and John Morton, respectively.
Since then, Glenn and Johnson have turned their attention to building out the rest of their staff. Understandably, they are both targeting coaches they have worked together in Detroit. One of the hottest names on the market that Glenn wanted to bring to the Jets was former Lions QB David Blough.
Unfortunately for Blough, however, his current team, the Washington Commanders, blocked him from interviewing in New York.
In related news: The #Commanders blocked assistant QBs coach David Blough from interviewing for the #Jets job. He’s staying in Washington. https://t.co/nPiebGG33I
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 2, 2025
David Blough Blocked from Taking Next Step in His Coaching Career
Instead of hiring Blough, the Jets brought in Charles London as their quarterbacks coach. London had the same role with the Seahawks last season.
As disappointing as this may be for Blough, the former Lions QB will continue to have the chance to have a big role in one of the most dynamic offenses in the league while working with NFL's premiere rising star, Jayden Daniels. Plus, he is still 29 years old and only has one year of coaching experience. He should get plenty of opportunities going forward.
After spending three seasons in Detroit between 2019 and 2021, Blough returned to the Lions for the 2023 season. He had somewhat of a player-coach role for Detroit and was credited with installing plays for Ben Johnson's offense. He has reportedly had a larger role than his title indicates in Washington as well. Therefore, it's understandable that head coach Dan Quinn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury wanted to keep Blough around.
Blough is seemingly on track to be an offensive coordinator in the league in the future. He was considered a potential candidate to be the Lions OC after Johnson's departure. This would have been a risky move by Dan Campbell to hire someone with one year of coaching experience in the NFL. At the same time, he is certainly a candidate to return to the Lions in some capacity in the near future.