A rising star coach. Will the NFL let him shine?
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Greg Olsen talks Tight End University and what he's excited for in the 2025 NFL season
Greg Olsen stops by to talk about another year of Tight End University and who he's excited to watch as the NFL season inches closer.
Sports Seriously
Editor's note: This story is a part of a series by USA TODAY Sports called Project: June. We will publish at least one NFL-themed story every day throughout the month because fans know the league truly never sleeps.
ATLANTA — On paper, Jerrod Johnson certainly fits the profile of a coach that could be on the brink of getting the keys to drive an NFL offense. The young Houston Texans quarterbacks coach, with his fourth NFL team, has steadily built his resume. His fingerprints are all over the development of C.J. Stroud, one of the NFL's emerging stars.
And shoot, after previously working on Kevin O'Connell's staff with the Minnesota Vikings, Johnson has two degrees of separation from Sean McVay.
In a meeting room, Johnson's charismatic presence comes to life. That's not on paper. I saw it for myself this week at the latest iteration of the Quarterback Coaching Summit. Johnson, 36, demonstrated an impressive command of the room as he spoke for nearly an hour in a session titled "Coaching & Development of the Starting and Backup QB."
The engaging delivery was only part of the pop. Johnson scored points as he broke down evaluation metrics, approaches for training the mind, feet and trigger, as he put it, and then some. A former quarterback, he even explained why it is critical to conduct one-on-one tutoring each Tuesday morning during the season with the practice squad quarterback.
Maybe Johnson is indeed a rising star in the NFL coaching universe.
Yet I wonder about his prospects as a Black man when transposed against the sorry trend over the past two hiring cycles for promoting Black candidates to offensive coordinator, the role that is the most prominent steppingstone to head coaching jobs. The past two cycles, NFL teams were 29-for-29 in hiring white men as offensive coordinators.
For the second year in a row, the NFL won't have a single Black offensive coordinator in the league. Before this drought, you'd have to go back 30 years for that distinction.
"It's very disheartening," retired NFL coach Jimmy Raye told USA TODAY Sports. "As you've witnessed since you've been here, there are guys with impressive knowledge, deserving of an opportunity."
Raye, one of the organizers of the NFL-supported event that is hosted by the Black College Football Hall of Fame and held in conjunction with the Ozzie Newsome GM Forum, became the NFL's first Black offensive coordinator in 1983 with the Los Angeles Rams. He served in that capacity with several teams over 13 seasons.
He hardly imagined when he broke a barrier in 1983 that the league would be back in this spot when considering Black OCs.
"I would have thought it would be like the quarterback position, something that you don't even think about because it was something that was done," Raye said. "They don't talk about the Black quarterback anymore because half the league has Black quarterbacks.
"I would think offensive coordinators would be the same, that it would have evolved the same way, with the technology, the ability to gain information, internships and the Bill Walsh Fellowships, all the things that have been put in place for diversity, but it just hasn't happened."
Jerome Bettis is a Hall of Famer. His son is following in Papa Bus' footsteps
Johnson, who interviewed for OC jobs with the Texans and the Las Vegas Raiders this year and in 2024 with the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns, did not point to his race as an impediment in his career journey. And he is obviously just one example as part of a larger picture. Yet he acknowledges the pattern of recent hiring cycles for hiring minority candidates as coordinators.
"I'm a man of faith," Johnson told USA TODAY Sports. "I think God has a plan. At some point, ideally, things will line up and I'll be in the right situation, and I'll get an opportunity. The past couple of years, it hasn't really been the fit for me. I think we've just got to keep plugging away, just being as good as we can in becoming better coaches, putting our best foot forward. At the end of the day, all we can control is getting better in our current situations and whatever happens, happens."
For the coordinator jobs this year that Johnson interviewed for, the Raiders hired long-established Chip Kelly to join Pete Carroll's staff, while the Texans brought in Nick Caley, who spent the past three years on McVay's staff with the Los Angeles Rams, including last season as passing game coordinator, to run their offense.
Yet other hires for coordinator jobs that Johnson wasn't in the mix for fueled questions. The Jacksonville Jaguars hired Grant Udinski to coordinate the offense under first-year coach Liam Coen. Udinski has never been a position coach in the NFL, having served as assistant quarterbacks coach and assistant coordinator on O'Connell's staff.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, meanwhile, replaced Coen with first-time coordinator Josh Grizzard, promoted after one year as passing game coordinator.
Who gets such opportunities and at what stages of their careers is what raises suspicions, especially with some of the so-called "OG's," such as Doug Williams, another of the organizers of the events held this week, which included more than a dozen presentations by minority coaches and front office personnel.
