New QB Coach

Nick Sirianni is rounding out his offensive staff. He hired a QB coach on Wednesday, bringing in someone he doesn’t have a history with.

The #Eagles are hiring University of Florida OC Brian Johnson as their new QB coach, source said. The former Utah QB has impressed in the college ranks, including at Mississippi State where he served as Dak Prescott’s QB coach.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 27, 2021

Forget about the Prescott angle. That’s not as critical to me as the fact Johnson was recruited by and played for Urban Meyer at Utah. They only spent a year together, but Meyer is someone you want to learn from. While I’m not his biggest fan, Meyer is a brilliant coach and gifted teacher.

Dan Mullen was the OC for Utah when Johnson was there in 2004. Mullen left with Meyer to go to Ohio State, but Mullen was impressed enough with Johnson to bring him to Mississippi State in 2014. Mullen then brought Johnson along to Florida after that.

Johnson has learned from outstanding coaches.

I love the fact the Eagles are bringing in someone from the college game. That’s where cutting edge ideas come from, not the NFL. Johnson won’t come in with some magical play that will make the Eagles invincible, but he will have some fresh ideas to bring to the table.

Florida had one of the best offenses in the nation this year. QB Kyle Trask had an amazing season. He fed the ball to TE Kyle Pitts and WR Kadarius Toney. Those positions should be thought of loosely. Those guys were playmakers and the UF coaching staff treated them as such. They moved them around and fed the ball to them a lot. Good scheme plus great execution led to a dynamic offense.

It is also important that Johnson is black and now takes over an important position. QB coaches have a chance to progress to being a head coach. More than a few people think Johnson has that kind of potential. Listen to him talk here and you can see where he is impressive.

It will be interesting to see how things play out with Wentz. Johnson is new to the NFL, but has had success with college QBs. He learned the importance of fundamentals from Meyer and Mullen and should be able to teach them at any level. If Wentz buys in, this could be a good match.

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The #Eagles are hiring Jason Michael as their tight ends coach, source said. Michael — the former #Titans OC — coached TEs the past two seasons with the #Colts. Another Nick Sirianni connection.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 27, 2021

Michael has worked for multiple NFL teams and has 15 years of pro experience. Sirianni has hired a lot of young coaches so it is wise to mix in someone with Michael’s experience. That said, he’s 42 so it isn’t like the Eagles hired the Ancient Mariner.

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From @mattbarrows, the Eagles have requested permission to interview 49ers assistant special teams coordinator Michael Clay for their vacant coordinator job. Clay was with the Eagles on Chip Kelly’s staff in 2014-2015. https://t.co/MI9NX7fAHy

— Bo Wulf (@Bo_Wulf) January 28, 2021

That is not a picture of Clay.

Clay won’t turn 30 until August so he would be another young hire. He played for Chip Kelly at Oregon and then worked under Kelly with the Eagles and the Niners.

Interesting candidate.

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I posted Senior Bowl notes over at ScoutsNotebook.

I love several slot receiver/returner types.

LB Tony Fields would be an interesting fit.

Some good G/C types who could be of interest.

I haven’t written enough about the TEs, but there are some good ones. It sounds like Ertz is gone so the Eagles could look to add someone in the middle rounds.

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