The Chicago Bears are considering an old rival quarterback as the one of several replacements for former offensive coach Thomas Brown.
The Bears have extended a request to interview former Detroit Lions signal-caller David Blough for their open position of pass game coordinator. Brown held that job coming into the 2024 campaign before Matt Eberflus promoted him to offensive coordinator after the mid-season firing of Shane Waldron. The team fired Eberflus shortly after, at which point Brown became the interim head coach.
“[Commanders] assistant QB coach David Blough has a request from the [Jets] to interview for their QB coach jobs as well as a request from the [Bears] for passing game coordinator, sources say,” Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported via X on Wednesday, January 29. “Blough, 29, is garnering attention only one year into his coaching career.”
Blough’s work with Commanders QB Jayden Daniels is undoubtedly his top asset heading into just his second year of NFL coaching. As such, it makes sense that new Bears head coach Ben Johnson would be interested in Blough as a potential developer of Caleb Williams‘ talent after an up and down rookie campaign.
David Blough Has Several Years of Experience as NFL QB
GettyFormer Detroit Lions quarterback David Blough.
Blough played quarterback for the Lions for three years between 2019-21, the last two of which Johnson served as the team’s tight ends coach. Johnson elevated into the role of offensive coordinator in 2022 and held that position for three years, during which time Blough cycled back into the team’s quarterback room.
Blough played for the Arizona Cardinals during the 2022 campaign and joined up with the Lions’ practice squad in August 2023. He stayed with Detroit through that season before getting into coaching in Washington under head coach Dan Quinn and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who spent time with Blough as the Cardinals head coach in 2022.
Blough finished his professional playing career with 1,435 passing yards, 6 TDs and 9 INTs. He went 0-7 as a starter, including 0-5 during his time with Detroit.
David Blough Played Big Role in Jayden Daniels’ First NFL Season
GettyQuarterback Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders.
While some may wonder why a player who struggled so much to succeed as a quarterback makes sense as an offensive coach, there is the example of Kevin O’Connell and the Minnesota Vikings to consider.
O’Connell bounced around the league as a player for five years between 2008-12, joining five different teams before deciding to retire and go into coaching. For his playing career, O’Connell appeared in just two games, never earning a start, and went just 4-of-6 for 23 yards passing.
He is now a finalist for the NFL’s Coach of the Year Award for the 2024 season and is 34-17 as a head coach with two playoff appearances in just three years at the helm in Minnesota. O’Connell also won a Super Bowl ring in 2021 as the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams.
The point being, how good someone was as a player doesn’t necessarily translate into how good of a coach they can become. Blough had great success with Daniels in Washington this season, which makes him an exciting prospect in the development of Williams who went first in the 2024 draft, just one spot ahead of Daniels at No. 2.
The Commanders finished the year in the NFC championship game, and Daniels is the frontrunner to win Offensive Rookie of the Year after putting up nearly 3,600 passing yards, 25 TDs and just 9 INTs along with 891 rushing yards and 6 scores on the ground.
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