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University of Minnesota Athletics
In The Headset With Jay Johnson
12/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 31, 2015 
GopherSports: Coach, you are from Minnesota and now get to return home and be the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Gophers. How excited are you for that opportunity?
Jay Johnson: I am extremely excited. It is a great opportunity to come back home so to speak. I grew up there and have been a Gopher fan all my life, so to come back home and be closer to family and to be part of a great institution like the University of Minnesota is a very exciting opportunity for me.
GS: You were the offensive coordinator at nearby Augsburg in 1995, which was your first full-time job. Now things are coming full circle for you.
JJ: I was there only a year and it was very interesting because it was my first full-time college job. I am very thankful to the folks at Augsburg for giving me that opportunity to coach in that great league. It was neat to be from the area and to recruit the area. My dad was a longtime high school coach in Minnesota, so having all those connections and working locally was certainly unique. And here we are 20-some years later I get to come back across the river and have an opportunity to do the same thing at the University of Minnesota. It's a unique opportunity.
GS: You grew up in Minnesota and then went to college at Northern Iowa. Your coaching career has taken you all over the country. Have you always kept an eye on the Gophers?
JJ: Absolutely. I have been to several Gopher games. I read the news headlines and follow them. I always keep an eye on them and if I get a chance to watch them here and there then I will certainly do that. You know, growing up, that is what we did. We went to Gopher games and that is definitely part of my background. I have always kept an eye on the Gophers.
GS: Did you ever envision this as an opportunity? To have the chance to coach at your hometown school, 30 miles from where you grew up?
JJ: To be quite honest, it's kind of a dream of mine. As a player at Lakeville, I was recruited a little bit by the U and I think Coach Gutekunst was the coach at that time. To this day, I remember vividly going to junior day and wanting to be a part of it. It didn't work out, and I went to Northern Iowa. I would not have changed that for anything because we had a great team and a great program and it was a great experience. But quite frankly, yeah, I think it is something I have always dreamed of and to now have that dream come to be is very exciting.
GS: Let's talk a little football. Can you speak about your offensive philosophy and what you are looking to do at Minnesota?
JJ: I am blessed to come into an opportunity with Coach Claeys, who has a lot of expertise on defense and knows what kind of offense can give a defense trouble. Then I get to work with so many great offensive guys who have been in that system for years. I had a chance to play against these guys when they were back at Northern Illinois when I was at Central Michigan and have followed them for years. I really see our approach as being molding things together and tweaking a little bit of what they have and adding some things that we feel best fits our personality. At the end of the day, we are trying to get the 11 best players on the field and want to put them in situations where they can succeed. And being in Big Ten country, you need to be able to run the football. You need to run the football and then be able to make plays down the field. We are going to start there and then mold what we do offensively to what really best fits our football program. I think that is really key to keep in mind. Defense and special teams, it all fits together. Once we get settled in and get going that will be my main focus, to find out how to mold the offense to what is best for our entire football team.
GS: Have you had an opportunity to watch film yet?
JJ: I have not had a chance to watch a bunch of film yet. Sparingly, I watched the Michigan game on TV when we were done playing our game. But I have some familiarity and have talked with a bunch of coaches who are there to get a good feel for the personnel. Obviously, you have a guy in Mitch Leidner, who is from my home city of Lakeville. I hear nothing but positive things about his competitive spirit. I am really looking forward to working with him. I know they have some good young quarterbacks in the system who show promise as well. We can say all sorts of things, but in any level of football it all starts at that position. I am really excited to get in there and work together with those guys and to try and see if we can do some real positive things together. I have not had a chance to watch film per se, but I have certainly been asking and been trying to gain as much information as I could in researching this great opportunity.
GS: You played quarterback at Northern Iowa and led the Panthers to a 31-8 record and three conference championships. What are some traits you look for in a quarterback?
JJ: The No. 1 goal of the quarterback, in my opinion, is to get the 10 other players around him to play at a new level. If he can do that, then he is going to be pretty good. Then the receiver is going to make a great play and so will everyone else. That will move the chains and create more opportunity. That is the No. 1 goal and if they can get that done then they will do some really positive things. Then, in that position, and the amount of pressure on those guys, they have to play each play. I don't care how good the previous play was or how bad the previous play was. That can be hard sometimes with the challenges and pressure of that position. But that is what you have to have, an each-play mentality. Those will be the two things, which are really mental things that I am going to try and drive home. If we can get those two accomplished then we have a great opportunity to be successful.
GS: Let's finish with another Minnesota question. Is there something you are looking forward to experiencing again after spending so many years away from your home state?
JJ: I love fishing. I have been down fishing in the Gulf, so it will be nice to come back up and try to find those elusive walleyes again. I am looking forward to that. I am also a huge Twins fans and am looking forward to coming back and going to more games. I have been to one game at Target Field because I have not been able to get back that often, so I am really looking forward to taking in a few more Twins games. But really I am looking forward to just being in that city and state. It's a great place with a lot of really good people and I am really looking forward to being part of the community and university. I am just really excited.
