Brian Johnson Promoted to Gators' OC, Makes History: 'It's Really Exciting'
A year after wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales and offensive line coach John Hevesy split the role of offensive coordinator, the position has a new man as some roles on the Florida Gators' offensive staff have been rearranged.
Head coach Dan Mullen still serves as the team's primary play-caller, but now, quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson owns sole possession of the offensive coordinator title. Gonzales and Hevesy remain in their positional roles.
"It’s really exciting," Johnson told the media on Monday of his promotion. "We have great players here and a great coaching staff. I’m excited to get that opportunity and help our team go out there and perform at a really high level.”
Johnson made note that his day-to-day responsibilities aren't likely to change much, as Mullen is still the leader of the offense and given the continuity among the staff leading to cohesion on gameday.
"We have a lot of continuity on our staff, so our schedule and our routine is pretty set in terms of how we operate on a daily basis," said Johnson. "In terms of game day, I’ve always been really heavily involved, myself and coach Mullen, determining how we call the game and what we’re calling and what we’re running."
This marks the third time Johnson has served as an offensive coordinator, first at his alma mater Utah from 2012-13, and a brief stint at Houston in 2017 before coming to Florida. Johnson originally reunited with Mullen, who was his quarterbacks coach at Utah in 2004, on Mississippi State's staff from 2014-16, serving as quarterbacks coach.
Johnson said that this move was discussed with Mullen prior to the coronavirus pandemic taking form, noting that the news got "lost in the sauce a little bit" in what's been a hectic year.
“It’s just a really unique situation because obviously I’ve known coach a really long time, worked together a really long time - as with everybody on the offensive staff with John and Billy and [running backs coach Greg] Knox, as well," said Johnson. "Even when we were at Mississippi State we had a system in place of how everything worked on game day and throughout the course of the week. It’s always been a really collaborative effort in terms of our plan."
Another aspect of the promotion for Johnson, as pointed out by Mark Long of the Associated Press: Johnson is the first Black offensive coordinator in program history. Prior to Johnson receiving the gig, the Associated Press analyzed that there were only seven Black offensive coordinators in the FBS, along with four co-offensive coordinators.
Johnson didn't realize that at first, but it's something that makes him proud.
“I didn’t realize that. If that is the case, it’s obviously something to be very, very proud of," Johnson said. "Coaching the quarterbacks is obviously a big deal, especially here at a place like the University of Florida, where they have a very rich tradition of elite quarterback play and there’s three statues downstairs that prove that. It does make you proud, if that is the case."
Entering the 2020 season, Johnson looks to coach up senior starting quarterback Kyle Trask to the same level of success that those players-turned-statues: Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel, and Tim Tebow, all Heisman Trophy Winners. Should Johnson help Trask find similar success as those three after earning the offensive coordinator promotion, a head coaching gig could be what comes calling next.
