Could Eagles lose key coach to head coaching job next year?

[time2rock]

Could Eagles lose key coach to head coaching job next year?

 

The odds of a team losing its coaches and coordinators to promotions in other organizations certainly increase when that team is undefeated. Right now the Eagles are 8-0, the offense and defense are both humming, and football's preeminent insider thinks a prominent name behind the Eagles' offensive success could be poached when the offseason arrives.

ESPN insider Adam Schefter said in his weekly appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic that he had a sit down interview with Eagles quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson for his podcast, and that he came away highly impressed with Johnson.

How impressed?

Schefter thinks Johnson will be getting head coaching interviews as soon as this offseason:

"SCHEFTER: I had the honor of having [the Eagles'] quarterbacks coach, Brian Johnson, on my podcast yesterday talking about Jalen Hurts and the team. That guy's got such a good vibe to him. He may be a head coaching candidate this year. How about that?

"KINCADE: Wow, this year?

"SCHEFTER: This year. I'm not telling you he'll get a job, but I think he's going to get interviewed for a head coaching job this year."

Well dang, that'd be quite a leap!

Of course, Andy Reid famously made the leap from quarterbacks coach to head coach. So it's certainly not unprecedented.

This isn't the first time other teams have been interested in Johnson; last year, the Packers interviewed Johnson for their open offensive coordinator position.

And it certainly makes sense that teams around the league would see Johnson's success with Jalen Hurts and Hurts' development from Year 1 to Year 3 and say, 'Hey, I want that on my team!' Hurts obviously gets plenty of credit as well, but there's no doubt Johnson has been part of that leap.

Johnson, 35, started his coaching career as a quarterbacks coach at the University of Utah in 2010 and worked his way through numerous collegiate programs, including a stop at Howie Roseman's alma mater Florida as the Gators' offensive coordinator, before landing with Nick Sirianni's inaugural coaching staff as the team's quarterbacks coach last season. That means Johnson has worked with just one quarterback at the pro level in Hurts, which could be a ding for some teams or a gold star for others. It's all in the eye of the beholder. In any case, Hurts' jump from average-ish borderline starter to legitimate MVP candidate is encouraging.

Now if I were ranking the Eagles coaches most likely to become a head coach this offseason, I'd still rank Shane Steichen and Jonathan Gannon above Johnson. But it's certainly something to keep an eye on after the postseason comes to an end.

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/could-eagles-lose-qb-coach-brian-johnson-head-coach-job

[Procus]

Rooney Rule interview

[nipples]

On 11/12/2022 at 1:34 PM, Procus said:

Rooney Rule interview

Not really. When your QB takes a massive leap forward from year 1 (as a starter) to year 2, you have to believe the QB coach had a little something to do with that. And he may not have been an NFL coordinator before, but he was OC at Florida so he does have experience coaching an offense. He’ll be deserving of whatever interviews he gets, beyond just a Rooney rule candidate. 
 

That said, I think it’s more likely that Steichen gets a HC job and Johnson is promoted to OC for the Eagles. 

[time2rock]

11 minutes ago, nipples said:

Not really. When your QB takes a massive leap forward from year 1 (as a starter) to year 2, you have to believe the QB coach had a little something to do with that. And he may not have been an NFL coordinator before, but he was OC at Florida so he does have experience coaching an offense. He’ll be deserving of whatever interviews he gets, beyond just a Rooney rule candidate. 
 

That said, I think it’s more likely that Steichen gets a HC job and Johnson is promoted to OC for the Eagles. 

Reid was never more than a QB coach or OL coach prior to being hired here as HC - it's rare but it does happen.  

[nipples]

Just now, time2rock said:

Reid was never more than a QB coach or OL coach prior to being hired here as HC - it's rare but it does happen.  

I agree, it could happen. I do think if the Eagles offense keeps chugging along though, Steichen is going to be getting a HC job. So HOPEFULLY Johnson is still around so they can promote him to keep some level of consistency. 

[mihailo]

Can a team just hire him as an offensive coordinator as it is a promotion to what he is now?

[Procus]

2 hours ago, mihailo said:

Can a team just hire him as an offensive coordinator as it is a promotion to what he is now?

That team could very well be the Eagles.

[Procus]

3 hours ago, time2rock said:

Reid was never more than a QB coach or OL coach prior to being hired here as HC - it's rare but it does happen.  

Remember the 3 ring binder that clinched the job for Reid?  IIRC, Tom Modrak wanted to hire Jim Haslett, but Lurie and Banner overruled him.  At the time, Lurie was regarded as a meddlesome owner who didn't know what he was doing.  Some hack named Joel Buschbaum who was a low end writer for a 2nd rate football magazine was relentless with his criticism.  Buschbaum wound up dying after landing in oblivion.  I think Lurie showed the pundits who knew what.

[time2rock]

35 minutes ago, Procus said:

Remember the 3 ring binder that clinched the job for Reid?  IIRC, Tom Modrak wanted to hire Jim Haslett, but Lurie and Banner overruled him.  At the time, Lurie was regarded as a meddlesome owner who didn't know what he was doing.  Some hack named Joel Buschbaum who was a low end writer for a 2nd rate football magazine was relentless with his criticism.  Buschbaum wound up dying after landing in oblivion.  I think Lurie showed the pundits who knew what.

Yep I remember that!   

And definitely agree that they made the right call there.  What a coaching career he has had, between his accomplishments here and now what he is doing in KC.  Just wish we won it all with him here but glad he eventually got his ring.

 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

So we could potentially lose Steichen, Gannon and Johnson? Not to mention every year there's a risk of losing Stout. Could be a pivotal offseason for Sirianni and this team. I guess we will see just how good he is at identifying replacements. To be a great long term HC you've got to get that coaching tree sorted. 

[mihailo]

On 11/14/2022 at 4:35 PM, Procus said:

That team could very well be the Eagles.

Sure but they already have Shane Steichen as OC. If another team takes Johnson as an OC, then after that, another team take Steichen as a Head coach then the Eagles' staff situation is a bit... buggered.