After Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson’s firing, NFL vets like Jim Bob Cooter or ex-head coaches like Kliff Kingsbury have been floated as the next possible hire. Today, on Wednesday, January 24th, though, Adam Schefter of ESPN tweeted that the Eagles were interviewing a young QB whisperer who has yet to become a household name. That name is Jerrod Johnson.
At 36 years of age, Brian Johnson was a young offensive coordinator, and at 35, Jerrod Johnson is even younger. He’s also only had one year as a bonafide assistant in the NFL. Going 10-7, though, and making it to the second round of the playoffs with a rookie quarterback will turn some heads in the NFL.
Johnson Made Quite the Splash In His First Year as an Assistant
The statistic that’s getting Johnson looks of offensive coordinator positions is almost certainly total passing yards. The Texans were fifth in the NFL. Rookie C.J. Stroud, himself, put up a monstrous 4,108 yards through the air. For a rookie season performance, this falls short of only Andrew Luck and Justin Herbert – great company to be in.
Showing even more potential, Stroud also broke the single game air yards record for a rookie, which had been held by Luck at 433. Stroud destroyed the old record putting up 470 in Week 9. He also joined a select group of three quarterbacks that same week who threw for 470 yards or more with no interceptions in a single game.
Even while hearing some veterans’ names being thrown around as considerations for the Eagles offensive coordinator position, fans have to wonder what Johnson might be able to do with Jalen Hurts. After some regression in 2023 Hurts threw 15 interceptions. These were costly turnovers that either made games closer than they should’ve been or worse, turned wins into losses. Stroud only had five.
Johnson’s Work with Stroud Has Made Him a Sought After OC Candidate in NFL Circles
According to Bleacher Report, “his work with the Texans this season appears to be enough to have him in consideration for OC roles, as he has also received interview requests from the Cleveland Browns and the New Orleans Saints regarding their respective vacancies.”
Chase Senior from Chat Sports pointed out that though Johnson is still young in his NFL coaching career, he’s “intriguing because he’s been a part of different schemes. Kyle Shannahan, Nick Sirianni, and Kevin O’Connell.”
When Senior says that Johnson worked with Sirianni in the past, he’s talking about when the two worked together under Frank Reich for the Indianapolis Colts in 2019 through 2020. Back then, Johnson wasn’t an assistant quite yet. He was hired as a quality control coach. Still, it wouldn’t be completely surprising if Sirianni wanted to coach with a familiar face.
News of the Eagles Offensive Coordinator Hire Will Likely Come Sooner Than Later
It seems the Eagles are wasting no time in hiring a new defensive coordinator after the firing of Sean Desai. News broke today via ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeremy Fowler that Vic Fangio would be leaving the Dolphins and likely becoming the Eagles favored target.
Owner Jeffrey Lurie and GM Howie Roseman will likely waste no time in hiring an offensive coordinator as well. They’ll want to get Hurts and his new coordinator acquainted and begin working on the 2024 campaign. Fans will be hoping for some more creative flourishing to the offense than they had this year.
Unfortunately, in the words of Sports Radio 94 WIP’s Eliot Shorr-Parks, “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 season.”
