‘Great offensive mind’: Eagles promote QB coach Brian Johnson to offensive coordinator
Johnson has played a key role in the development of Jalen Hurts.
INDIANAPOLIS — The Eagles announced the promotion of quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson to offensive coordinator on Tuesday.
Johnson, 36, replaces former coordinator Shane Steichen, who was hired as Colts head coach after Super Bowl LVII. Johnson will have an opportunity to call plays and continue mentoring quarterback Jalen Hurts.
“That was the natural progression for us to go that route,” coach Nick Sirianni said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “Brian is a sharp, sharp dude.”
Johnson started his coaching career at his alma mater, Utah, in 2010 as quarterbacks coach. He was quickly promoted to offensive coordinator and called plays under Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. Over the past decade, Johnson has also coached at Mississippi State, Houston, and Florida.
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Sirianni hired Johnson as quarterbacks coach in 2021, when Hurts took over as the starter. Sirianni said he doesn’t expect any hesitancy from Johnson, who will take over play-calling duties for the first time in his NFL coaching career. According to Sirianni, Johnson already was part of the staff’s planning committee leading up to game days.
“I’m in there with him every single day,” Sirianni said. “Seeing him work every single day, with the quarterbacks, in game plan meetings, on the practice field. I lean on him for so many different things, and now he’s in charge of running the offense.
“[Johnson] is taking us through and getting us to our first 15 [play script], the third-down situational stuff, the red zone, the two-minute calls that he helped with. ... He’s been in the process of calling plays. Brian was doing that all the time last year. He’s done some of it in the past as a coordinator in college, and then the amount of things that we do together as an offensive staff. Brian was in every one of those meetings.”
Said general manager Howie Roseman: “Brian has a great offensive mind ... When you meet Brian and spend time with Brian, you see how he connects with players and thinks about the game. He’s a talented, talented coach, and excited for his opportunity.”
Asked specifically about the overall scheme of the offense, Sirianni said he doesn’t expect much change regarding philosophy, and he noted that he will still oversee everything being prepared and called. The Eagles finished third last season in total offense (389.1 yards per game), including fifth in rushing (147.6), and ninth in passing (241.5). The offense was often explosive and effective; the Eagles became the first team in Super Bowl history to score 35 points and lose in the championship game (38-35 to Kansas City).
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Heading into the 2023 season, Johnson is expected to retain a handful of key playmakers, including Hurts, wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, tight end Dallas Goedert, and running back Kenneth Gainwell, in addition to one of the league’s top offensive lines.
“You’re not going to see a lot of change,” Sirianni said. “We do it all together. There will be little differences, but the way the offense is run with everything is going to be exactly the same. The way we run routes, how we block inside zone, our snap count — it’s going to be the same. We just continue to build. At the end of the day, I was hired to bring in the offense that I run, and my expertise in that. So, I’ll continue to do that.
“It’s just going to be a different guy calling the plays — and it’s business as usual.”
The Hurts-Johnson connection dates back to their home-state Texas roots. Johnson played for Hurts’ father, Averion, at Lee High School. And before Hurts committed to play college football at Alabama, it was Johnson who attempted to lure him away to Mississippi State.
”It’s a people’s profession,” Johnson told The Inquirer last season. “You never know where you end up, but you have to understand that people are different and you have to manage personalities. It’s wild to think Jalen’s dad was one of my coaches in high school and here I am coaching Jalen in the NFL.”
Over the past two seasons, Hurts has produced 6,845 passing yards with 38 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He’s also rushed for 1,544 yards and 23 rushing touchdowns. This past season, Hurts made major strides while leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl and also being named an NFL MVP finalist.
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Before traveling to Indianapolis for the scouting combine, Johnson joined Hurts on Saturday in Kansas City at the 101 Awards, where Hurts was honored as the NFC Offensive Player of the Year.
”He tells me good, bad, or indifferent — just keep being you,” Hurts said of Johnson. “We get down or a turnover happens, he tells me, ‘Hey, let’s go get some points,’ or ‘Hey, we’re right there.’
”Coach Brian always keeps me prepared. There is never any doubt with that.”
In addition to promoting Johnson and hiring defensive coordinator Sean Desai, the Eagles announced the promotions of Alex Tanney to quarterbacks coach, T.J. Paganetti to run game specialist/assistant tight ends coach, and former Colts offensive coordinator Marcus Brady to a senior offensive assistant.