The emergence of the Houston Texans defense as the best unit in the National Football League during the 2025 season seems to have caused some fans to forget about how only two seasons ago the optimism surrounding this organization was predicated on a belief that the Texans had found a superstar in the making with CJ Stroud. Stroud's dynamite rookie season had many around the league believing he'd be the next player to climb into the top tier of the NFL's best quarterbacks, and it was assumed that his ascent would be linear.
But a bumpy second season paved the way for a so-so first few weeks of the year in 2025, leading some to question whether Stroud's rookie season would go down as something closer to an aberration than a sign of things to come. However, behind the scenes in Houston, even amidst slumps and struggles, Stroud has continued to work diligently with a familiar face... quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson, a former pro in his own right, and someone who has been at Stroud's side since he was in high school competing for eyeballs at the Elite 11 Camp.
"Me being a kid back then, being 16 years old, meeting him, and now being 24, it’s crazy,” Stroud said of Johnson, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 Houston. “It’s almost ten years ago. It’s wild. Just to see not only my growth, but his and our relationship grow, he’s somebody who I consider a great friend and somebody I know I can call."
The first thing that Jerrod Johnson did for CJ Stroud was instilling a confidence in himself that Stroud has admitted he lacked as a high school prospect.
“Jerrod’s one thing for me was like, ‘Be confident,’” Stroud noted. “At that time, I wasn’t really the highest recruit. I wasn’t who I would become. Jerrod is someone I looked up to. When he was like, ‘Man, you need to be more confident,’ it changed my life.”
It did indeed. Stroud would end up being an Elite 11 standout, an unexpected development that had Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes come calling for the California native, eager to give him a scholarship offer that would bring him to Columbus.
CJ Stroud, Jerrod Johnson reunite in Houston
Before the Houston Texans were even on the clock in the 2023 NFL Draft, first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans had already added Jerrod Johnson to his coaching staff, bringing the former Texas A&M quarterback back to his home state to coach together again after briefly crossing paths on the 2017 San Francisco 49ers coaching staff.
It's an opportunity that Johnson is incredibly grateful for, especially because it meant getting the opportunity to do real work with CJ Stroud.
"I never take my job, my situation that I’m in, my relationship with CJ for granted. He’s a special young man, and I think we have a special relationship. Just to see him get better every week, to see his growth from then to now and just to know the potential that he has, I think the sky’s the limit," Johnson said. "Whatever is the best version of himself, we’re chasing that every single day to push him to there, He works really hard, he cares."
Now, the work that Stroud and Johnson are doing together on a weekly basis goes beyond just providing a confidence boost.
“Coaching me on footwork, he’s a mechanical genius. He’s a guru when it comes to footwork and being centered in the ground, with your wrist, all that good stuff. I’m very grateful and happy to have him as a coach," Stroud added.
DeMeco Ryans, too, has seen Johnson's efforts with Stroud and the entire quarterback room paying off.
“Jerrod has done a great job this year,” Ryans said. “I’ve definitely seen growth in him as a coach and how he’s done a better job of working with the quarterbacks. He’s given those guys a lot of pointers, a lot of tips, especially from him being a guy who played the position."
The question now becomes, how much longer will Jerrod Johnson remain in Houston. Over the past couple of years, he's emerged as a name to watch whenever there are offensive coordinator openings around the league. He even interviewed for Houston's OC job after the Texans moved on from former offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik at the conclusion of last season.
And while Johnson has admitted to wanting to continue climbing the coaching ranks, it doesn't sound like he's in a huge hurry to leave CJ Stroud and the Texans behind.
"I’m here to help the quarterbacks get better," Johnson explained. "If you do a good job, good things will happen. I pour into the players. I pour into the coaches, and that’s all that matters right now.”