Eagles' A.J. Brown on Brian Johnson's Firing as OC: 'Somebody Has to Be the Bad Guy'

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown doesn't seem too upset that Brian Johnson won't return as offensive coordinator in 2024.

Appearing on the AP Pro Football Podcast with Rob Maaddi, Brown said "somebody has to be the bad guy" when things aren't working for a team and he doesn't get "too attached" to the offensive coordinator because it's on the players to execute on the field for things to work.

In the wake of their late-season collapse, culminating with a 32-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card game, the Eagles revamped most of their coaching staff.

Nick Sirianni is returning for his fourth season as head coach, but he's the only major figure being brought back. Johnson, defensive coordinator Sean Desai and senior defensive assistant Matt Patricia, who took over play-calling duties for the defense late in the season, were all let go.

There was no shortage of criticism for the coaching on both sides of the ball. The defense ranked 30th in points allowed per game and allowed at least 25 points in seven of the last eight games.

Johnson, who replaced Shane Steichen, drew the ire of Philadelphia fans for most of the season because his offense was too vanilla. They lined up in simple formations and rarely used motion to try gaining an advantage against the defense.

When the Eagles were operating at a high level for most of the first half of the season, their offense was largely built around Brown creating big plays in the passing game. He set an NFL record with at least 125 receiving yards in six consecutive games from Weeks 3 through 8.

After that streak ended, Brown only had one game with more than 100 receiving yards the rest of the season. He had fewer yards over the final nine games (517) than during that six-game stretch (831).

Philadelphia's inability to find answers on offense put even more pressure on a defense that was not capable of stopping anyone.

There was no one thing that went wrong for the Eagles. It was a collective effort by everyone from the coaches and players.

Now, the hope for Sirianni is that adding Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator and Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator will help turn things around quickly.