The Florida Gators Say Goodbye To Brian Johnson, An Inevitable and Bittersweet Farewell
Updated: Jan 31, 2021
The dust around Florida Gators coaching staff seemed to have settled. Outside interviews had been conducted, firings had been finished and promotions were complete.
Then, the news came.
Offensive Coordinator Brian Johnson is moving on to the NFL, where he has taken a job as the quarterbacks coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. Head Coach Dan Mullen had his replacement in place within 24 hours; an in-house promotion of defensive analyst Garrick McGee to OC.
Johnson had interviewed for several jobs in the college football ranks earlier in the month and was also rumored to be in consideration for the newly opened head coaching position with the UCF Knights. But after the initial rush of interviews were complete, it seemed safe the Gators would have Johnson for at least one more year.
It’s never been a secret that Johnson would move on sooner rather than later. He’s young (33), talented and extremely smart. He’s been with Mullen most of his career. The former Utah quarterback was coached by Mullen as a freshman then came on staff at Mississippi State as a quarterbacks coach. Moving with the staff to Gainesville, Johnson tutored Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask then was named the first Black coordinator in program history.
When Johnson started getting head coaching consideration the last two months, his fellow staff members bragged on the candidate.
“He’s a dynamic person,” said Defensive Coordinator Todd Grantham of Johnson.
“He’s a great staff guy. He’s very knowledgeable about the offense and football in general. The other thing is he has a great relationship with his players and has the ability to communication. Anytime you can communicate with players and get them to believe -- belief is a powerful tool – and it allows you to get the most out of guys. I think those are the things that he does a really good job of.”
Running back Nay’Quan Wright echoed Grantham, saying, “Coach Brian – Coach Johnson as we call him – he’s a cool guy, a great coach. He’s very knowledgeable. He’s good with all his players. He’s a player coach. We just feed off his energy. He come out to practice fired up.
“He been under Coach Mullen for a while, so I mean, Coach Mullen is a great head coach and I’m pretty sure he is going to take some traits, what Coach Mullen is doing and the programs that he have been in and also he is going to have some of his own little recipes he want to add to the wrinkles that he thinks. But I think Coach Johnson will make a pretty huge head coach. I can see it in the years to come.”
The Eagles job isn’t a head coaching position or even coordinator role. But it is in the NFL and for the competitor trait that drives coaches, it’s the ultimate goal. Proving he can make it as a QB coach, then a coordinator and eventually a head coach is what each person in this field dreams of doing. Furthermore, Johnson needs to prove he can do it out from underneath the Mullen umbrella. Although Johnson was the offensive coordinator and play caller, he still had Mullen there as a safety net. Whether or not it was used is of little matter to those conducting interviews. All they see is simply that it existed.
And it’s understandable. Mullen has meant everything to Johnson over the years. Brian Johnson would be the first to say so.
“I’ve known Coach for a really long time, since I was 16 years old, and I don't know if I could put into words the amount of respect that I have for him, not only as a football coach but as a person,” said Johnson during the 2020 season.
“I've learned a tremendous amount from him, not just about football, just about life in general. I'm just really appreciative of everything that he's done for me throughout the course of my time as a player and throughout the course of my career as a coach, and I can't say enough great things about Coach and what he means as a person to me specifically and to our program overall.”
Now he’s out to prove he can win without him. And the Gators are going to have to prove (remind) people that Dan Mullen is still one of the best play callers and quarterback developers in the country.
On Thursday in Mobile, Alabama at the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl, mere hours after news broke of Johnson moving on to the Eagles, his former quarterback—Feleipe Franks—bragged on Johnson. He also made it clear it’s not as simple as “replacing” him.
“First of all I’m excited for Coach Johnson going to the Eagles, he deserves it. I had the opportunity to be with him there for a couple of years and he really helped me a lot. I really just proud for him.
“I wouldn’t say really to replace him. He’s a great guy, an even better coach and I’m really proud for him for making it that far.”
You can’t really replace Brian Johnson. Which is why the Gators promoted McGee.
McGee has been an Offensive Coordinator over the years at Northwestern, Arkansas, Louisville and Illinois. He spent two seasons (2012-2013) as the head coach of the UAB Blazers. He was an analyst and then wide receivers coach with the Missouri Tigers before coming to Florida and spending the 2020 season as a defensive analyst.
The fact Mullen and the Gators were able to make the move so swiftly and promote from within indicates that was the contingency plan all along if Johnson was hired from any of the number of interviews he took the past month.
McGee isn’t a lazy hire, but one could certainly call it safe. The close knit Mullen staff requires time to crack. Promoting from within meant Mullen could bring along someone he was at least comfortable with and give him a job that very well may be in title only. Mullen and wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales are capable of calling plays again, as they had done before Johnson was named OC. That allows McGee time to earn their trust to call the plays.
It was always a given Brian Johnson would move on. Now he heads into the next great phase of his already stellar career, ready to prove he’s capable of standing on his own, but always as a proud bragging point for the Florida Gators.
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