Brian Johnson Expected to be Named Eagles Offensive Coordinator
The Eagles brought Jalen Hurts’ best friend onto the team last year in receiver A.J. Brown.
Now, the team will elevate Brian Johnson, a longtime friend of the Hurts family, to be their offensive coordinator.
The news was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday morning.
The Eagles have yet to confirm the hiring, though head coach Nick Sirianni and GM Howie Roseman are scheduled to talk later Tuesday afternoon at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
Johnson, 36, is expected to be the play caller this season, a role held by Shane Steihen for most of his two years as the OC before leaving to be the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
"That will be my intent to - the next offensive coordinator to call the game," said Sirianni on Feb. 16. "I feel like we've seen benefits from that. I just feel like my ability to manage the game - I feel like I do a better job managing the game when I don't have - and some guys do it and they do a great job of it. And I'm highly impressed by that.
"For me, what works is this. And I'll continue doing it that way. That's the plan."
Johnson played quarterback for Hurts' dad in high school.
A former Sugar Bowl-winning quarterback at the University of Utah, Johnson has spent the last two years as Philly’s QB coach, working with Hurts, after one season spent as the offensive coordinator at the University of Florida.
Sirianni said on Feb. 16 that Johnson has had a big impact on the development of the QB who was a runner-up for the league MVP this past season and then accounted for four touchdowns in a Super Bowl LVII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 12.
“It starts with the relationships that we have with the players 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,” said Sirianni. “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.”
Johnson’s career is on the fast track and another season like the MVP-caliber one Hurts and the Eagles had this year could put him in the conversation to be a head coach sooner rather than later.
The Eagles’ search to replace defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who took the head coaching job in Arizona, remains ongoing. The team hosted Seattle assistant head coach Sean Desai for a second interview on Monday.
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Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglestoday.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
