Commanders make more additions to coaching staff

David Blough.

The Commanders unveiled their first coaching staff under new head coach Dan Quinn on Thursday. Many of the additions have already been reported, but a pair of ex-players have found a spot on the staff.

David Blough has elected to hang up his cleats to take on the role of assistant QBs coach. Blough entered the league as a UDFA with the Browns, but he was dealt to the Lions in 2019. He spent much of his playing career in Detroit, making seven of his starts and nine of his appearances with the team from 2019-21.

The Purdue alum found himself in Arizona for the 2022 campaign, and he made a pair of starts that year. Blough was among the Cardinals’ final roster cuts last summer, however, which led him back to the Lions. He resided on the team’s taxi squad and made it clear he was eyeing a transition to coaching at some point. He will work alongside returnee Tavita Pritchard in overseeing the Commanders’ signal-callers, a group that could very well include a rookie added with the second overall pick in April’s draft.

Blough will make his first foray into coaching in 2024, and William Gay will likewise take on a full-time NFL sideline position for the first time in his career. The latter, a Steelers cornerback for 10 years with a one-year Cardinals stint in between, saw his final regular season and playoff action in 2017. He took a deal with the Giants in 2018, but he failed to make New York’s roster. The following year, Gay served as a Steelers coaching intern.

The former Super Bowl winner worked as a defensive backs coach at Missouri State in 2020, and he will take on the title of assistant DBs coach with the Commanders. Gay, 39, will pair with Tommy Donatell and Jason Simmons (defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator, respectively) as the Commanders aim to improve on their league-worst finish against the pass in 2023.

Among the updates is the title for ex-Chargers and Raiders defensive coordinator John Pagano. He will work as a senior defensive assistant rather than serving as a position coach. Sarah Hogan, meanwhile, will work as coaching chief of staff during Quinn’s first season at the helm. He, new OC Kliff Kingsbury and DC Joe Whitt Jr. will be tasked with overseeing improvement from last year’s 4-13 campaign.

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