Former Vikings Coach Is a Popular OC Candidate
For parts of six seasons, Jerrod Johnson bounced around the NFL as a practice squad QB.
After his final stint with the Dallas Cowboys in 2016, Johnson turned to coaching, and during the 2022 season, Kevin O’Connell brought him aboard as the assistant QBs coach. This offseason, the former Vikings coach has become a very popular offensive coordinator candidate, interviewing for five different jobs.
Former Vikings Coach Is a Popular OC Candidate
Johnson’s most recent interview has been with the Pittsburgh Steelers. CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones tweeted Friday, “Texans QBs coach Jerrod Johnson is interviewing today with the Steelers for their vacant offensive coordinator position, source says. Johnson has already interviewed with the Browns, Saints, Patriots and Eagles for their OC jobs. His work with Stroud has been noticed leaguewide.”
All five of the Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, and Pittsburgh Steelers would be intriguing landing spots for the coach’s first OC job. Assuming the Patriots are targeting a quarterback in this spring’s draft, three of these spots offer young talent at the quarterback position that Johnson would be able to help mold in Jalen Hurts, Kenny Pickett, and whoever the next QB in New England ends up being.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland job would allow him to help rejuvenate the career of Deshaun Watson with the Browns, who has significantly underperformed since being traded to the team.
Prior to the 2023 season, the Houston Texans signed Johnson off the Vikings’ coaching staff as the head QBs coach, and he did a masterful job with C.J. Stroud during the quarterback’s rookie season.
Houston selected Stroud second overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, and he turned in a season of 4108 passing yards, 23 TDs, and five interceptions over the course of 14 games while his 273.9 passing yards per game led the entire NFL.
Johnson also was a candidate for the Los Angeles Chargers’ offensive coordinator role last offseason after they fired Joe Lombardi. However, that job ultimately went to Kellen Moore, thus allowing Johnson to land in Houston.
If Johnson were to land in Pittsburgh, his most recent interview location, he would be tasked with reviving a Steelers offense that struggled throughout much of Matt Canada’s tenure with the team. The former Steelers OC was fired midseason during his third year with the team, and during his stint, Pittsburgh never ranked higher than 21st in points per game.
It should also be noted that Johnson has a prior connection to Eagles head coach, Nick Sirianni. Both coaches spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts before Sirianni took the Eagles’ head coaching job in 2021. During that stint in Indy, Sirianni was the offensive coordinator while Johnson held the role of offensive quality control.
Johnson will turn 36 years old in July.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.