Steelers to Interview Rising Young Texans QB Coach for OC Opening

The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to interview Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson for their offensive coordinator opening on Friday, according to a report by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Johnson, 35, is the second sitting quarterbacks coach to be connected to the Steelers offensive coordinator opening, following Los Angeles Rams quarterbacks coach and pass game coordinator Zac Robinson. Robinson is expected to take the Atlanta Falcons OC job, following Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris there.

Like Robinson, Johnson is an extremely hot commodity on the market and it’s not hard to see why teams would be gung-ho for Johnson. With the Texans, rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud came into the league and put up one of the best rookie seasons in recent memory, leading Houston to the postseason’s divisional round.

For the Steelers, Johnson checks the boxes of working with a young quarterback who saw instant success. The environment that Johnson created around Stroud allowed him to flourish immediately in the NFL. But the people Johnson has worked under make all the difference, too.

Before Johnson went to Houston, he was the assistant quarterbacks coach under Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota. So, yet again, there’s a connection to Los Angels Rams head coach Sean McVay’s coaching tree. More than that, he doubled that up in Houston by coming to work under Bobby Slowik from the Kyle Shanahan tree.

In other words, Johnson became a quick-rising star in the league because he develops quarterbacks and just so happens to come from the two most potent branches of offensive thought the league wants now. Given how much the Steelers dipped their toe into the Shanahan and McVay schemes with Matt Canada running things in 2023, Johnson sure makes a lot of sense for them.

Also like Robinson, Johnson was an NFL quarterback. After going undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2011, he spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles, Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys. Johnson signed with the Steelers on Jan. 13, 2012 and was released that August.

Last season, the Steelers did not have a single coach on the staff that had played quarterback professionally. With the interest in Robinson and Johnson, that could be a point of interest for their interview process this time around.