In the National Football League, attrition is something that every team needs to deal with. Players on palatable deals outperform expectations and have to move on to another team that can offer more money. Coordinators who have made a name for themselves as some of the best in the league graduate onto becoming head coaches. And therefore, when teams have coordinator openings that need to be filled, it's the position coaches who have earned a rock-solid reputation that generally end up filling those voids.
This is the position that the Houston Texans may find themselves in with quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson.
Johnson, who is a Texas A&M alum and a Houston, Texas native, was hired to join DeMeco Ryans' staff in February 2023, and since then, he's been routinely mentioned as one of the key figures in CJ Stroud's meteoric rise during his rookie season with the Texans, in large part because of a pre-existing relationship with the young quarterback that even pre-dated Stroud's arrival at Ohio State.
After three years on DeMeco Ryans' staff -- which followed a handful of years in the NFL as a player -- Johnson continues to get looks around the NFL from teams that are in need of a new offensive coordinator. In 2024, Johnson interviewed with both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cleveland Browns, and just last January, Johnson had interviews with both the Las Vegas Raiders AND the Houston Texans, who moved on from Bobby Slowik and eventually hired Nick Caley away from the Los Angeles Rams.
Now Jerrod Johnson seems to have emerged as a candidate to join Jeff Hafley's staff in Miami, potentially becoming the Dolphins offensive coordinator in what's sure to be a season of transition in South Beach. Johnson was interviewed on Thursday, and according to Hafley himself, the Dolphins hope to have their coordinator spots filled by the end of this weekend.
While we've never seen Jerrod Johnson call plays at any level, both CJ Stroud and Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans spoke highly of him over the last few months.
“I thought he’s done a great job of that. 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 said of Johnson, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston.
"Jerrod has done a great job this year,” Ryans added. “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 big question is, does Jerrod Johnson want to leave Houston, the place where he grew up and has since built a home with his wife and daughter?
“It’s really special, especially with my family, my wife Braidee and our little girl, for me to get the opportunity to do what I love in the city that I grew up in. It’s a dream come true," Johnson said in December. “Since I’ve been with the Texans, every Sunday I take a deep breath, and I call it kind of smelling the roses and just appreciating getting to do what I love with people that I enjoy in the city that I love in my hometown. So I’m very blessed, and I don’t take it for granted."