EAGLES' LANE JOHNSON IS OPEN TO CHANGE

Brian Baldinger -On the Eagles.

It was the Thursday night before Super Bowl LX in San Francisco and I was at a casual party down on the wharf by the bay.

In attendance that night were many members of the Eagles including Lane Johnson.

The week prior the Birds made a major shift in their coaching staff to hire Sean Mannion as the new offensive coordinator to replace much maligned Kevin Patullo.

Even bigger and much more surprising news that in just the day prior they made the decision to move on from the master, Jeff Stoutland.

After 13 seasons Stout U. was finished. The following week they would replace thew venerable Stoutland with Chris Kuper, who had been coaching the offensive line in Minnesota for the previous 4 seasons.

Many thought that when Stoutland either retired or when the Birds would move on from Stout that Lane Johnson would also move on to retirement. 

Lane missed the finish to the season battling a serious Lisfranc injury. He knew he would fully recover but wasnt ready to hang up the cleats just yet.

So under some clear skies by the bay in San Francisco Lane and myself talked a great deal about the departure of Stoutland and the unknown that lied ahead.

Brian Baldinger, Lane Johnson (far right) and the rest of the attendees and instructors at the 2026 O-Line Masterminds. Photo submitted.  

What he said surprised me after 13 years of Stoutland, the only offensive line coach 

he had ever known. He said he was open to whatever lies ahead. Most players after 13 years, two first-team All-Pro selections, and multiple Pro Bowls, would not be so open to massive changes. 

But Lane was.

When I went to Lane's wedding in Nashville back in April, Coach Stoutland was there supporting one of his star pupil's along with many other members of the offensive line.

The offensive line room seems to have warmed up to new offensive line coach Chris Kuper. a former NFL O-lineman (in photo with second-year center/guard Jake Majors), who is replacing the legendary offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. Photo by Al Thompson.

This past weekend I joined Lane in Frisco, Texas for the ninth annual OL Masterminds Summit. A meeting of offensive lineman at the pro, college, and even high school levels along with many former Hall of Fame players like Jimbo Covert and Joe Thomas.

Lane helped start the Summit along with Duke Manyweather, an OL guru who helps train many offensive lineman from the college ranks along with many NFL players.

I have attended the past 8 summit's and learn new techniques and philosophies each year I attend. This year was no different.

Lane and myself talked a great deal about the upcoming season and what the new offense could look like.

There will be a heavy emphasis on the wide zone play with Jalen and the QB'S under center. From that run play their will be many bootleg fakes and play action passes where the defensive side of the ball will be put into conflict as to whether it is a run or a pass.

Brian Baldinger and Lane Johnson chat before a game last year. Photo submitted.

This is a massive departure for Jalen Hurts who has largely been a "shotgun QB" since his days at Alabama, OU, and with the Eagles.

But most of the really productive offenses over the last couple of years like the Rams, Lions, Seahawks, Chiefs, Bears, and 49ers all have their QB's under center for a big percentage of their offensive snaps.

It is increasingly more difficult to get explosive plays in your offense if you don’t go hard core play action because teams are lining up with two safeties deep and daring you to throw at these defenses that are designed to keep everything underneath and to take the "long ball" away.

That seems fairly obvious to even the casual fan. But what it really allows is for offensive linemen to almost get six-to-eight free plays a game where you can sellout with run block fakes and not have to worry about blocking the elite pass rushers for three or four seconds.

That puts a great deal of pressure on all the lineman to hold blocks for that long while your quarterback is sitting in shotgun and the talented pass rushers can just tee off.

Lane mentioned how much he likes the play action fakes that are coming to Sean Mannion's offense where he will be able to change up his sets on elite pass rushers knowing that the fakes are going to slow down the rush because they have to honor the run fakes.

It also really helps that everyone, including all five OL starters are healthy and were able to go through the off season together.

Plus, there a number of young players who are going to continue to push for playing time like center Drew Kendall who is both smart and talented.

All-in-all, Lane believes these changes are healthy and will make the offensive line, the quarterback and the offense as a whole better.

This is still a very athletic group that can get to the perimeter with "pin and pull" plays, toss sweeps, wide zones, and a quick passing game. 

Eagle fans might need to be a tad patient because everything is new and might need some time and reps to become very efficient.

By mid-October I think we will see a transformative offense where the playmakers are going to have a chance to be very productive. Last season the Birds lead the NFL in three-and-outs. 

Thats a dubious stat that should be reduced a great deal as the season progresses.

In this case, change will be good. *