Football
Johnson, Jay
vs
TCU
Oct 4 (Sat)
5:30 p.m.
Jay Johnson
- Title:
- Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
- Email:
- cufb@colorado.edu
- Phone:
- 303-492-3214
Jay Johnson is in his first year on the Colorado staff as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, as he was one of the first two coaches hired by new CU head coach Mel Tucker, joining the Buffalo staff on Dec. 11, 2018.
Johnson, 49, is a veteran coach and administrator of 24 seasons, including nine as an offensive coordinator at three previous Football Bowl Subdivision institutions in addition to coaching quarterbacks, running backs and tight ends as a position coach. He came to Colorado from the University of Georgia, where he spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons as the offensive analyst for quality control.
At Georgia, he assisted in all off-field phases of game planning and recruiting, helping the Bulldogs to an overall record of 24-4 in his two years on Kirby Smart’s staff. UGA won the 2018 Rose Bowl/CFP semifinal over Oklahoma in a wild 54-48 double overtime thriller, advancing to the College Football Playoff Championship game, where Alabama had to rally to defeat Georgia in overtime, 26-23.
He joined the Georgia staff from the University of Minnesota, where he spent the 2016 season as the Gophers’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, calling the plays for head coach Tracy Claeys. UM posted a 9-4 record which included a 17-12 win over Washington State in the Holiday Bowl as the Gophers averaged their third highest point total – 29.3 – on offense in 70 seasons.
As the University of Louisiana’s (former UL-Lafayette) offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for five seasons (2011-15), the Ragin’ Cajuns were one of the most electrifying offenses annually in the nation. Louisiana constantly ranked in the top 30 in most major offensive categories, often higher in red zone efficiency, as in 2012 ULL led the nation with a 94.8 percentage (55 scores in 58 tries; 44 touchdowns and no turnovers). He coached quarterbacks Blaine Gautier and Terrance Broadway to top 20 finishes in passing efficiency and was part of 40 victories, which included four straight 9-4 campaigns.
In one season as Central Michigan’s quarterbacks coach, he tutored Ryan Radcliff to top 15 rankings in passing yards and the Chippewas to the No. 17 passing offense in the nation. He had gone to CMU from the University of Louisville, where he was one of the first in the nation to work in quality control in the collegiate ranks in 2008 (the role first developed years earlier in the National Football League). He returned to the field in 2009 as the Cardinals’ tight ends coach, also assisting in all facets of special teams.
He was a three-time All-Gateway Conference performer at quarterback for Northern Iowa, leading the Panthers to a 31-8 record, three conference titles and three Division I-AA playoff appearances (3-3 record) his sophomore through senior seasons (1990-92). Playing for coach Terry Allen, Johnson set numerous school records at the time in completing 504 of 970 passes for 8,341 yards, with 60 touchdowns against 35 interceptions (a 137.4 NCAA rating). UNI was 12-2 his senior year, reached the I-AA semifinals and was ranked No. 3 in the final coaches poll of the season. A captain for the Panthers as both a junior and senior, a teammate was future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, who took over for him for the 1993 season.
After his collegiate playing days, he moved to Columbia, Mo., to attend graduate school at the University of Missouri and simultaneously began his coaching career in 1993 as an assistant coach at the city’s largest high school, Hickman. The following spring, he was a graduate assistant for the Tigers while finishing his degree.
His first full-time position soon followed, as he was the offensive and recruiting coordinator at Division III Augsburg (Minn.) College in the fall of 1994. He would spend the next two seasons (1995-96) back in the state of Missouri as the offensive coordinator at Truman State, where the Bulldogs were prolific on offense, averaging over 400 yards and 30 points on offense his two years in Kirksville.
He then “crossed state lines” and became a graduate assistant at the University of Kansas for the 1997 and 1998 seasons, where he was reunited with his college head coach at UNI, Terry Allen; he had the responsibility of developing the quarterbacks and helping KU enter the computer age in the area of breakdowns and analysis. Allen promoted him to a full-time coach in charge of the quarterbacks in 1999, and in 2001 switched him to running backs coach, with Johnson also working heavily with the special teams all three seasons in Lawrence.
