Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson keeps wracking up the offensive coordinator interviews.
Johnson, who is in his first year with the Texans, will interview for the Pittsburgh Steelers vacant position, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He also interviewed with the New England Patriots’ OC job, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones.
This would make the fourth and fifth coordinator interviews for Johnson. He previously spoke with the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns.
The 35-year-old ex-quarterback spent a year with the Minnesota Vikings, three years with the Indianapolis Colts and one year with the San Francisco 49ers in a variety of coaching positions. He played football for a multitude of leagues of teams, mostly on the practice squads for NFL clubs. Johnson is credited with helping develop rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud into an NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate.
The five coordinator roles Johnson interviewed for, though, would be huge steps up from just focusing on quarterbacks.
The Eagles and Browns have entrenched offenses with quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Deshaun Watson, respectively, with offensive-minded head coaches. The Saints, meanwhile, have their quarterback in Derek Carr but no plan on the offensive side of the ball with Dennis Allen at the helm. The Steelers have Kenny Pickett who needs some refinement as well, so perhaps that’s the direction Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin is looking to go with in their offensive coordinator hire.
The biggest wild card would be the Patriots, who have Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe but aren’t beholden to keep either in 2024.
There is also the chance that the Texans promote Johnson to offensive coordinator if Bobby Slowik takes a head coaching job elsewhere, although the only open positions left are the Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Commanders.
