So we got one in and one nowhere close on Thursday, when it comes to the Commanders’ coaching staff coming together.
On the positive side: the team is reportedly hiring former Eagles OC Brian Johnson to a ‘significant offensive role,’ seen likely as a pass game coordinator by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler – another nice raid on a division rival, as even though Johnson was let go by Philly, he has been there for Nick Sirianni’s entire tenure.
“A year ago, this was a dude who people thought would be a good OC and on the way to head coaching jobs,” JP Finlay said. “Whatever happened in Philly as things went sideways, they still were scoring at a pretty good clip. In shirt, I think Sirianni scapegoated him a little, and I like this hire a lot.”
“The thing we have to get past is where he coaches before – who cares?” BMitch replied. “All that matters is they come and do well here.
But with Johnson, what I saw last year, it was Sirianni when things were good, but when it went bad, Johnson got the blame.”
And, Brian notes, Johnson’s job initially was to work with Jalen Hurts, and now that it’s Johnson and Kliff Kingsbury, who had Kyler Murray in Arizona, is that a tell on how the Commanders might be leaning for their next signal-caller?
“Jalen is a run-pass quarterback, so as you start looking at that, people look at Caleb Williams, and Jayden Daniels maybe a little bit more, too,” BMitch said. “Whoever it is, when you draft a QB that high, you have to have the full support of the franchise, and that’s what they’re putting in place right now.”
“These guys speak quarterback, and they’re putting a staff together that is ultimately of the right mind to develop a quarterback,” JP replied.
So Johnson is in, but on the other side of the ball, the Cowboys have blocked their defensive backs coach, Al Harris, from interviewing for a position with the Commanders, the second such request they’ve denied this week (reportedly also tight ends coach Lunda Wells).
It is within a team’s right to deny a request if the job that candidate is requested for is not a promotion per se – i.e. not moving up from positional assistant to coordinator – and while they have reportedly given Washington permission to speak with assistant defensive line coach Sharrif Floyd and quality control coach/defensive assistant Pete Ohnegian, both of those requests could be for a move up (assistant DL to DL, for instance) that Dallas CAN’T deny.
“They could name him, like, defensive backs coach and assistant head coach, or passing game coordinator,” BMitch said. “I know he and Dan Quinn have a good relationship, so I’m not surprised Dallas blocked it. If Al Harris doesn’t end up on this staff, I think Jason Simmons will – and that’s a very good thing for the Commanders. Al had a ton of responsibility for how good that secondary was.”