After taking a year off from coaching in 2002, he was named tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Southern Mississippi under its longtime head coach, Jeff Bower for the 2003 season. Johnson then coached the running backs in 2004, and in 2005, he took the reins as offensive coordinator for the next three seasons, the final three years of Bower’s 18-year run as the Golden Eagles head coach. In his final season there, USM established a school record for total offense, eclipsing the 5,000-yard mark for the first time in finishing with 5,066 yards.
Johnson graduated from Northern Iowa in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in Science (minor in Coaching), earning his way on the Dean’s List. While in Columbia, he received his Master’s Exercise Sciences from the Missouri, with an emphasis in exercise physiology, earning the Superior Graduate Achievement Award with a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average.
He was born September 18, 1969 in Austin, Minn., and graduated from Lakeville (Minn.) High School, where he lettered in football, basketball and baseball. He is married to the former Lori Johnson, and the couple has a son, Cole (17).
AT-A-GLANCE—He has coached and/or worked as a quality control specialist in 239 Division I-A (FBS) games as a full-timer (139-103 record), including 12 bowl games (2003 Liberty, 2004 New Orleans, 2005 New Orleans, 2006 GMAC, 2007 PapaJohns.com, 2011 New Orleans, 2012 New Orleans, 2013 New Orleans, 2014 New Orleans, 2016 Holiday, 2017 Rose/CFP Semifinal, 2017 CFP Championship).
COACHING EXPERIENCE
1993 Hickman H.S. (Columbia) Assistant Coach (quarterbacks, receivers, secondary)
1994 Missouri Graduate Assistant (offense; spring only)
1994 Augsburg (Minn.) College Offensive Coordinator/Recruiting Coordinator
1995-96 Truman State Offensive Coordinator
1997-98 Kansas Graduate Assistant (offense)
1999-2000 Kansas Quarterbacks
2001 Kansas Running Backs
2003 Southern Mississippi Running Backs
2004 Southern Mississippi Tight Ends
2005-07 Southern Mississippi Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2008 Louisville Quality Control/Offense
2009 Louisville Tight Ends
2010 Central Michigan Quarterbacks
2011-15 Louisiana Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2016 Minnesota Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2017-18 Georgia Quality Control/Offense
2019- Colorado Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Johnson, 49, is a veteran coach and administrator of 24 seasons, including nine as an offensive coordinator at three previous Football Bowl Subdivision institutions in addition to coaching quarterbacks, running backs and tight ends as a position coach. He came to Colorado from the University of Georgia, where he spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons as the offensive analyst for quality control.
At Georgia, he assisted in all off-field phases of game planning and recruiting, helping the Bulldogs to an overall record of 24-4 in his two years on Kirby Smart’s staff. UGA won the 2018 Rose Bowl/CFP semifinal over Oklahoma in a wild 54-48 double overtime thriller, advancing to the College Football Playoff Championship game, where Alabama had to rally to defeat Georgia in overtime, 26-23.
He joined the Georgia staff from the University of Minnesota, where he spent the 2016 season as the Gophers’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, calling the plays for head coach Tracy Claeys. UM posted a 9-4 record which included a 17-12 win over Washington State in the Holiday Bowl as the Gophers averaged their third highest point total – 29.3 – on offense in 70 seasons.
As the University of Louisiana’s (former UL-Lafayette) offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for five seasons (2011-15), the Ragin’ Cajuns were one of the most electrifying offenses annually in the nation. Louisiana constantly ranked in the top 30 in most major offensive categories, often higher in red zone efficiency, as in 2012 ULL led the nation with a 94.8 percentage (55 scores in 58 tries; 44 touchdowns and no turnovers). He coached quarterbacks Blaine Gautier and Terrance Broadway to top 20 finishes in passing efficiency and was part of 40 victories, which included four straight 9-4 campaigns.
In one season as Central Michigan’s quarterbacks coach, he tutored Ryan Radcliff to top 15 rankings in passing yards and the Chippewas to the No. 17 passing offense in the nation. He had gone to CMU from the University of Louisville, where he was one of the first in the nation to work in quality control in the collegiate ranks in 2008 (the role first developed years earlier in the National Football League). He returned to the field in 2009 as the Cardinals’ tight ends coach, also assisting in all facets of special teams.
