Florida made a bit of a shakeup to its staff this week ahead of its season opener against Ole Miss on Saturday. The Gators promoted quarterback coach Brian Johnson, who played at Utah under Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen in the early 2000s, to the position of offensive coordinator.
Previously, offensive line coach John Hevesy and wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales were the team’s co-offensive coordinators. Now, with some role changes, Johnson is the sole offensive coordinator, while Hevesy and Gonzales retain their position roles while taking on new rules of running-game coordinator and passing-game coordinator, respectively.
Johnson is the first Black man to occupy the position of offensive coordinator in the history of UF’s program. He said that while he wasn’t aware of that before, it’s something that he takes pride in.
“I didn’t realize that, but if that is the case, it’s obviously something to be very, very proud of,” he 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 obviously three statues down there that prove that, so it does make you proud.”
At just 33-years-old, Johnson likely has higher aspirations eventually. Asked if this promotion was a way to sway him to stay in Gainesville for another season instead of looking for outside jobs, the up-and-coming coach said that wasn’t the main reason for the decision.
“It’s something that coach Mullen and I have talked about for a little while, and I think for him it was just the perfect opportunity to kind of make everything fit into place, but like I say, I don’t know if just in terms of our day-to-day operation, I think we’ll continue to have a really collaborative effort,” he said. “And obviously, when your head coach is very involved in the offense, it’s a little bit different. But like I said, he knows that the ability to advance in this profession, being a quarterback coach is a pipeline to that. It’s something that’s his specialty, and he’s done a good job at helping me throughout the course of my career and helping me develop as a coach every single day.”
Johnson takes over an experienced offensive unit that returns its starting quarterback, most of its starting offensive line, and a number of skill position players. Expectations are high for UF’s offense in 2020, and Johnson will hope his first year running the show will be the best of Mullen’s three years in Gainesville.
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