Eagles’ Nick Sirianni raves about presumed OC Brian Johnson
The person most responsible for Jalen Hurts growth in 2022 is Jalen Hurts.
The second guy on that list might be Brian Johnson.
The Eagles quarterbacks coach has known Hurts since Hurts was a little kid and the two worked extremely well together this year as Hurts had an MVP-caliber season. And in the wake of Shane Steichens departure, the Eagles are expected to promote Johnson to offensive coordinator.
How important was Johnsons impact on Hurts?
Huge, huge, Sirianni said at his end-of-the-season press conference on Thursday. 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, 2 years old.
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, 36, has spent the last two seasons with Hurts and the Eagles as their quarterbacks coach after time at Florida, Houston, Mississippi State and Utah.
Hes seen as a fast-riser in the coaching world and the Eagles are just lucky they didnt lose him before Steichen left. There were other teams interested in interviewing Johnson to be their next OC. Now, hell get that role in Philadelphia, although the Eagles have yet to announce the move.
We also found out on Thursday that Johnson will be calling offensive plays for the Eagles next season. Sirianni liked the setup with Steichen calling plays because it freed him up to handle other game-day coaching responsibilities. So he said the next OC will call plays. That makes this a way more attractive offensive coordinator job than most under offensive head coaches.
In addition to Johnsons ability to connect with players, Sirianni also praised Johnsons football intelligence and his ability to get the most out of his players.
And that happens through fundamentals and being able to explain the plan, being able to explain the offense to make it easier for that player to understand and to execute, Sirianni said. Brian does a great job of that.
And Brian is also very gifted in the sense of helping be able to scheme, even though he wasn’t the offensive coordinator last year, he still helps a great deal with our schemes and the way we’re attacking defenses in the run game, in the pass game, in the protection world, in situationals.
So, yeah, he’s been a great influence, obviously, for Jalen. And Jalen’s done a nice job, obviously. But it’s a good relationship of those two guys because I do believe that’s helped Jalen become a better player.
That will continue in 2023 as both men will have bigger roles in the franchise. Hurts will enter next season as the unquestioned franchise QB, likely with a huge new contract, and Johnson will be his OC.
Its a pairing that will help determine the success of the team next season and beyond.
