Just a day after the news dropped that the Eagles fired defensive coordinator Sean Desai, now it’s been reported that the Eagles have fired their offensive coordinator, Brian Johnson, as well.
The story has now traveled around NFL Twitter, and reactions vary greatly. Some fans who called for his firing midseason due to a lack of creativity in the offense are rejoicing. There are many analysts who have followed the team for years, though, who are scratching their heads.
Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP said, “Brian Johnson didn’t deserve to be fired as OC. Maybe it had to happen to help Hurts improve, but it was his first year on the job and the offense was 7th in PPG. Feels unfair.”
Brian Johnson didn’t deserve to be fired as OC.
Brian Johnson didn't deserve to be fired as OC.
Maybe it had to happen to help Hurts improve, but it was his first year on the job and the offense was 7th in PPG. Feels unfair. #Eagles
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) January 23, 2024
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler was quoted on the Fanatic 97.5 as saying, “Staff members are upset about Brian Johnson being let go” and “There’s some weird vibes out of there. I just don’t know that everybody on the staff is happy about everything that’s gone down – especially with Brian Johnson who was sort of caught in the middle.”
Brian Johnson didn't deserve to be fired as OC.
Maybe it had to happen to help Hurts improve, but it was his first year on the job and the offense was 7th in PPG. Feels unfair. #Eagles
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) January 23, 2024
Johnson’s Firing Is Perplexing to Some of Those Who Watched His Rise to Success
To understand why some of these analysts think Johnson was wronged, you have to know the story of Johnson’s time with the Eagles from the beginning.
Shane Steichen was the OC when the Eagles lost in the Super Bowl as a culmination of the 2022 season. Steichen left before the Eagles’ 2023 campaign, taking over head coaching duties for the Indianapolis Colts. It was then that Eagles brass promoted 36-year-old Brian Johnson from quarterbacks coach, where he’d served for two years prior.
The organization saw a lot of promise in young Brian Johnson due to his relationship and success with quarterback Jalen Hurts under Steichen. Hurts came into the league with noted limitations on his NFL prospect profile, but that didn’t stop Johnson and Hurts from finding chemistry. By the end of 2022, Steichen and Johnson had the Eagles throwing for 4,364 yards, 8th in the NFL, all despite having a late second-rounder in the quarterback position.
After Starting 10-1 Everything Went South, Leaving No One Safe on the Coaching Staff
The Eagles were 10-1 two games after their bye week this year, but that’s when everything went south. They proceeded to end the year going 1-6 in the rest of their games, failing to score as much as 20 points in five of those final seven matchups.
Chase Senior of Chat Sports noted in a post calling attention to what went wrong, saying, “The Eagles have fired OC Brian Johnson, which I think is the right decision. Offensive production plummeted, Play of Jalen Hurts regressed, Lack of creative play-calling, No answers for the blitz, Play-calling is an art. Bad situationally”
The Eagles have fired OC Brian Johnson, which I think is the right decision.
Offensive production plummeted
Play of Jalen Hurts regressed
Lack of creative play-calling
No answers for the blitz
Play-calling is an art. Bad situationally#Eagles #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/vCGMRdzy6A— Chase Senior (@Chase_Senior) January 23, 2024
Hurts did indeed regress this season. His air yards per game (246.7 in 2022 and 226.9 in 2023) and touchdowns per game (1.47 in 2022 and 1.35 in 2023)went down marginally. He also didn’t gain as many yards on the ground (50.7 in 2022 and 35.6 in 2023), which might have been due to him nursing a frustrating knee injury most of the season.
The most concerning statistic you’ll see, though, is the increase in interceptions. In just one year of Brian Johnson as offensive coordinator Hurts went from six interceptions to fifteen!
It’s Possible That the Eagles Aren’t Moving On from Johnson Due to Performance But to Add Experience
After Desai’s firing, the names reported to be in the mix are all NFL vets like Ron Rivera, Wink Martindale, and Mike Caldwell. One of the names being thrown around by multiple news sources for the offensive coordinator position is Jim Bob Cooter. It’s certainly possible that Johnson’s firing is less about his performance in his three years with the team and more about surrounding Sirianni with maturity and experience.
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote an article back on January 8th called, “Actions speak louder: Eagles players are showing they’ve lost confidence in Nick Sirianni.” His opening line says it all, “While the Eagles say they support Sirianni, their play in his schemes says otherwise.”
Sirianni took this team to a Super Bowl, which made it hard for Eagles management to fire him after one let down of a season where they still made the playoffs. But, it didn’t stop them from being a little more hands on with who surrounds their young head coach. It’s possible they still love his passion, but want to see him add some maturity to be able to lead these men year in and year out. After all, Sirianni did have his moments this year where we all questioned if there were two hands on the steering wheel.
According to Shorr-Parks, the sad news for Eagles fans is that no team in the last 10 years has made it to the Super Bowl after losing/firing both coordinators.
In last 10 seasons only one team has won the Super Bowl with two coordinators in their first year with the team. It won't happen this year either. Continuity wins in sports.
Replacing both coordinators might be right move for 2025, but it hurts #Eagles chances of winning next…
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) January 23, 2024