The pipeline, Williams stressed, is not the problem.
"There's no doubt in my mind that you have people that can do the job – in personnel, as head coaches, offensive coordinators, quarterback coaches," Williams, a personnel executive with the Washington Commanders, told USA TODAY Sports. "It's about giving them the opportunity."
Exclusive: Aaron Glenn followed legend's advice, is ready to be Jets coach
One presentation that really moved me: Jackie Davidson's session on the ABC's of the NFL salary cap. Davidson, vice president of football research for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is a rising front office star who might be on the short list of candidates to become the first female GM in the NFL in decades. Williams agrees.
"Jackie blew 'em away. That's what people don't know," said Williams, whose footprint on history was cast in 1988 when he became the first Black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl. "When you sit there and hear her, it's like, 'Damn…give her an opportunity.' This is a perfect platform to realize that."
Williams and James "Shack' Harris, former Grambling quarterbacks who founded the Black College Football Hall of Fame, have conducted the coaching/GM symposiums for eight years. The first one was a roundtable at Morehouse College attended by a handful of coaches. Maybe the next one will include an expanded list of attendees that goes beyond the few dozen coaches and front office types from the pro and college ranks that were on hand.
"This is where the NFL owners should be," Williams said.
The NFL paused its accelerator program this year, which brought together coaching and front office personnel to engage with team owners while participating in sessions designed to promote upward mobility.
"They meet guys at the accelerator program and an hour later they don't remember who they met," Williams maintained. "They don't get to see people make presentations. Here, you can listen to a guy and say, 'You know what? That guy is really sharp.'"
You'd get no argument from Johnson. After all, more exposure surely won't hurt someone positioned for career advancement.
"That being said, I'm in a great situation in Houston," Johnson said. "I've learned so much from DeMeco (Ryans), and we have a great staff. At the end of the day, I have aspirations, but I've got to wake up every day and be the best quarterback coach I can be."
Which just might open the door for more.
Follow Jarrett Bell on social media: @JarrettBell
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
a minute ago
- Yahoo
Fantasy Football draft mistakes to avoid: Let's break these 6 bad habits in 2025
The following is an excerpt from the latest edition of Yahoo's fantasy football newsletter, Get to the Points! If you like what you see, you can subscribe for free here. All summer long, we talk about the Do's of fantasy football. Target this player. Trust this offense. Lean into this stat or this piece of film review. Do, do, do. But there's a yang to every yin, some ebb to every piece of flow. Sometimes you have to talk about the Don't side of things, the habits to clean up, the things to avoid. Today, that's the assignment. We will talk about mistakes that are commonly made in fantasy football. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Mistake 1: Not knowing the basics Sure, not knowing the league rules and settings is obvious. But it's also a common error. I know, because I make it myself sometimes — and there's no justification for it. It's no fun to read the rules or audit the settings, I get it. In some of the leagues I play in, the rulebook is long and unwieldy, a cumbersome read. And like so many fantasy managers, I'm in a ton of leagues (too many to count), so at times it becomes tempting to cut this corner. But if you're not clear on the game you're playing, errors are sure to follow. Let's make sure we put in the work I'm not just talking about checking scoring rules, but every league setting. Example of a common mistake: often managers are unaware of when free agency starts or when the waiver process begins. Thirty seconds in your online calendar today can cover you for a missed opportunity later. Mistake 2: Drafting insurance Modern baseball theory says that sacrifice bunts are rarely a good idea. The game is dominated by launch angles and home runs, to the point that giving up an out and advancing a runner from first to second is rarely the proper play. When you hand outs to the other team, you cap your scoring upside. What does this have to do with fantasy football? Well, when you go out of your way to draft the NFL backups of your primary starters (especially at running back), you're essentially bunting. You're capping your upside. You're playing for the small inning. Tips Early in the fantasy season, I want you to play for the big inning. I want you to try to build the most dynamic juggernaut possible. Sure, you can draft backup running backs, intriguing stash-and-hope runners, but do it when it's not tied to one of your primary starters. Draft the backups that benefit if your opponents encounter bad luck. Build a roster that can spike — not merely survive — when