PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - SEPTEMBER 14: Offensive coordinator Brian Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles looks on before the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field on September 14, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
People paying attention understood that the Eagles offense last season was the Nick Sirianni show. Brian Johnson might have been calling plays, but it was Sirianni’s playbook, his scheme, his design, and his vision leading the way. He was the one truly in charge of it, even if he was not calling plays on gameday.
When it all failed, a lot of fingers were pointed at Brian Johnson for failing as an offensive coordinator. Johnson was the ne who lost his job. Sirianni is still here even if he was stripped of some power.
It is true that he struggled to call plays out of the Nick Sirianni playbook. But it is important to remember that it was not his playbook. That is not my opinion, it is something Tim McManus reported when he came onto The Best Show Ever back in January.
“All Lurie has to do is pick up the phone and call people who know Brian Johnson. The response from those people will be that is not Brian Johnson’s offense. You can see the confliction play out on the field because you can tell it is not what he would be calling in that situation. That is not Brian Johnson’s offense.”
-Tim McManus
I don’t think it can much clearer than that. We can debate if Johnson did a good enough job with the playbook he was given. The Eagles offense underperformed last year given the talent they have, and he cannot be let fully off the hook for that. We also can’t let the players themselves off the hook.
But every piece of information that has come out paints the picture of Nick Sirianni being the real problem with the offensive scheme. Recently, thanks to a story by Dianna Russini, we were reminded of that fact.
Dianna Russini Reports Shows Nick Sirianni To Blame
This weeks Dianna Russini from The Athletic became the latest reporter to dive into the odd dynamic in the Eagles Offensive Room last season. She wrote an article exploring the conflict. It is worth checking out the full thing. But here is a quick snippet.
“According to a few people in Philadelphia, while Johnson was the OC, it was 100 percent Sirianni’s offense you were watching last season, and Sirianni wanted to do it his way. That meant a conservative, run-first approach, especially when they got near the red zone. And last year, opposing defenses were ready for it. Johnson wasn’t calling his own plays. He was solely focused on giving Sirianni the offense that Sirianni wanted to run.”
Now we have Tim McManus, Dianna Russini, and Andrew DiCecco, all having said the same thing. The offense was Nick Sirianni’s. He ran the show, Brian Johnson just got to call plays.
Is it fair to throw so much blame on the head of Johnson for a offense he had no say in the design of? I know in our industry that if our boss told us the topics we had to talk about every day, it would be much harder to do a show everyday. It likely applies to most jobs. If you have no creative freedom, it is hard to function at your peak.
I still see people putting blame on Brian Johnson. Our morning show does it all the time. John Kincade and I have gotten into heated debates about it.
But maybe now that yet another respected NFL journalist has weighed in, and backed up the idea that Nick Sirianni was the architect of that underperforming Eagles offense, we can all come to an agreement.
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Whatever you think of Brian Johnson’s situational play calling, the blame can not be placed on him for the Eagles offense looking stale last season. He had no control of it. Too many respected reporters are saying this for anyone to reasonably argue against that concept.
That does not mean Brian Johnson is a good offensive coordinator. We would have to see what his playbook looks like if he ever gets a chance to call plays again. Holding last season against him would be unfair though. The blame for that lays at the feet of Nick Sirianni.
Dylan MacKinnon is The Digital Content Coordinator For 97.5 The Fanatic. he has been an Eagles, Flyers, Sixers, and Flyers fan his whole life. He graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelors in Journalism. Dylan has worked at the Fanatic since 2016, starting as an Intern, moving to the Street team, and eventually was hired as an Associate Producer before settling into his current role in the Digital Department. You may hear him referred to on-air as "The D-Train."
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