Eagles hiring Brian Johnson to join Nick Sirianni’s staff as quarterbacks coach

The Eagles are expected to hire Florida offensive coordinator Brian Johnson as their quarterbacks coach, a league source confirmed Wednesday.

Johnson, 33, will join recently hired head coach Nick Sirianni’s staff and will be tasked either with restoring Carson Wentz to his former self or developing Jalen Hurts into a viable starter. He’s spent the last three seasons on Florida’s staff as a quarterbacks coach before becoming the first Black offensive coordinator in Gators history prior to last season. The team is also expected to hire former Colts tight end coach Jason Michael, according to several media reports.

Johnson is a former Utah quarterback who backed up Alex Smith for one season before becoming the starter from 2005-08. He started his coaching career as a QB coach with the Utes in 2010 and has also worked for Houston and Mississippi State.

Johnson’s most noteworthy charge during his coaching career is Dak Prescott. Johnson was Prescott’s position coach at Mississippi State from 2014-15 and helped develop the Cowboys quarterback, who has become a quality starter since going in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft.

Johnson will start the job with a strong connection with Hurts. As Inquirer columnist Mike Sielski reported last May, Johnson played high school football in Baytown, Texas, when Hurts father, Averion, was an assistant coach there.

“I’ve known Jalen since he was 4,” Johnson said.

Johnson recruited the four-star Hurts in 2016 and, although the Eagles’ 2020 second-round pick eventually chose Alabama, the Bulldogs were the runners-up. Hurts has often been compared to Prescott because of their similar build and playing style.

Johnson may have a good foundation with Hurts, but his relationship with Wentz may be more important. Johnson will be Wentz’s third position coach. His predecessor, Press Taylor, spent the last three years in the role after John DeFilippo had Wentz for the first two years of the 28-year-old’s career. The team has seemingly prioritized building a coaching staff capable of reversing the sharp regression Wentz saw in 2020, firing Doug Pederson and hiring Sirianni off of Frank Reich’s Indianapolis Colts coaching staff.

According to an Inquirer report, both Reich and DeFilippo coached Wentz hard during his first two seasons, including his impressive 2017 year, but Taylor was easier on the quarterback, even during his concerning backslide last year. Things got bad enough for Wentz to consider requesting a trade, according to an ESPN report earlier this offseason, but it’s unclear how the coaching staff overhaul has affected Wentz’s outlook. The quarterback hasn’t spoken publicly since being benched in Week 13.

After Duce Staley was granted his release to join the Detroit Lions staff earlier this week, Johnson is the only Black offensive coach definitively expected to be on Nick Sirianni’s staff so far. It’s unclear whether Aaron Moorehead, the team’s wide receiver coach last year, will be retained. If he is, that would give the team at least two Black offensive assistants.

Michael will replace Justin Peele, who has been on the Eagles’ staff since 2013. Peele was promoted to tight ends coach in 2015 and was pivotal in developing Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, and even Trey Burton during his tenure.

Michael was the Colts’ tight ends coach for one season and spent 2019 in the same role with the Arizona Cardinals. He was the Titans’ offensive coordinator for two seasons in 2014-15 before getting demoted to quarterbacks coach for two more.