chaos happens. Stop playing it safe and hurting your ceiling. When to get RB insurance The understudy back can make sense later in the year — much like bunting can still make sense in baseball, later in a game. The winning scenario narrows the later we get in any contest, and with that in mind, you act accordingly. If you're crushing the league come early November and you want Tyler Allgeier to insure Bijan Robinson— because your roster doesn't have bigger problems that need solving — I can sign off. In August, that's the wrong way to think. Your goals should be much loftier the day you start assembling your roster. Mistake 3: Anchoring to previously-held opinions Fantasy sports are essentially a game of opinions, your best guess against my best guess. The top fantasy managers are going to have plenty of takes. You compete for a few years, take down a trophy or two, you get some confidence and even some ego. Things to remember The NFL is a snow-globe league, the American sport with the most year-over-year variance. It's also the fantasy sport where context matters the most.A journeyman running back might become fantasy royalty if he lands in the right a walk-in Hall of Famer like Randy Moss can fall off the planet when he's on a shipwrecked team like the 2006 Raiders. My philosophy I have plenty of strong player and strategy takes today, just like I did a month ago, three months ago or six months ago. But everything's written in pencil. When the facts shift, I'm certainly willing to change my mind. And when overlooked angles are brought to my attention, I'm willing to change my mind then, too. The goal Figure out the new season before your opponents do. And with that in mind, you have to be willing to be selectively aggressive when opportunities arise. Mistake 4: Being paralyzed by fear Paradox of Choice is a fascinating concept, the idea that otherwise-smart people can be overwhelmed by alternatives. It's not uncommon for a fantasy manager to tell me they prefer a roster of minimal depth over a roster of fantastic depth, because they aren't forced to make difficult choices each week. (Obviously, a deep team can allow for trades to build an even better starting lineup, but let's ignore that for now.) Some managers are afraid to bench a player because said player was a high pick, or required a lot of FAB on the waiver wire. Some managers are afraid to make a trade or a free agent move because they're obsessed with how bad they'll feel if the decision turns out to be wrong. Friendliest Loss remains a pox in our decision-making world Too many fantasy players will settle on the choice that will give them the least amount of pain if it doesn't go as planned — no matter if that choice reflects what they view the most likely winning scenario. Don't be afraid of making a mistake, friends. Tricky decisions are like bluffs in poker — if you don't have one blow up on you every so often, you are playing far too conservatively. Fortune favors the brave. I'm not suggesting you do wacky things just for the sake of it. I still want you to make good decisions, sound decisions. But focus on the likelihood of your decision working, and what the payoff may be. Don't get tripped up on what the regret will feel like if you're wrong. That's not how successful people think. Mistake 5: Not updating your queue during the draft I generally don't touch the preset rankings in any draft applet, because I want to know what most of the league is looking at. But that doesn't mean I rest back in my chair and scroll through emails between picks. I'm constantly working on some kind of list, be it an off-applet list I'm maintaining, or adding and arranging players in my online draft queue. Reasons to stay active during the draft A tidily-arranged queue will be your best friend if you get bumped offline mid-draft — and will spare you a possible-disastrous autopick. It's a good way to keep late-round sleepers fresh in your mind, especially with names who might be buried on the site's preset ranks. If you're doing an offline draft, you can still maintain a queue — a pen and sheet of paper will do. Just keep it away from curious neighbors. I'll also add that many of the new Yahoo Fantasy Plus features can help managers on draft day and all season long. Mistake 6: Ignoring ADP It's common to hear established fantasy players zealously proclaiming their disdain for average draft position, noting how they draft to the beat of their own drummer. And hey, I get it, at some point, you have to go get the players you believe in. But you at least want to have a general idea of where those players might come off the board in a typical draft. How to use ADP to your advantage When I examine ADP, I like to focus on the trending market, how rooms have been drafting in the past week or so — something you can track on Yahoo. Deeper-rooted ADP is going to be more buggy and less useful. At the end of the day, you want to undercut the market slightly on the later-round picks you covet, not blow the market out of the water. Don't take your hidden gem in the sixth round when context clues make it clear you could have waited until the 10th round or later.
