As expected, the Eagles promoted quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson to offensive coordinator Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported and various media outlets confirmed.
Johnson, 36, replaced Shane Steichen, who left the Eagles to become head coach of the Colts. Other teams reportedly have shown interest in hiring Johnson for offensive coordinator openings.
Johnson had been the Birds’ quarterback coach for two seasons, joining the Eagles in 2021 when Nick Sirianni was named head coach.
Brian Johnson Eagles Offensive Coordinator
Quarterback Jalen Hurts has publicly praised Johnson and left no doubt he wanted him to get the job. Johnson played for Hurts’ dad, Averion Sr., at Baytown Lee High School in Texas.
The promotion means continuity for Hurts, who until this year didn’t have the same offensive system in consecutive years since high school. Hurts frequently talked about the importance of working in the same system.
JOHNSON HELPED HURTS
Earlier this month, Sirianni acknowledged Johnson’s influence in Hurts’ growth into the MVP runner-up.
“Huge, huge. It starts with the relationships that we have with the players,” Sirianni said. “And 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 …
“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.”
Johnson, who played at Utah, has coached collegiately from 2010-20. He was the offensive coordinator at Utah, Houston and Florida.
“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,” Sirianni said.
“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.”
THE PLAY-CALLER
Sirianni said earlier this month the new offense coordinator will continue to call plays, as Steichen did last season.
“It does help me manage the game better, in my opinion,” Sirianni said. “It helps me interact with the players more on the sideline. And it helps me be able to discuss something that, with somebody upstairs, to get on the defensive headset when the offense is up, vice versa. Yes, that will be my intent to — the next offensive coordinator to call the game. I feel like we’ve seen benefits from that.
“For me, what works is this. And I’ll continue doing it that way. That’s the plan.”
