Following their head coach and offensive coordinator, one of the New York Jets’ most critical hires will be their quarterbacks coach. With no franchise quarterback in place, the Jets must have the right mentor to develop the future face of the organization.
New head coach Aaron Glenn reportedly has a target in mind. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Jets have put in a request to interview Washington Commanders assistant quarterbacks coach David Blough for their quarterbacks coach position. Per Garafolo, the Chicago Bears have also requested to interview Blough, albeit for passing game coordinator.
Blough, who is only 29 years old, spent five seasons as an NFL quarterback from 2019-23. He went undrafted out of Purdue and signed with the Cleveland Browns, spending time with Cleveland, Detroit (2019-21, 2023), Minnesota (2022), and Arizona (2022). Blough overlapped with Glenn in Detroit for two seasons.
The 2024 season was Blough’s first in the world of coaching. He was hired as the Commanders’ assistant quarterbacks coach under head coach Dan Quinn, where he worked alongside quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard. Serving under offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, Blough and Pritchard assisted in the development of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who enjoyed a historic debut season and led the Commanders to the NFC championship game.
This would be a fascinating hire for New York. Glenn is a first-year head coach, and his top rumored targets for offensive coordinator – Nick Caley and Tanner Engstrand – would be first-timers in that role. Blough would make it three rookies between the Jets’ HC, OC, and QB coach, mimicking their 2021 structure with Robert Saleh, Mike LaFleur, and Rob Calabrese.
It will be interesting to see whether Blough ultimately chooses the Jets, as Chicago is offering a higher position. However, it is worth noting the Bears have an offensive head coach in Ben Johnson, while the Jets have a defensive head coach in Glenn, so New York’s assistants would theoretically have a greater impact on the offense than Chicago’s.
Glenn’s staff is under construction, and as the rumored candidates fly in, it looks like he may be attempting to build a young, forward-thinking staff on the offensive side of the ball. It offers immense potential, but also plenty of risk, as the Jets learned in 2021 when they took a similar approach. But if Glenn hires the right people, New York could finally get ahead of the NFL’s modern offensive curve.
