One of DeMeco Ryan’s main coaches, Jerrod Johnson of the Houston Texans quarterbacks, helped C.J. Stroud become one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks as a rookie.
Now, other NFL teams are reportedly starting to pay attention. The New Orleans Saints have asked to interview Johnson for the freshly open offensive coordinator post.
Pete Carmichael, who was fired at the conclusion of the regular season, most recently held the role. Having said that, Johnson ought to consider his choices before taking a new position.
Bobby Slowik, the Texans’ offensive coordinator, is also in risk of leaving the team since he has emerged as one of the top contenders for available head coaching jobs throughout the league.
And Johnson would make sense as an internal candidate to take Slowik’s place as head coach as he already has a deep understanding of the offensive staff.
Johnson, who began his coaching career in 2017 as a member of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship, is obviously not the most experienced candidate.
After that, in 2020, he was hired as an offensive quality control coach by the Colts, and in 2022, he was hired as an assistant quarterback coach by the Vikings.
Nevertheless, he has undoubtedly impressed with Stroud’s improvement and will be a rising star to follow this summer.
It remains to be seen if that ultimately ends up in Houston, New Orleans, or some other location.