Tag: John Donovan

A look back at James Franklin’s first staff at Penn State, where are they now?

Where is every member of James Franklin’s first Penn State staff today?

[autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] has become known as a pipeline of sorts for sending members of his coaching staff to open jobs all over the country. Whether it be coordinators to head coaching roles or position coaches to coordinators. No matter the role, James Franklin has shown he not only raises his players, but also his staff.

For example, the return of offensive coordinator [autotag]Mike Yurcich[/autotag] this year will be the first time since 2018-2019 that the Nittany Lions have had the same offensive coordinator for two seasons. Again, that isn’t a bad thing. Like players, you want coaches to grow and move on because it creates relationships everywhere.

Looking back to 2014 when James Franklin made the move from Vanderbilt, his first staff has some big names now that have worked on their own to build a legacy. Check out where they are and have gone since that first season nearly eight years ago under James Franklin.

Former Penn State offensive coordinator hired by NFL team

John Donovan, James Franklin’s first offensive coordinator at Penn State, just landed an NFL job for 2022.

Penn State head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] has always taken pride in sticking with his guys on his coaching staff, which made it hard when the time came to finally part ways with one assistant that just wasn’t working out in Happy Valley early on in his tenure with the Nittany Lions. John Donovan was Franklin’s first offensive coordinator at Penn State, carrying over the position he held on Franklin’s staff at Vanderbilt prior to their arrival in State College.

But after two seasons, Donovan was relieved of his duties and Franklin went in another direction with [autotag]Joe Moorhead[/autotag]. Safe to say, that worked out quite well for Franklin, Moorhead, and Penn State.

Meanwhile, Donovan has continued his coaching career with multiple stops since his departure. Now, he is returning to the NFL to serve as a senior analyst.

The Green Bay Packers put the finishing touches on their football staff for the upcoming 2022 NFL season this week. Among the additions to the staff was Donovan as a senior analyst for Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.

The former Penn State offensive coordinator joins the Packers after a two-year run as the offensive coordinator for the Washington Huskies, with the Pac-12 program ranking 115th in total offense in 2021 and 57th in 2020.

Since his departure from Penn State, Donovan has been an offensive quality control coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, followed by two seasons as an offensive assistant for the Jaguars, and a season as the assistant running backs coach before returning to the college game on Washington’s staff in 2020.

Here is an update on where Franklin’s former Penn State offensive coordinators are entering the 2022 season.

  • John Donovan (Penn State offensive coordinator 2014-2015): Green Bay Packers senior analyst
  • Joe Moorhead (Penn State offensive coordinator 2016-2017): Akron head coach
  • [autotag]Ricky Rahne[/autotag] (Penn State offensive coordinator 2018-2019): Old Dominion head coach
  • [autotag]Kirk Ciarrocca[/autotag] (Penn State offensive coordinator 2020): Minnesota offensive coordinator and quarterback coach
  • [autotag]Mike Yurcich[/autotag] (Penn State offensive coordinator 2021-present)

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Packers hire John Donovan as senior analyst on Matt LaFleur’s coaching staff

John Donovan was hired by Packers coach Matt LaFleur as a senior analyst who will work on the defensive staff.

The Gren Bay Packers hired John Donovan as a senior analyst to complete Matt LaFleur’s coaching staff for the 2022 NFL season.

Donovan, a collegiate defensive back, has been coaching football since 1997, mostly at the college level. He was an offensive assistant for four years (2016-19) with the Jacksonville Jaguars, providing the connection to former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. Over the last two seasons, he was the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for Jimmy Lake at the University of Washington.

Donovan, 47, will be working on the defensive side of the football for LaFleur, giving the defensive staff an offensive mind in the room.

Washington fired Donovan as offensive coordinator with three games to go in the regular season in 2021.

Packers 2022 coaching staff

Adam Stenavich – Offensive Coordinator
Jason Vrable – Wide Receivers/Passing Game Coordinator
Luke Butkus – Offensive Line
Tom Clements – Quarterbacks
John Dunn – Tight Ends
Ben Sirmans – Running Backs
Connor Lewis – Assistant Quarterbacks
Ryan Mahaffey – Assistant Offensive Line
Quinshon Odom – Coaching Assistant (Minority Fellowship)
Ramsen Golpashin – Offensive Quality Control

Joe Barry – Defensive Coordinator
Jerry Gray – Defensive Backs/Passing Game Coordinator
Jerry Montgomery – Defensive Line/Running Game Coordinator
Ryan Downard – Safeties
Kirk Olivadotti – Inside Linebackers
Jason Rebrovich – Outside Linebackers
John Donovan – Senior Analyst
Wendel Davis – Defensive Quality Control
Justin Hood – Defensive Quality Control

Rich Bisaccia – Special Teams Coordinator
Byron Storer – Assistant Special Teams
Micheal Spurlock – Special Teams Quality Control

Chris Gizzi – Strength & Conditioning Coordinator
Thadeus Jackson – Strength & Conditioning Assistant
Mark Lovat – Strength & Conditioning Assistant
Grant Thorne – Strength & Conditioning Assistant

Washington Huskies fire offensive coordinator after disastrous game vs. Oregon Ducks

After netting just 166 total yards vs. Oregon, the Huskies have decided to fire their offensive coordinator. Jimmy Lake stays standing.

The Washington Huskies weren’t particularly great in any aspect of the game against the Oregon Ducks on Saturday night, but the offense was downright abysmal.

With a total of 166 yards, 7 punts, and 7 first downs, the Huskies announced on Sunday that offensive coordinator John Donovan was fired. According to the report from Brett McMurphy, WR coach Junior Adams is assuming play-calling duties for the rest of the season.

There was some turmoil that stemmed from the game on the Husky side of things, especially after a video of Jimmy Lake hitting and pushing a player on the sideline surfaced online. The Washington AD said they were aware of the situation, and there was word that a decision about the team would be made on Sunday afternoon.

Some believed that Lake might lose his job, but it appears that just the OC is gone for now.

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