After a single year in coaching, former Lions quarterback David Blough is quickly gaining recognition as an up-and-coming coach in the NFL.
Blough played only four snaps during Dan Campbell’s second season as the Lions’ head coach and spent the 2023 season back on the practice squad. So, does that make him part of Campbell’s coaching tree? It’s starting to look that way.
In 2023, after finishing his playing career, Blough transitioned into coaching as the assistant quarterbacks coach for the Washington Commanders.
As Campbell’s staff saw several changes, rumors of Blough returning to the Lions as a coach began to surface. However, if that’s a possibility, there will be stiff competition.
According to NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo, the New York Jets have requested an interview with Blough for their quarterbacks coach position, and the Chicago Bears are interested in interviewing him for their passing game coordinator role.
Garafolo had initially reported that the Jacksonville Jaguars were also looking to interview Blough for their quarterbacks coach job, but later revised the tweet to remove them.
Both the Bears and Jets have new head coaches who are former Lions coordinators.
Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, who got a close look at Blough in 2021 and 2023, might be keen on bringing him into their respective staffs.
Johnson has already hired two ex-Lions assistants for his Bears staff, and Glenn is in talks to bring in another, Tanner Engstrand, as offensive coordinator in New York. If Blough joins the Jets, he could become the second former Lion on Glenn’s staff.
After a college career at Purdue, Blough entered the NFL in 2019 as an undrafted free agent with the Cleveland Browns.
He was traded to the Lions in late August and ended up starting five games that season after Matthew Stafford was injured, and Jeff Driskel struggled and got hurt.
Blough made two more starts in 2022 with the Arizona Cardinals, and those connections with Cardinals’ offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury likely led to Blough’s role as the assistant quarterbacks coach in Washington.
Blough has shown that he has the potential to transition into coaching, and after just one season working alongside Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate Jayden Daniels in Washington, his talents are getting the attention of other teams around the league.