Florida offensive coordinator Brian Johnson is headed to the Philadelphia Eagles as quarterbacks coach, a source told ESPN.
Johnson, 33, will join the staff of new Eagles coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen. He spent the past three seasons under Dan Mullen at Florida, and was promoted from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator for the 2020 season. In doing so, he became the first Black offensive coordinator in the University of Florida’s history.
Johnson also has served as offensive coordinator at both Houston and Utah, his alma mater. He went 26-7 as the Utes’ starting quarterback and led the team to an undefeated season and a Sugar Bowl championship in 2008.
NFL Network first reported the Eagles’ hiring of Johnson.
Johnson worked with standout quarterbacks like Dak Prescott at Mississippi State, D’Eriq King at Houston and Kyle Trask at Florida, who became a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2020. This will be his first stop in the NFL.
Johnson interviewed for college head-coaching vacancies at both South Carolina and Boise State in recent weeks, sources told ESPN.
Johnson has an interesting link to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. He played under Hurts’ father, Averion, at Baytown Lee High School in Texas and has known Jalen since he was 4 years old, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Johnson later recruited Jalen to play at Mississippi State, but Hurts ultimately chose Alabama.
Florida’s offense scored 39.8 points per game in 2020, which ranked 13th in the country. Trask, who was a backup on his high school team his final three years, had a monster year, completing 69 percent of his throws for over 4,000 yards with 43 touchdowns to eight interceptions.
The Eagles are assembling a young staff under 39-year-old Sirianni, with defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon (37), offensive coordinator Shane Steichen (35), pass game coordinator Kevin Patullo (39) and Johnson (33) all under 40.
ESPN’s Tim McManus contributed to this report.
