Former Husky OC John Donovan Resurfaces with New Job
John Donovan — the first offensive coordinator fired by the University of Washington with a football season still in progress — has rebounded with another coaching job.
On Monday, the Green Bay Packers announced they had hired Donovan, 47, as the final member of their 27-person coaching staff headed up by Matt LaFleur.
As a quality coach.
On defense.
Contrary to the Packers' news release, which said that Donovan was at the UW for the past two years, he lasted in Seattle just shy of 23 months and only 9 games into last season.
He was fired the day after the Huskies lost to Oregon 26-16 with three games remaining on the schedule.
Donovan was an unpopular hire from the beginning, with the UW fan base recognizing his coaching resume' was sorely limited in success as an offensive coordinator.
He had served as the offensive coordinator for Penn State and lasted for just two seasons in 2014 and 2015, coming from Vanderbilt, where he had the same role.
Since-departed Husky coach Jimmy Lake picked him up from the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he held assorted positions, the last as running-backs coach, but not as offensive coordinator.
The plan was for Donovan to install a run-first, pro-style offense, which Lake claimed was all the rage across the Pac-12.
Lake had such a tough time convincing people that this offense would work that he brought media members together before spring practice a year ago and showed them offensive footage with his commentary.
The Huskies went out and struggled to put up points this past season, averaging 21.5 per game, and couldn't run the ball at all, averaging 98.4 yards per outing.
Donovan is the ninth of Lake's 11-man coaching staff to find work. Only Lake and tight-ends coach Derham Cato, who has posted he is looking for a sales job, have not found new coaching positions.
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