Brian Johnson will be the Eagles' next offensive coordinator, according to a league source. (@AdamSchefter reported first.)
Buy Eagles Tickets— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) February 28, 2023
In a move that has been expected since Shane Steichen accepted the Colts’ head coaching job, Brian Johnson has been promoted from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator.
A former college quarterback at Utah who has known the Hurts family for years, Johnson is completing his second season with the Eagles after serving as the offensive coordinator for the University of Florida, helping get Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts to the NFL.
He’ll now be tasked when making sure the NFL’s most dominant offense keeps its identity while taking the next step in efficiency and innovation.
Here are takeaways and an instant analysis of the move.
Johnson has restructured some elite QBs
This move will eliminate any dropoff in Jalen Hurts’ production after an All-Pro season.
Saying Prescott’s name here truly should be enough, but the proof is in the pudding and Johnson has all the ingredients to take the Philadelphia offense to another level.
As quarterbacks coach at Mississippi State under Dan Mullen, Johnson helped develop the 2016 NFL Rookie of the Year Dak Prescott and led the Bulldogs to three consecutive bowl games.
At Florida, Johnson turned Kyle Trask from backup to likely first-round pick.
Johnson helped lead Houston’s offense to 436.1 yards per game, good enough for 35th nationally during his time there. His trio of quarterbacks: Kyle Allen, D’Eriq King, and Kyle Postma combined for 2,887 passing yards, 539 rushing yards, and 27 total touchdowns.
New Eagles’ OC Brian Johnson talking about what he wants in a QB and dealing with social media pic.twitter.com/CqvjqFSTII
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Promotion adds to continuity
Johnson actually played quarterback for Hurts’ father, Averion Hurts, in high school, then tried to recruit Hurts when Johnson was at Mississippi State coaching Dak Prescott.
Hurts previously spoke about the excitement that comes with being coached by Johnson after all these years.
“Coach Brian is like family — I’ve known him since I was 4 years old,” Hurts said Tuesday. “My dad actually coached him at Baytown [Texas] Lee High School. I grew up watching him play. Got a lot of love for him. Crazy how it works. He was actually recruiting me to go play at Mississippi State when Dak left.”
“So now it’s kinda all fell into the right place, I guess, so I’m excited to be working with him,” said Hurts, who was speaking publicly for the first time since the end of the season.
When Hurts transferred from Alabama, the Florida Gators made his final list because of Johnson’s presence on the staff.
Hurts eventually chose Oklahoma and head coach Lincoln Riley.
Johnson will be the primary play caller
During his end-of-season press conference, head coach Nick Sirianni had already stated that even with Shane Steichen leaving to become head coach of the Colts, he has no plans to resume calling offensive plays next year.
The Eagles are 21-5 since Sirianni relinquishplay-callinging duties and it allows the head coach to better manage the overall product.
Johnson will now be called on to sustain that offensive excellence, while improving the run-pass ratio, and helping quarterback Jalen Hurts take less hits.
Eagles new OC has an EA Sports cover
Johnson definitely understands the stardom that Hurts is gaining.
Johnson was featured as the cover athlete of the PlayStation 3 edition of the NCAA Football 10 video game, joining Michal Crabtree (Texas Tech), Brian Orakpo (Texas), and Mark Sanchez (USC).
Johnson became the first black offensive coordinator in UF history
On December 10, 2017, Johnson was hired by then-Florida Gators Head Coach, Dan Mullen, as an offensive assistant. Prior to the 2020 season, Johnson was promoted to offensive coordinator, making him the first Black offensive coordinator in team history.
He’ll now be making history in Philadelphia.
What to expect
It’ll be on Johnson to make an already explosive offense that much more dangerous and efficient.
Johnson could lose Miles Sanders in free agency, and we’ll look to get Dallas Goedert more involved going forward.
With Jalen Hurts set to sign a lucrative contract extension, it’ll be on Johnson to distribute more of those run opportunities to Kenneth Gainwell and Trey Sermon.
