February 28, 2023
The Philadelphia Eagles have promoted Brian Johnson to be their new offensive coordinator, per a report from ESPN. Johnson was formerly the Eagles' quarterbacks coach, and he will replace Shane Steichen, who landed a head coaching job with the Indianapolis Colts. Johnson's promotion was widely expected.
Johnson was a star quarterback in college who led Utah to an undefeated (13-0) season in 2008. He went undrafted in 2009, but when it became clear that he would not play professionally, he turned to coaching. His coaching bio:
• Utah (2010–2011): Quarterbacks coach
• Utah (2012–2013): Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach
• Mississippi State (2014–2016): Quarterbacks coach
• Houston (2017): Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach
• Florida (2018–2019): Quarterbacks coach
• Florida (2020): Offensive coordinator & quarterbacks coach
• Philadelphia Eagles (2021–2022): Quarterbacks coach
• Philadelphia Eagles (2023–present): Offensive coordinator
Under Johnson's tutelage, Jalen Hurts has made drastic improvements, and had an MVP-caliber season in 2022. In a press conference after the Eagles' loss in the Super Bowl, Nick Sirianni praised Johnson for his work with Hurts, and beyond.
"Brian stepped right in here and had a great relationship with our quarterback dating back to when our quarterback was, however old he was, two years old," Sirianni said. "So the relationship means a lot. And the trust was automatically there. Sometimes you have to develop the trust. A lot of times you have to develop the trust, but that was there.
"And then with that, Brian's great with, not just Jalen, with everybody. He can adapt and just be able to connect with anybody on our roster. And that's offensively and defensively. And that's one thing that I think Brian's special at.
"And then we're not even talking about the football knowledge that he has. And so Brian's excellent with Jalen as far as his development of fundamentals. I think you've heard me say this plenty of times.
"Coaches have to have two things. Position coaches, first and foremost, have to be able to get their players better as players. They have to be able to take them a level here to a higher level that they can't reach without the coaching of that individual. And that happens through fundamentals and being able to explain the plan, being able to explain the offense to make it easier for that player to understand and to execute. Brian does a great job of that.
"And Brian is also very gifted in the sense of helping be able to scheme, even though he wasn't the offensive coordinator last year, he still helps a great deal with our schemes and the way we're attacking defenses in the run game, in the pass game, in the protection world, in situationals.
"So, yeah, he's been a great influence, obviously, for Jalen. And Jalen's done a nice job, obviously. But it's a good relationship of those two guys because I do believe that's helped Jalen become a better player."
Sirianni also noted that he plans to have his offensive coordinator call plays, like Steichen did from roughly the middle of the 2021 season through the entirety of 2022.
It helps me manage the game better, Sirianni said. "For me, what works is this. And I'll continue doing it that way. That's the plan."
The Eagles will likely be making a defensive coordinator hiring soon. Stay tuned.
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