Denver Johnson

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Denver Johnson
Current position
TitleOffensive line coach
TeamLindenwood
ConferenceOVC
Biographical details
Born (1958-10-17) October 17, 1958 (age 65)
Seminole, Oklahoma, U.S.
Playing career
1976–1980Tulsa
1981–1982Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1983–1984Los Angeles Express
1985Houston Gamblers
Position(s)Tackle
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1985Oklahoma State (GA)
1986–1988UT Martin (AHC/OL)
1989–1992Oklahoma State (OL)
1993–1995Mississippi State (OL)
1996Oklahoma (OL)
1997–1999Murray State
2000–2008Illinois State
2009–2010Colorado (OL)
2011–2014Tulsa (OL)
2015–2018Missouri Southern
2020–presentLindenwood (OL)
Head coaching record
Overall72–99
Tournaments1–1 (NCAA D-I-AA playoffs)

Denver Johnson (born October 17, 1958) is an American football coach and former player. Johnson was the head football coach at Murray State University from 1997 to 1999 and at Illinois State University from 2000 to 2008, and Missouri Southern State University from 2015 to 2018 compiling a career college football record of 72–99. Formerly, he was the offensive line coach for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane from 2011 to the end of the 2014 season.[1] Johnson was let go when head coach Bill Blankenship was fired on December 1, 2014.

Coaching career[edit]

Johnson was the 20th head football coach for the Illinois State Redbirds in Normal, Illinois and he held that position for nine seasons, from 2000 until November 22, 2008. Johnson resigned from the program after the Redbirds final game of the 2008 season, a game they lost against Southern Illinois University in overtime, 17–10.[2] His overall coaching record at ISU was 48–54. This ranks him third at ISU in terms of total wins and eighth at ISU in terms of winning percentage.[3]

Prior to coaching at Illinois State, Johnson was the head coach at Murray State University. He was offensive line coach for Colorado in 2009 and 2010, then moved to Tulsa for the 2011 season to join the coaching staff of Bill Blankenship, who had been his college teammate at Tulsa.[1]

On April 1, 2015, Johnson was named the head coach of the Missouri Southern Lions.[4] Johnson resigned from Missouri Southern after three games into the 2018 season.[5]

In 2020, Johnson was hired as the offensive line coach for Lindenwood.[6]

Head coaching record[edit]

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs TSN#
Murray State Racers (Ohio Valley Conference) (1997–1999)
1997 Murray State 7–4 5–2 T–2nd
1998 Murray State 7–4 5–2 T–2nd 24
1999 Murray State 7–4 5–2 2nd
Murray State: 21–12 15–6
Illinois State Redbirds (Missouri Valley Football Conference / Gateway Football Conference) (2000–2008)
2000 Illinois State 7–4 4–2 T–2nd
2001 Illinois State 2–9 2–5 T–6th
2002 Illinois State 6–5 4–3 T–3rd
2003 Illinois State 6–6 3–4 5th
2004 Illinois State 4–7 2–5 T–5th
2005 Illinois State 7–4 4–3 T–4th
2006 Illinois State 9–4 5–2 T–2nd L NCAA Division I Quarterfinal 8
2007 Illinois State 4–7 2–4 T–5th
2008 Illinois State 3–8 2–6 8th
Illinois State: 48–54 28–34
Missouri Southern Lions (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) (2015–2018)
2015 Missouri Southern 1–10 1–10 11th
2016 Missouri Southern 2–9 2–9 T–10th
2017 Missouri Southern 0–11 0–11 12th
2018 Missouri Southern 0–3 0–3 resigned
Missouri Southern: 3–33 3–33
Total: 72–99

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Eric Bailey, "Tulsa names three football assistants", Tulsa World, January 18, 2011.
  2. ^ "Johnson resigns after ISU loss". Archived from the original on 9 January 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  3. ^ Illinois State Coaching Records Archived November 26, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Schremmer, Mark (March 31, 2015). "Lions to hire former Tulsa assistant as head coach | Local Sports". joplinglobe.com. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  5. ^ "Football Coach Denver Johnson Steps Down". Missouri Southern State University. September 18, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  6. ^ randy.reinhardt@lee.net, Randy Reinhardt (2023-09-22). "Denver Johnson returns to Hancock Stadium as Lindenwood assistant". pantagraph.com. Retrieved 2024-02-23.

External links[edit]