Why the Eagles Hired Three OC Finalists: Nick Sirianni Breaks It Down

The Eagles’ offensive coordinator search earlier this year had numerous twists and turns, passing the mile-marker of 17 different candidates before Sean Mannion “revealed” himself to Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni.

Of those candidates, seven reached the finalist stage. Sirianni was able to add three of them to his staff: Mannion as offensive coordinator, Josh Grizzard as passing game coordinator, and Jerrod Johnson as senior offensive assistant/special projects.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

There is a clear upside to hiring three coaches the organization had already deemed worthy of coordinator interviews. But there could also be a downside — namely, the perception that the Eagles are hedging their bets on the 33-year-old, relatively inexperienced Mannion.

Sirianni addressed the topic at the NFL’s Annual Meeting on Monday in Phoenix.

“I’ve never had a scenario where you have too many good coaches,” Sirianni said.

Outside the Jefferson Health Training Complex, questions remain about defined roles, but Sirianni insists they will be clearly laid out — with Johnson’s hire being the only somewhat unconventional piece.

Sirianni, though, had a similar setup in 2021 with now-Indianapolis offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, who was also a finalist for the Eagles’ OC job this cycle.

Know Your Role

Jul 23, 2025; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson during training camp at Houston Methodist Training Center. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

“Everybody has to understand their role,” Sirianni said. “That’s my job as the head football coach — to explain what the roles are and what people’s job descriptions are. And you also look to add people that are great team players, and Jerrod is that. I know that from experience.”

Sirianni called the Johnson addition a “unique opportunity” after the young coach and the Houston Texans mutually parted ways.

The Eagles’ head coach had previously worked with Johnson in Indianapolis and highlighted his familiarity with the new Shanahan-style system the team plans to implement in 2026.

The unintended consequence of hiring three finalists for the same job is the natural inference that it serves as an insurance policy for the unproven Mannion.

Sirianni did his best to downplay that narrative.

“Obviously, you interview them, you do your research on him and you hire him because you think he’s going to be great for that job,” Sirianni said. “And you know, man, [Mannion] works his butt off — that’s what you’ve heard. But when you get to see it, man, this guy is relentless in his pursuit of getting better as a football coach to help our guys and our team get better.”

Sirianni did acknowledge that one part of the “insurance” narrative has merit, however.

“Obviously, we’ve had movement on our staff [in the past],” the coach said. “I think that we had a lot of pieces like, man, if this happens… you try not to live in what ifs? but you try to plan as much as you possibly can. If this happens, I’ve got a lot of good pieces to be able to move into place to take over — if ultimately we win games and people come looking for our coaches.”