Oklahoma is reportedly hiring former Duke offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kevin Johns.
Per SoonerScoop’s George Stoia, Johns will join Brent Venables' staff as an offensive analyst under new offensive coordinator Seth Littrell. Johns took the Duke gig in 2022 after spending three seasons as OC and quarterbacks coach at Memphis.
In his first season at Duke, Johns helped quarterback Riley Leonard to an All-ACC honorable mention selection in 2022.
But the Blue Devils’ air game game struggled in 2023 as Duke finished 14th in the conference in passing touchdowns, 13th in completion percentage and 13th in efficiency with Leonard and Grayson Loftin at quarterback (Leonard was hurt after game No. 5 against Notre Dame).
Johns, 48, spent a year at Western Michigan in 2017 and Texas Tech in 2018. At Indiana, where Johns was co-OC from 2011-13 and OC from 2014-16, Johns’ offense produced a 3,500-yard passer, two 1,000-yard rushers and a 1,000-yard passer as the Hoosiers led the Big Ten in scoring offense on 36.5 points a game under Kevin Wilson.
At Memphis in 2019, Johns’ offense under Mike Norvell ranked seventh nationally in passing yards, eighth in scoring offense, ninth in yards per completion and 10th in total offense.
According to his Duke bio, Johns was a GA under Randy Walker and Wilson at Northwestern University from 1999-2001, then returned to Evanston from 2004-10 (running backs from 2004-05, wide receivers and recruiting coordinator from 2006-07 seasons, and passing game coordinator from 2008-10).
He also coached at Richmond (defensive ends in 2003, wide receivers in 2002), and Piqua High School in Ohio as the quarterbacks and defensive secondary coach (1998).
Johns was a three-year letterwinner and two-year starter at the University of Dayton (1995-97), where he helped the Flyers to a 20-1 record and landed Division I-AA All-America honors and was named Football Gazette Player of the Year in 1996. He was a two-time First Team All-Pioneer Football League performer in 1996 and 1997. He graduated first all-time on Dayton’s career total offensive yardage chart with 4,252, first in highest passing efficiency (151.1), and third in career passing yards (3,572).
Johns graduated from Dayton with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1998 and received his master’s degree from Northwestern in educational administration in 2001.
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