Here’s a new name for the New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator search: CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones reports that the Saints have requested an interview with Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson. He’s played a major part in helping Texans rookie C.J. Stroud acclimate to the NFL as one of the season’s most exciting young quarterbacks.
Johnson, 35, was a standout quarterback himself at Texas A&M (Saints head coach Dennis Allen’s alma mater) from 2008 to 2010, turning pro with the second-most career passing yards in school history to his credit. He joined the Philadelphia Eagles for training camp in 2011 and bounced around the league after that, spending time with the Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens, and Dallas Cowboys during the years that followed.
Since turning to coaching in 2017 with the Bill Walsh Diversity coaching fellowship (first on the San Francisco 49ers under Kyle Shanahan, then the Indianapolis Colts with Frank Reich) he was risen quickly through the ranks. Johnson worked as the Minnesota Vikings assistant quarterbacks coach in 2022 and joined the Texans last year, working closely with offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. Now he’s drawing attention for an OC job of his own. Johnson has worked with many successful coaches in this league and could be the up-and-comer Saints fans have been asking for. We’ll see how his meeting with New Orleans plays out.