Eagles’ Brian Johnson acclimating nicely to role as offensive coordinator
How Johnson is getting over a big hurdle in new role as OC originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
During Eagles rookie camp a couple weeks ago, Brian Johnson spent a moment watching receiver drills before he walked across the field to see the offensive linemen work.
That walk took him farther away from the quarterbacks both literally and symbolically.
Because the Eagles’ rookie camp was the first on-field work for the Eagles’ new offensive coordinator. And one of the biggest challenges Johnson, the former QBs coach, is facing will be taking over an entire side of the football, not just one position.
“I think you're very, very intentional about connecting and having meaningful conversations,” Johnson said last week, “so I don't think it's one where I meticulously plan out, ‘I’m spending the day with the tight ends.’ I think having those connections be really organic is what makes them meaningful. For example, today I spent some time in the O-line meeting room and hung out with those guys a little bit today.
“I think being able to delegate your time and have the appropriate time on task with each position, make sure that things are getting covered that you need to get covered, and you're building those relationships throughout the building.”
Johnson, 36, was an obvious replacement when Shane Steichen was hired away to be the Colts’ head coach. And in some ways, the Eagles were lucky the timing worked out the way it did. Because there was interest in Johnson as an offensive coordinator from some other teams as well.
That shouldn’t be surprising given the success of the Eagles’ offense and specifically the success of Jalen Hurts. The Eagles’ starting quarterback went from a guy trying to prove he belonged in the NFL to an MVP candidate in just a couple years with Johnson as his coach. While Hurts deserves most of that credit, it’s hard to ignore the job Johnson did.
But now Johnson is leaving that QB room to his understudy Alex Tanney as Johnson settles into the OC position for the first time at the NFL level.
Johnson was a star quarterback at Utah, where he eventually became QBs coach and offensive coordinator. From there, he moved on to Mississippi State, Houston and Florida before jumping to the NFL in 2021. He has risen quickly.
Part of the reason the Eagles thought promoting Johnson this offseason was a no-brainer was because he had basically been interviewing for that job since he arrived in Philly. Sirianni cares about building his staff and tabbed Johnson pretty early as a candidate for an eventual promotion. He watched Johnson closely during last season to see how Johnson interacted and presented to the whole team.
“Brian had plenty of chances to do that and kind of interview on the fly with us last year,” Sirianni said. “But it's truly being intentional about the relationships with every player, and again, when guys are in those leadership roles, they show you something that they -- they already showed you that they could do that so it wasn't like Brian was just talking to the quarterbacks last year. I would always see Brian talking to every guy but that's what it is is really being intentional about your relationship with every guy.
“I think that's the biggest thing because especially when you're with a quarterback group, you're really close with those guys because there's not many of them and now it's just being able to connect with everybody. But like I said, that's what I saw him do that all last year, so I know that won't be a big transition for him.”
Under an offensive head coach, Johnson still isn’t really in charge of the entire offense. But the one nice thing about the Eagles’ OC job is that it comes with the added responsibility of calling plays. Steichen did that masterfully in 2022, but Johnson thinks he’s up for the task.
Of course, the Eagles are a long way away from actually playing a football game. The most important thing for Johnson to do now is to settle into his role as the offensive coordinator and continue to build relationships.
“This being my third year here and my first year spending a lot of time in that protection meeting with the O-line and being out on the field with the guys at practice, I think we have been able to -- we've been able to build a really, really great rapport and a great connection,” Johnson said. “And it's been a seamless transition to this point.”
It seems possible — likely even — that the Eagles are just renting Johnson. He’s viewed as a future head coach in the NFL and if the offense continues to thrive, those calls could come very quickly.
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