Report: Pittsburgh Steelers interview Texans QB coach Jerrod Johnson for OC opening

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been in need of a new offensive coordinator since firing Matt Canada at the end of November. Now, amidst interviews across the NFL, an interesting new name has joined the conversation for the role considering his past connection to the franchise.

Per Tom Pelissero at the NFL Network, Pittsburgh is interviewing Jerrod Johnson for their offensive coordinator job. He is currently the quarterbacks coach for the Houston Texans.

The #Steelers are interviewing #Texans QB coach Jerrod Johnson today for their offensive coordinator job, per source.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 26, 2024

Johnson is in his first season coaching the quarterbacks for the Texans. That involved work alongside Houston OC Bobby Slowik, another hot coaching name, and QB CJ Stroud. Stroud, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, excelled in his rookie season as a pro. He threw for just over 4,100 yards along with 23 touchdowns, only five picks, and a 63.9% completion rate.

Johnson spent the season prior with the Minnesota Vikings as the assistant quarterbacks coach. He was with the Indianapolis Colts in the three years before that in several different roles.

Johnson spent a short time on several rosters across the league in the early 2010s, including the Steelers’. He also had stints with Dallas, Baltimore, Chicago, Seattle, and Philadelphia.

In college, Johnson played in 37 games for Texas A&M from 2007 to 2010. During his collegiate career, he threw for just over 8,000 yards to go with 67 touchdowns and 27 interceptions on a 58.6% completion rate.

Over the final eight games of the season, Mike Sullivan called the offensive plays for Pittsburgh. The Steelers averaged 19.4 points per game in that span while posting 337 yards per game. That was after averaging 16.6 points on 280.1 yards a contest over the first 10 under Canada. Still, while that offensive improvement was notable, it didn’t change the trajectory of the year. They remained right around .500 en route to losing in the AFC Wild Card.

Pittsburgh is looking at candidates outside the franchise to fill this role. They’ve already interviewed the likes of Panthers OC Thomas Brown and have requested an interview with Zac Robinson, the quarterbacks coach of the LA Rams. They are also reportedly going to speak with Kliff Kingsbury.

The Steelers haven’t had offense finish in the Top-20 or average 21 points or more since 2020. That makes this an important hire as they move forward from Canada with Johnson now in the mix for the gig.