How NFL teams approach, develop rookie QBs at training camp - ESPN

Before Jayden Daniels got to Commanders camp last summer — before the Commanders even knew for sure they'd be selecting him with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL draft — new coach Dan Quinn wanted to make sure the situation was right.

«We needed to create an ecosystem,» Quinn said when asked about how to break in a rookie quarterback. «And it started, really, with the staff.»

It was during Quinn's interview with new team owner Josh Harris and new general manager Adam Peters in January 2024 that he outlined his plan for setting up the first offseason around a rookie QB. After his firing over three years earlier as the Falcons' coach, Quinn spent time analyzing what he'd do differently the next time. One thing that stood out: He hadn't built his Atlanta coaching staff to withstand success.

After the Falcons went to the Super Bowl in the 2016 season, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan left to become coach of the 49ers and took assistants such as Mike McDaniel and Mike LaFleur with him. Matt LaFleur, meanwhile, left to join Sean McVay's staff with the Rams.

«So you had this brain drain,» Peters said. «But you've got to understand you've got to have somebody next. That was one of the things that, in his interview, he talked to me about — building a deep coaching staff and having the next guy and the next guy, anticipating success.»

Quinn hired Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator. He hired Brian Johnson as pass game coordinator. He retained Tavita Pritchard, who'd been hired a year earlier as quarterbacks coach. And he hired former NFL quarterback David Blough as assistant quarterbacks coach.

«I wanted a big staff, hoping that things would go well and teams would want to interview our guys and we'd have people from within