Commanders announce coaching staff changes after Tavita Pritchard leaves for Stanford

The Washington Commanders coaching staff looks a little different after quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard accepted the offer to become the head coach at Stanford.

Pritchard, 38, was Stanford's quarterback from 2006-09 and was a teammate of former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck, who hired him as the athletic department's general manager. Commanders head coach Dan Quinn spoke about how the coaching staff will change with Pritchard no longer on board.

"David Blough will take the responsibilities of Tavita for the rest of the regular season and like definitely have been prepared for, you know, this at this position or at others. Knowing that, you know, when opportunities are there for a guy to elevate, like Tavita, we've got a good succession plan in place and David would be a big part of that," Quinn said.

"[Offensive Pass Game Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach] Brian Johnson will also lean in on some of the responsibilities. So, we kind of split up some of the things that Tavita did, and Brian will pick up some of that gap as well."

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota works with assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Who is David Blough?

Blough, Pritchard's replacement, has been with the Commanders for the past two seasons as the assistant quarterbacks coach.

Blough went undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft, but was able to stick around the league with the Cleveland Browns practice squad. From 2019-21, Blough was with the Detroit Lions before bouncing around with the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals in 2022. He logged five starts with the Lions as a rookie when Matthew Stafford was injured and even started on Thanksgiving for them.

He returned to the Lions in 2023 before retiring and becoming an assistant coach. Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury coached him while the pair were with the Cardinals, so that's where the connection comes in.

Now, Blough gets a few games to audition for a promotion in the offseason.

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