When an organization goes through the type of turnaround that the Washington Commanders went through last season, plenty of other teams around the league and in college do their best to try and poach some of their secrets away.
Usually, that means coaches from the staff begin an exodus of sorts to find promotions elsewhere.
While that didn't hit any of the important play-callers this offseason, it appears that one of Washington's top assistants could be ready to take a head coaching job in the college ranks.
SI predicts that Commanders quarterback coach Tavita Pritchard could be a possible hire for the Stanford Cardinals head coaching position after the recent firing of Troy Taylor.
"Pritchard was supplanted by (Andrew) 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," the site writes. "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.
"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's work with Daniels is well-documented and will most assuredly line him up for head coaching job opportunities both in the college game and in the NFL.
Then we will get a crash course look to see who is really behind the success of Washington's meteoric rise to the top last season. At the very least, it could make for an interesting debate. ... and at least a bit of bad news for Daniels.
