David Blough? Examining ex-QB's candidacy as Detroit Lions OC

A former Detroit Lions quarterback could be coming home.

David Blough, who played parts of five seasons for the Lions and spent the past two years coaching quarterbacks for the Washington Commanders, is a candidate for the team's vacant offensive coordinator job, NFL Network reported.

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Blough appeared in one game for the Lions in Dan Campbell's first season as head coach in 2021, playing four snaps in a 44-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles midway through the season.

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An undrafted rookie out of Purdue, Blough signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2019 and was traded to the Lions at the end of that preseason. He went 0-5 as a starter as a rookie, appeared in one game each of the next two years, was cut in training camp in 2022 and, after opting to spend that season elsewhere (most notably with the Arizona Cardinals under Kliff Kingsbury), he rejoined the Lions' practice squad in 2023.

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Blough went into coaching immediately after his playing career, and told the Free Press in his final season in Detroit he was interested in coaching flag football in the Olympics.

"The ideas that Ben [Johnson] has on a Sunday come from somewhere, or he invents them, and the people who are the most innovative I think will have success in the Olympics," Blough said at the time.

Asked if he had any innovative offensive ideas, Blough said, "I do have thoughts in my head. It would be fun. After watching the Pro Bowl [when they played flag football] – really the Pro Bowl and then [playing] in Arizona, I was like, 'You could get really creative.'"

Blough, 30, has limited NFL experience as a coach – he was assistant quarterbacks coach in Washington the past two years, until he was promoted to quarterbacks coach when Tavita Pritchard left to become coach of Stanford in December – but that isn't necessarily a dealbreaker for a coordinator job with the Lions.

Blough is a few months younger than Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, he has a previous relationship with Lions quarterback Jared Goff – something Campbell said was important to filling the position before he hired John Morton last year – and Campbell could retain play-calling duties or mentor Blough in the role like he did Johnson.

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Campbell promoted Johnson from tight ends coach to passing game coordinator after stripping then-offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn of play-calling duties in 2021, then promoted Johnson to OC with full play-calling responsibilities in 2022.

Campbell said in his end-of-season news conference Monday, Jan. 5, he's not sure if he wants to keep calling plays in 2026.

Lions COO Mike Disner also has emerged as a candidate to be the next team president of the Atlanta Falcons. Sports Illustrated reported the Falcons formally requested to interview Disner for a job many expect to go to ex-Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.

Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: David Blough a candidate for next Detroit Lions OC?