According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Washington Commanders are reportedly “expected to hire” former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, who was dismissed from his position in Philly after just one season leading the offense, “to a prominent offensive staff role.”
The Commanders’ new head coach, Dan Quinn, has already appointed Kliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator, taking over from Eric Bieniemy, who was released after one season in the role.
Johnson, aged 36, began his career as the quarterbacks coach (2010-2013) and offensive coordinator (2012-2013) at Utah before transitioning to Mississippi State, where he served as the quarterbacks coach from 2014 to 2016. He then took on the roles of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for one season at Houston (2017) before coaching quarterbacks at Florida from 2018 to 2020 and serving one year as offensive coordinator in 2020.
Nick Sirianni enlisted him onto the team’s staff in 2021 as a quarterbacks coach, a position he occupied for two years before advancing to offensive coordinator last season.
During his tenure, the Eagles achieved eighth place in yards and seventh in points, commendable rankings. However, the offense grew stagnant towards the end of the season and struggled as the Eagles lost six of their last seven games, including a 32-9 defeat against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Round.
He was relieved of his duties this offseason and succeeded by Kellen Moore.
Considering his background, it’s highly likely that he’ll collaborate closely with the young quarterback Washington is anticipated to select with the No. 2 overall pick. Fowler clarified that the Johnson appointment would “likely be as a pass-game coordinator role,” indicating that the current quarterbacks coach, Tavita Pritchard, might retain his position.
Nevertheless, Quinn—who predominantly has experience on the defensive side of the ball—is bringing in both a former head coach and offensive coordinator in Kingsbury to lead the offense and a former offensive coordinator to oversee the passing game. It will be intriguing to observe what strategies Kingsbury and Johnson devise together for a rookie quarterback.
On the defensive front, Quinn named Joe Whitt Jr. as defensive coordinator. Whitt previously collaborated with Quinn in both Atlanta and Dallas and served as the Cowboys’ pass-game coordinator over the past three seasons.