He was a three-time All-Gateway Conference performer at quarterback for Northern Iowa, leading the Panthers to a 31-8 record, three conference titles and three Division I-AA playoff appearances (3-3 record) his sophomore through senior seasons (1990-92). Playing for coach Terry Allen, Johnson set numerous school records at the time in completing 504 of 970 passes for 8,341 yards, with 60 touchdowns against 35 interceptions (a 137.4 NCAA rating). UNI was 12-2 his senior year, reached the I-AA semifinals and was ranked No. 3 in the final coaches poll of the season. A captain for the Panthers as both a junior and senior, a teammate was future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, who took over for him for the 1993 season.
After his collegiate playing days, he moved to Columbia, Mo., to attend graduate school at the University of Missouri and simultaneously began his coaching career in 1993 as an assistant coach at the city’s largest high school, Hickman. The following spring, he was a graduate assistant for the Tigers while finishing his degree.
His first full-time position soon followed, as he was the offensive and recruiting coordinator at Division III Augsburg (Minn.) College in the fall of 1994. He would spend the next two seasons (1995-96) back in the state of Missouri as the offensive coordinator at Truman State, where the Bulldogs were prolific on offense, averaging over 400 yards and 30 points on offense his two years in Kirksville.
He then “crossed state lines” and became a graduate assistant at the University of Kansas for the 1997 and 1998 seasons, where he was reunited with his college head coach at UNI, Terry Allen; he had the responsibility of developing the quarterbacks and helping KU enter the computer age in the area of breakdowns and analysis. Allen promoted him to a full-time coach in charge of the quarterbacks in 1999, and in 2001 switched him to running backs coach, with Johnson also working heavily with the special teams all three seasons in Lawrence.
After taking a year off from coaching in 2002, he was named tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Southern Mississippi under its longtime head coach, Jeff Bower for the 2003 season. Johnson then coached the running backs in 2004, and in 2005, he took the reins as offensive coordinator for the next three seasons, the final three years of Bower’s 18-year run as the Golden Eagles head coach. In his final season there, USM established a school record for total offense, eclipsing the 5,000-yard mark for the first time in finishing with 5,066 yards.
Johnson graduated from Northern Iowa in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in Science (minor in Coaching), earning his way on the Dean’s List. While in Columbia, he received his Master’s Exercise Sciences from the Missouri, with an emphasis in exercise physiology, earning the Superior Graduate Achievement Award with a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average.
He was born September 18, 1969 in Austin, Minn., and graduated from Lakeville (Minn.) High School, where he lettered in football, basketball and baseball. He is married to the former Lori Johnson, and the couple has a son, Cole (17).
AT-A-GLANCE—He has coached and/or worked as a quality control specialist in 239 Division I-A (FBS) games as a full-timer (139-103 record), including 12 bowl games (2003 Liberty, 2004 New Orleans, 2005 New Orleans, 2006 GMAC, 2007 PapaJohns.com, 2011 New Orleans, 2012 New Orleans, 2013 New Orleans, 2014 New Orleans, 2016 Holiday, 2017 Rose/CFP Semifinal, 2017 CFP Championship).
COACHING EXPERIENCE
1993 Hickman H.S. (Columbia) Assistant Coach (quarterbacks, receivers, secondary)
1994 Missouri Graduate Assistant (offense; spring only)
1994 Augsburg (Minn.) College Offensive Coordinator/Recruiting Coordinator
1995-96 Truman State Offensive Coordinator
1997-98 Kansas Graduate Assistant (offense)
1999-2000 Kansas Quarterbacks
2001 Kansas Running Backs
2003 Southern Mississippi Running Backs
2004 Southern Mississippi Tight Ends
2005-07 Southern Mississippi Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2008 Louisville Quality Control/Offense
2009 Louisville Tight Ends
2010 Central Michigan Quarterbacks
2011-15 Louisiana Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2016 Minnesota Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
2017-18 Georgia Quality Control/Offense
2019- Colorado Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
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