Photo courtesy of Louisana Athletic Communications.
GopherSports: Coach, you are from Minnesota and now get to return home and be the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Gophers. How excited are you for that opportunity?
Jay Johnson: I am extremely excited. It is a great opportunity to come back home so to speak. I grew up there and have been a Gopher fan all my life, so to come back home and be closer to family and to be part of a great institution like the University of Minnesota is a very exciting opportunity for me.
GS: You were the offensive coordinator at nearby Augsburg in 1995, which was your first full-time job. Now things are coming full circle for you.
JJ: I was there only a year and it was very interesting because it was my first full-time college job. I am very thankful to the folks at Augsburg for giving me that opportunity to coach in that great league. It was neat to be from the area and to recruit the area. My dad was a longtime high school coach in Minnesota, so having all those connections and working locally was certainly unique. And here we are 20-some years later I get to come back across the river and have an opportunity to do the same thing at the University of Minnesota. It's a unique opportunity.
GS: You grew up in Minnesota and then went to college at Northern Iowa. Your coaching career has taken you all over the country. Have you always kept an eye on the Gophers?
JJ: Absolutely. I have been to several Gopher games. I read the news headlines and follow them. I always keep an eye on them and if I get a chance to watch them here and there then I will certainly do that. You know, growing up, that is what we did. We went to Gopher games and that is definitely part of my background. I have always kept an eye on the Gophers.
GS: Did you ever envision this as an opportunity? To have the chance to coach at your hometown school, 30 miles from where you grew up?
JJ: To be quite honest, it's kind of a dream of mine. As a player at Lakeville, I was recruited a little bit by the U and I think Coach Gutekunst was the coach at that time. To this day, I remember vividly going to junior day and wanting to be a part of it. It didn't work out, and I went to Northern Iowa. I would not have changed that for anything because we had a great team and a great program and it was a great experience. But quite frankly, yeah, I think it is something I have always dreamed of and to now have that dream come to be is very exciting.
GS: Let's talk a little football. Can you speak about your offensive philosophy and what you are looking to do at Minnesota?
JJ: I am blessed to come into an opportunity with Coach Claeys, who has a lot of expertise on defense and knows what kind of offense can give a defense trouble. Then I get to work with so many great offensive guys who have been in that system for years. I had a chance to play against these guys when they were back at Northern Illinois when I was at Central Michigan and have followed them for years. I really see our approach as being molding things together and tweaking a little bit of what they have and adding some things that we feel best fits our personality. At the end of the day, we are trying to get the 11 best players on the field and want to put them in situations where they can succeed. And being in Big Ten country, you need to be able to run the football. You need to run the football and then be able to make plays down the field. We are going to start there and then mold what we do offensively to what really best fits our football program. I think that is really key to keep in mind. Defense and special teams, it all fits together. Once we get settled in and get going that will be my main focus, to find out how to mold the offense to what is best for our entire football team.
GS: Have you had an opportunity to watch film yet?
JJ: I have not had a chance to watch a bunch of film yet. Sparingly, I watched the Michigan game on TV when we were done playing our game. But I have some familiarity and have talked with a bunch of coaches who are there to get a good feel for the personnel. Obviously, you have a guy in Mitch Leidner, who is from my home city of Lakeville. I hear nothing but positive things about his competitive spirit. I am really looking forward to working with him. I know they have some good young quarterbacks in the system who show promise as well. We can say all sorts of things, but in any level of football it all starts at that position. I am really excited to get in there and work together with those guys and to try and see if we can do some real positive things together. I have not had a chance to watch film per se, but I have certainly been asking and been trying to gain as much information as I could in researching this great opportunity.
GS: You played quarterback at Northern Iowa and led the Panthers to a 31-8 record and three conference championships. What are some traits you look for in a quarterback?
JJ: The No. 1 goal of the quarterback, in my opinion, is to get the 10 other players around him to play at a new level. If he can do that, then he is going to be pretty good. Then the receiver is going to make a great play and so will everyone else. That will move the chains and create more opportunity. That is the No. 1 goal and if they can get that done then they will do some really positive things. Then, in that position, and the amount of pressure on those guys, they have to play each play. I don't care how good the previous play was or how bad the previous play was. That can be hard sometimes with the challenges and pressure of that position. But that is what you have to have, an each-play mentality. Those will be the two things, which are really mental things that I am going to try and drive home. If we can get those two accomplished then we have a great opportunity to be successful.
GS: Let's finish with another Minnesota question. Is there something you are looking forward to experiencing again after spending so many years away from your home state?
JJ: I love fishing. I have been down fishing in the Gulf, so it will be nice to come back up and try to find those elusive walleyes again. I am looking forward to that. I am also a huge Twins fans and am looking forward to coming back and going to more games. I have been to one game at Target Field because I have not been able to get back that often, so I am really looking forward to taking in a few more Twins games. But really I am looking forward to just being in that city and state. It's a great place with a lot of really good people and I am really looking forward to being part of the community and university. I am just really excited.
Players Mentioned
Quarterback
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