Yahoo
a minute ago
- Yahoo
VIDEO: A.J. Terrell Jr. was mic'd up at Falcons joint practice with Titans
Apparently, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. wasn't the only teammate talking tough during joint practices with the Tennessee Titans this past week. Ironically, Falcons defensive back A.J. Terrell Jr. was in and out of practice reps wearing a microphone in this week's mic'd up edition. There's an obvious tenacity within the Falcons locker room this season and that's undeniable. At age 26, Terrell is entering his fifth NFL season with hopes of getting Atlanta's passing defense back on track under the leadership of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. Of course it doesn't hurt that Falcons head coach Raheem Morris also played defensive back when he was in the NFL, making a relationship with Terrell Jr. more relatable. These defensive coach-to-player dynamics play to the liking of Terrell, safety Jessie Bates III, and others like rookie Xavier Watts on defense. WATCH: Falcons CB A.J. Terrell mic'd up at joint practice The Falcons will get to match up versus Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward in NFL preseason Week 2. Yet, it is uncertain whether or not Terrell will play or how many reps he will get. However, the Falcons defense will be looking to make a statement against the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft and give him a warm welcome to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Atlanta Falcons: A.J. Terrell Mic'd up for Titans joint practice
Yahoo
a minute ago
- Yahoo
Teddy Bridgewater is hoping to make the best of his NFL return amid high school coaching suspension
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Teddy Bridgewater always planned to play football this year. Just maybe not quite this early. In a perfect world, the well-traveled quarterback wouldn't be spending this weekend in Pittsburgh getting ready for his preseason debut with Tampa Bay, but in Miami helping Northwestern High prepare to defend the Florida Class 3A title he coached his alma mater to last winter. Don't get Bridgewater wrong. The 32-year-old — whose retirement hasn't quite stuck more than 18 months after he announced it — is eager to go out and show he can still 'spin it." And he's grateful to do it for a team that has ripped off four straight NFC South titles, a team that also happens to be not that far from home. Still, Bridgewater would be lying if he said this was his first choice. The plan was always to coach until Northwestern's season was over, then explore his options in the NFL, just as he did last year when he made a cameo with Detroit as Jared Goff's backup during the Lions' playoff push. A seemingly innocuous social media post changed everything. Suspension changes plans Bridgewater's Facebook message was designed to find donors willing to help offset team expenses not covered by the school, expenses — from food to rides home from practice — that he freely admitted he paid out of his own pocket in 2024. Yet his admission also constituted potential violations concerning impermissible benefits. Bridgewater — who did not take a salary as head coach — self-reported the payments and was subsequently suspended. The Florida High School Athletic Association's investigation is ongoing. 'It's very upsetting,' Bridgewater said following a joint practice between the Buccaneers and Steelers ahead of their preseason game at Acrisure Stadium on Saturday night. 'Just knowing that you have good intentions and those good intentions will be turned against you and used against you.' It's unclear when a resolution might come. For Bridgewater, who still communicates regularly with his at-the-moment former players, it can't get here fast enough. 'I'm hoping to get it resolved because those kids have a special place in my heart,' Bridgewater said. 'And I'd love to finish what I started with them.' Bridgewater didn't even rule out making the four-ish hour drive from Tampa to Miami on Fridays when the Buccaneers' schedule allows to attend a Northwestern game as a fan, at least for now. He'd love the opportunity to return one day as the coach of the school where he became a star in the late 2000s before embarking on a decorated college career at Louisville, followed by a nomadic journey through the NFL. Setting an example from afar When Bridgewater announced after the 2023 season that he was stepping away, he thought it would stick. He quickly agreed to become the head coach at Northwestern, eager to start the next chapter of his life. Yet he also stayed in shape, even taking snaps during the spring game, headset on all the while. He also remained in contact with Lions coach Dan Campbell and realized that playing could not only let him feed a passion to play that is very much still there, but set another kind of example in the process. 'I always see it as motivation for the kids to know that you can do whatever you put your mind to," Bridgewater said. 'As long as you build those healthy relationships, continue to train, work hard year-round, opportunities are going to come.' Enter Tampa Bay, which reached out looking for someone experienced to join a quarterback room that includes Baker Mayfield, coming off the best season of his career. Bridgewater isn't with the Buccaneers to be the starter like he was during stints in Minnesota, Carolina and Denver, but a resource. 'Most good quarterbacks have another guy in there that's a veteran, that's pretty savvy, that understands the game and knows the game," Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said. "And (Teddy) can help Baker out. Coaching helps (Baker) out, but there's nothing like seeing it from a player's standpoint, and (Teddy) can give that to Baker.' There's also a fair amount of life left in Bridgewater's right arm. Wearing No. 16, he more than held his own while taking snaps during the joint practice with Pittsburgh. And with Mayfield getting the night off on Saturday, Bridgewater figures to get some extended run for the first time in a long time. However the rest of his 2025 goes, don't expect Bridgewater to commit full time to becoming one of those quarterbacks who are just fine with bouncing around the NFL deep into their 30s. His preference in the near term would be to find a way to still have the best of both worlds: coaching high schoolers during the fall, then seeing what work might be there for him when the calendar nears late December. He received feelers during the offseason after his stint with the Lions, and his answer was always some version of 'I'm up for it, check back when Northwestern is done.' Told preferring an unpaid coaching gig over the far more lucrative life of an NFL quarterback — even a backup one — makes him an outlier of sorts, and Bridgewater just shrugged. 'Yeah, I can make a ton of money playing football and coaching high school ball, I get nothing,' he said. 'But it's not even about the money. It's about giving those kids a building block to go out into the real world and be productive." ___ AP NFL:
