Pepper Johnson’s XFL career as a top assistant coach may have already come to an end.
After the team’s initial game this past weekend, the Los Angeles Wildcats have decided to part ways with Johnson just one game into the season.
XFL means business: Los Angeles Wildcats already have parted ways with DC Pepper Johnson.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 10, 2020
Johnson’s termination as the team’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach comes after a 37-17 defeat at the hands of the Houston Roughnecks in Week 1.
This wasn’t the first time Johnson had an abrupt ending to a coaching tenure, as he was coaching the Memphis Express in the Alliance for American Football before the league shut down suddenly last year.
Johnson spent 15 years in the NFL as an assistant coach, 13 of those years working for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots prior to joining the Buffalo Bills and then spending two seasons with the New York Jets.
Johnson began his NFL career as a draft pick of the New York Giants back in 1986 and spent seven seasons there, winning two Super Bowls with the team before playing elsewhere.
It’s unclear if Johnson will pursue other coaching gigs in the XFL or if he will try to look for work again in the NFL.
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