Dan Quinn’s new Washington Commanders staff is growing and it has quite a bit of NFC East flair already. After hiring Dallas Cowboys secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr. as his defensive coordinator, Quinn is now also hiring former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson as his new pass-game coordinator, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. The deal is nearly done, per the NFL reporter.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni opted to part ways with Johnson after the end of the 2023 season, despite the team boasting a top-10 offense in yards per game and points per game. After letting Johnson go as offensive coordinator, Philadelphia hired former Cowboys and Chargers OC Kellen Moore to replace him.
Johnson played quarterback at Utah from 2004-08 and turned to coaching in 2010 at his alma mater. He served as the QBs coach and eventually the OC under Kyle Whittingham. He moved to Mississippi State in 2014, coaching QBs.
Following three seasons, Johnson became the OC and QBs coach at Houston in 2017 before going to Florida in 2018 as the QBs coach. He was promoted to OC in 2020, coaching Kyle Trask to his best season in college. With that, Johnson caught the eye of Sirianni and crew and was hired in Philadelphia the following year.
Cowboys block two interview requests from Commanders
After denying the Commanders’ request to interview tight ends coach Lunda Wells on Wednesday, the team has also reportedly denied them an opportunity to interview defensive backs coach Al Harris as well, according to ESPN reporter Todd Archer.
Al Harris has coached the Cowboys defensive backs since 2020, developing Trevon Diggs, as well as Donovan Wilson and DaRon Bland. Once Dan Quinn told his players he was leaving for D.C., Diggs was the first to jump on social media to advocate for Harris to get a promotion to coordinator. He is among the candidates for the job, though it’s a stacked list.
Washington wanted to talk to tight ends coach Lunda Wells about becoming their new offensive line coach. However, it appears he won’t get that chance while he’s under contract with Dallas.
Though the team has denied those two interviews, they haven’t blocked all requests from their NFC East rivals. Assistant defensive line coach Sharrif Floyd and quality control coach/defensive assistant Pete Ohnegian have been granted interviews with Washington, per Archer.
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