Brian

Johnson

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn brought Johnson aboard less than two weeks after being hired, back in February 2024. Johnson served as the Eagles’ quarterbacks coach from 2021-2022 before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2023. Johnson took the same employment path at Florida before that, going from the quarterbacks coach in 2018-2019 to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2020.

Terrell, then Commanders receivers coach, got a request for the Cardinals OC job before coming over to join Jonathan Gannon’s staff when Ron Rivera was fired. It sounds like with the Cardinals in the midst of a regime change of their own, Terrell has a chance to be considered for their OC role or perhaps reprise his passing-game coordinator role for the Commanders. They also interviewed in-house candidates, some of which are speculated to be David Blough, Brian Johnson, and Anthony Lynn, for the vacancy.

Johnson was the offensive coordinator for the Eagles in 2023 and has also served as a college offensive coordinator during stints at Utah (2012-2013), Houston (2017), and Florida (2018-2019). He joined the Commanders’ staff this offseason as their assistant head coach and passing game coordinator but could once again find himself in a play-caller role if he catches on with the Texans. During his lone season as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator, the Eagles ranked seventh in points per game (25.5) and eighth in yards per game while also ranking in the top 10 in both EPA per play and offensive success rate. Once viewed as a rising play-caller who also helped with the development of Jalen Hurts, Johnson could make for a nice pairing with third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud next season.

Questions arose around Kingsbury’s role with the Commanders after the team hired former Eagles OC Brian Johnson as an assistant head coach. The assistant coach title, according to Jhabvala, is “more to give Johnson more experience with the organizational side and the things head coaches handle that may help set him up for future [head coaching] opportunities.” Kingsbury could have a rookie quarterback operating his offense if Washington uses their first round draft pick on a signal caller following Sam Howell’s disappointing 2023 season.

As of now, Johnson doesn’t have an official title, but Fowler notes that it’s a “prominent offensive staff role.” The former running back was a hot offensive coordinator candidate heading into the 2023 season, so he was promoted to the role to keep him in Philadelphia. Despite getting some head coaching interviews in this hiring cycle, he was also let go by the Eagles after a disappointing 2023 season in which the Jalen Hurts-led offense fell apart in the second half of the season. While it’s unclear if Johnson or head coach Nick Sirianni was to blame, Johnson took the fall and now will head to Washington to look for a rebound.

Johnson is a popular name in league circles after being dismissed by the Eagles last week after one season at the helm of Nick Sirianni’s offense. Johnson has received interest from the Browns and Bucs. There’s reason to believe Johnson, 36, took the fall for Sirianni’s shortcomings in Philadelphia in 2023. The Saints are looking to improve on their Derek Carr-led offense, which in 2023 was 17th in offensive success rate.

Johnson parted ways with the Eagles after just one year at the helm of Nick Sirianni’s offense — a season that saw the Eagles regress in a multitude of ways. The Bucs were reportedly interesting in hiring Johnson last offseason but knew the Eagles were primed to promote him to OC. The Browns are also interested in Johnson for their OC opening. He could have his choice at coordinator gigs by month’s end.

Johnson was fired after what was a massively disappointing 2023 season in which the Jalen Hurts-led Eagles fell apart in the second half of the season and appeared to be a shadow of the dominant Philadelphia offense from 2022. It’s a complicated development for Johnson, who has interviewed for head coaching vacancies this month. It would seem unlikely he’ll land one of those top jobs after losing the faith of Nick Sirianni and the Eagles.

The Titans, who recently fired longtime head coach Mike Vrabel, are also considering Lions DC Aaron Glenn for their top job. Johnson, 36, has talked to the Falcons about their head coach opening, though it appears former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is the favorite to land that job. Johnson is coming off a disappointing first season as Eagles offensive coordinator, though the team still finished in the top ten in points scored and total yards.

Johnson is on the radar of several teams to fill their head coaching vacancy. The Falcons became the first team to interview Johnson during this coaching cycle as they continue to work their way through their list of candidates. In addition to Johnson, the Falcons have also interviewed Bill Belichick, who is expected to have a second interview with them over the weekend. The Eagles’ offense took a step back in 2023 with Johnson leading the offense, but they still managed to finish top-10 in scoring and yards per game. A second-half collapse by the Eagles included three games in which they scored less than 20 points, and a 32-9 loss to the Buccaneers in the Wild Card game was far worse than we could have expected. With that said, Johnson has been in the conversation as an up-and-coming head coach since last season and could find himself in a lead role soon.