Brian Johnson helped lead a one-year turnaround for the Washington Commanders as their passing-game coordinator and reportedly caught the eye of the Houston Texans in the process.
Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports reported Thursday that the Texans requested to interview Johnson for their vacant offensive coordinator position.
Houston needs a new OC after it fired Bobby Slowik following the 2024 campaign.
Things were looking up for Slowik as the O.C. in 2023 when C.J. Stroud took home the Offensive Rookie of the Year and the Texans made the playoffs. However, the offense took a step back in 2024 and finished 22nd in yards and 19th in points as Stroud was sacked 52 times and pressured on 28 percent of his dropbacks, which was highest in the league for those with more than seven starts.
The Texans still managed to win the AFC South and reach the AFC Divisional Round of the playoffs, but the offense will need to be much better moving forward if they are going to realistically challenge the likes of the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens in the conference.
After collegiate stops with Utah, Mississippi State, Houston and Florida, he was the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterbacks coach in 2021 and 2022 before he was promoted to O.C. in 2023. The Eagles reached the Super Bowl during the 2022 campaign when he was working with Jalen Hurts.
Their offense was also effective when he was the O.C. last season and finished eighth in the league in points and seventh in yards.
The statistical success continued for Johnson after he joined the Commanders in his new role. They selected Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick, and he is well on his way to winning Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Daniels led the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game in their first winning season since the 2016 campaign.
Houston also has a young quarterback with a bright future in Stroud and may see this as a chance to pair him with an O.C. who has helped other signal-callers thrive in recent years.
