Commanders offensive coach listed as potential candidate for Stanford Cardinal HC job

The Washington Commanders could lose a vital offensive staffer to open Stanford Cardinal head coach position.

Nov 20, 2021; Stanford, California, USA; General view of the Stanford Cardinal helmet during the third quarter against the California Golden Bears at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images / Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

The Washington Commanders had one of the top offenses in the league last season under the first year of Kliff Kingsbury and Jayden Daniels paired together. Washington's offense was so good, in fact, that it distracted from the team's lapses on the defensive side of the ball and was one of the key reasons they were able to make it all the way to the NFC Championship game.

Things have changed since that unfortunate loss to the Philadelphia Eagles as the Commanders are going all-in to maximize the talents of Daniels along with the rest of the roster, making big moves across free agency as well as via trade.

Much of the attention has been paid to how to improve the defense from a season ago, and the Commanders have, however, they have also improved their already potent offense by bringing in guys such as Deebo Samuel and Laremy Tunsil.

Washington has kept most of the band together since a season ago, but they could be looking at replacing a key offensive coach here in the spring as Sports Illustrated tabbed quarterback coach Tavita Pritchard as a possible hire for the Stanford Cardinal head coaching position after the recent firing of Troy Taylor who also recently came under fire for "hostile and aggressive behavior" towards colleagues, particularly women.

Jun 8, 2023; Ashburn, Virginia, USA; Washington Commanders quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard (M) talks to Commanders quarterback Sam Howell (14) and Commanders quarterback Jacoby Brissett (12) during day three of minicamp at OrthoVirginia Training Center at Commanders Park, held inside the training bubble due to poor air quality from Canadian wildfire smoke in Ashburn. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

"Pritchard was supplanted by Luck as Stanford's QB1 in '09. He set out on a coaching career, staying at Stanford as a graduate assistant the following year, and worked his way up the ranks, eventually becoming offensive coordinator in 2018," Sports Illustrated's Dan Lyons wrote. "Pritchard left for the NFL in '23, taking the job as Commanders quarterbacks coach in '23. He was retained by new head coach Dan Quinn the following offseason, and helped Jayden Daniels put together one of the most impressive rookie seasons in NFL history in '24."

I won't dig deep into Pritchard's past as Lyons covered that above, however, it is important to note that Cardinal general manager and former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has a history with Pritchard from their overlap at Stanford. That connection in and of itself makes Pritchard an intriguing option, and Lyons expanded upon that by calling him one of those coaches who is up and coming with the possibility of him popping up on NFL teams' radars for a promotion.

"At 38, Pritchard is a coach on the rise, who will likely be in line for NFL offensive coordinator jobs assuming Daniels continues on his potential MVP trajectory. But his Stanford roots run deep, and one has to assume he'd answer the call from his alma mater."

Pritchard has been in the coaching game for a bit now and will eventually be thought of as one of those guys who can take the next leap into becoming the league's next up when it comes to offensive coordinators if he can continue what he started in Washington. However unlikely it is in the moment, there is always the off chance he makes this move which would leave the Commanders a bit handcuffed since the coaching carousel of hires has pretty much dried up by this point.

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READ MORE: Former Commanders assistant coach hired by Georgia Bulldogs

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