New Washington Commanders offensive coordinator David Blough may be close to making his first hire. On Monday, Jordan Schultz revealed that the Commanders requested an interview with Panthers assistant quarterbacks coach Mike Bercovici.
Bercovici, 32, is a former quarterback at Arizona State. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater in 2019. Arizona State’s quarterback that year? Jayden Daniels.
Daniels was a freshman quarterback that season, and Bercovici worked closely with him. Daniels would remain at Arizona State for three seasons before transferring to LSU, where he played the final two seasons of his career, winning the Heisman Trophy. The Commanders drafted Daniels No. 2 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he would have one of the best rookie seasons in NFL history.
Daniels struggled in 2025, largely due to injuries, missing 10 games. In recent weeks, he’s lost his quarterbacks coach (Tavita Pritchard) and offensive coordinator (Kliff Kingsbury). Fortunately, Blough’s promotion keeps some stability for Daniels as he enters a critical third season.
Now, he could have another ally in the building.
While he was at Arizona State with Daniels, Bercovici saw the massive potential in the young quarterback.
“Jayden is special,” Bercovici said in 2019, per Jeff Metcalfe of The Arizona Republic. “I’m his hardest critic besides himself. I give him more than he can handle then by the end of the week we filter it down to simplicity and speed and eyes. My biggest approach is seeing how in the two-minute drive, he can play fast reactional football.”
One of the NFL teams Bercovici played for, the Los Angeles Chargers, had a future Hall of Famer, Philip Rivers, on the roster during his time there from 2016-17.
While Daniels and Rivers were far different types of quarterbacks, Bercovici tried to impart some of that wisdom to Daniels.
“Jayden couldn’t be a more different player than Philip Rivers,” Bercovici said. “But the things I learned from the Chargers might be 95% of what I talk about with those guys. The higher echelon understanding of coverages, when to throw the ball in rhythm, ball placements.”
If the Commanders can land Bercovici, it could potentially be a sneaky good addition. Like Blough, Bercovici is considered a fast riser in the coaching ranks and can bring some fresh ideas from working with Dave Canales over the past two seasons.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Mike Bercovici saw potential in Jayden Daniels
