Merv Johnson (American football)

Last updated

Merv Johnson
Biographical details
Born (1936-05-16) May 16, 1936 (age 88)
King City, Missouri, U.S.
Playing career
1955–1957 Missouri
Position(s) Tackle
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1960–1961Missouri (assistant)
1962–1974 Arkansas (assistant)
1975–1978 Notre Dame (OC)
1979–1997 Oklahoma (assistant)
1998–2012Oklahoma (DFO)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards

Merv Johnson (born May 16, 1936) is a former American football coach and executive.

Johnson was born in King City, Missouri in 1936. He attended the University of Missouri where he played football from 1955 to 1957, as a tackle. Johnson began his coaching career with the University of Arkansas as an assistant, then served as an assistant at Missouri from 1960 to 1961, Arkansas again from 1962 to 1974, Notre Dame from 1975 to 1978, and Oklahoma from 1979 to 1997. From 1998 to 2012, he was Oklahoma's Director of Football Operations. [1] [2] [3] He is a member of the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and has received the All-American Football Foundation's Mike Campbell Lifetime Achievement Award and National Football Foundation Integrity Award. [4] [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Jones</span> American businessman and Dallas Cowboys owner

Jerral Wayne Jones Sr. is an American businessman and the owner, president, and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He bought the team from Bum Bright in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Broyles</span> American college football coach, college athletic director (1924–2017)

John Franklin Broyles was an American college football player and coach, college athletics administrator, and broadcaster. He served as the head football coach for one season at the University of Missouri in 1957 and at the University of Arkansas from 1958 to 1976, compiling a career coaching record of 149–62–6. Broyles was also the athletic director at Arkansas from 1974 to 2007. His mark of 144–58–5 in 19 seasons at the helm of the Arkansas Razorbacks football gives him the most wins and the most coached games of any head coach in program history. With Arkansas, Broyles won seven Southwest Conference titles and his 1964 team was named a national champion by a number of selectors including the Football Writers Association of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Johnson (American football coach)</span> American football broadcaster, coach and executive (born 1943)

James William Johnson is an American sports analyst and former football coach. Johnson served as a head football coach on the collegiate level from 1979 to 1988 and in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He is the first head football coach to win both a college football national championship and a Super Bowl, achieving the former with University of Miami and the latter with the Dallas Cowboys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arkansas Razorbacks</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Arkansas

The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot in 1910 to the Arkansas Razorbacks after a hard-fought battle against LSU in which they were said to play like a "wild band of Razorback hogs" by former coach Hugo Bezdek. The Arkansas Razorbacks are the only major sports team in the U.S. with a porcine nickname, though the Texas A&M–Kingsville Javelinas play in Division II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oklahoma Sooners</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run of 1889, which initially opened the Unassigned Lands in the future state of Oklahoma to non-native settlement. The university's athletic teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I in the Southeastern Conference. The university's current athletic director is Joe Castiglione.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Snyder</span> American football player and coach (born 1939)

William D. Snyder is a retired college football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1989 to 2005 and again from 2009 to 2018. Snyder initially retired from the position from 2006 to 2008 before being rehired. Snyder retired for the second time on December 2, 2018, and is serving as a special ambassador for the athletics department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bud Wilkinson</span> American football player and coach; sports announcer (1916–1994)

Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of 145–29–4. His Oklahoma Sooners won three national championships and 14 conference titles. Between 1953 and 1957, Wilkinson's Oklahoma squads won 47 straight games, a record that still stands at the highest level of college football. After retiring from coaching following the 1963 season, Wilkinson entered into politics and, in 1965, became a broadcaster with ABC Sports. He returned to coaching in 1978, as head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons. Wilkinson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Pinkel</span> American football player and coach (born 1952)

Gary Robin Pinkel is a former American college football coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Toledo from 1991 to 2000 and the University of Missouri from 2001 to 2015, compiling career record of 191–110–3. Pinkel has the most wins of any head coach in the history of the Toledo Rockets football program and led the 1995 team to a Mid-American Conference championship. He also holds the record for most wins by a head coach of the Missouri Tigers football program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bennie Owen</span> American football player and sports coach (1875–1970)

Benjamin Gilbert Owen was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Washburn College, now Washburn University, in 1900, at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, from 1902 to 1904, and at the University of Oklahoma from 1905 to 1926, compiling a career college football record of 155–60–19. Owen was also the head basketball coach at Oklahoma from 1908 to 1921, tallying a mark of 113–49, and the head baseball coach at the school from 1906 to 1922, amassing a record of 142–102–4. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oklahoma Sooners football</span> Football team of the University of Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Sooners football team represents the University of Oklahoma (OU) in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level in the Big 12 Conference. The program began in 1895 and is one of the most successful in history, having won 944 games and possessing a .725 winning percentage, both sixth all-time. Oklahoma has appeared in the AP poll 897 times, including 101 No. 1 rankings, both third all-time. The program claims seven national championships, 50 conference championships, 167 first-team All-Americans, and seven Heisman Trophy winners. The school has had 29 former players and coaches inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and holds the record for the longest winning streak in Division I history with 47 straight victories. Oklahoma is also the only program with which four coaches have won more than 100 games each.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arkansas Razorbacks football</span> College football team of the University of Arkansas

The Arkansas Razorbacks football program represents the University of Arkansas in the sport of American football. The Razorbacks compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Home games are played at stadiums on or near the two largest campuses of the University of Arkansas System: Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville and War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Sam Pittman is the head coach and has served since 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oklahoma State Cowboys football</span> Football program representing Oklahoma State University–Stillwater

The Oklahoma State Cowboys football program represents Oklahoma State University–Stillwater in college football. The team is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. The Cowboys are led by Mike Gundy, who is in his 20th year as head coach. Oklahoma State plays its home games at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Switzer</span> American football player and coach (born 1937)

Barry Layne Switzer is an American former football coach. He served for 16 years as head football coach at the University of Oklahoma and four years as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He won three national championships at Oklahoma, and led the Cowboys to win Super Bowl XXX against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has one of the highest winning percentages of any college football coach in history, and is the second of only three head coaches to win both a college football national championship and a Super Bowl: the others are his Cowboys predecessor Jimmy Johnson and Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Cooper (American football)</span> American football player and coach (born 1986)

Jon Cooper is an American football coach and former player who is currently the tight ends coach at Mississippi State University. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings as a center. He played college football at Oklahoma and was signed by the Vikings in 2009.

Bill Blankenship is an American football coach and former player. He was the head coach of the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane from 2011 through 2014. Before entering the college ranks, Blankenship was a successful high school coach for over 20 years and was named to the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Fuente</span> American football player and coach (born 1976)

Justin James Fuente is an American football coach who currently serves as a football analyst for the Indiana Hoosiers. He was the head football coach at Virginia Tech from 2016 to 2021. He was the 2016 ACC Coach of the Year. Fuente was the head football coach at the University of Memphis from 2012 to 2015. He was an assistant at Texas Christian University from 2007 to 2011 and previously at Illinois State University from 2001 to 2006. Fuente attended the University of Oklahoma before transferring to Murray State University after his redshirt sophomore season. He played quarterback for both schools. Fuente played a single season with the Oklahoma Wranglers of the Arena Football League.

Chad Walker is an American football coach who last was the safeties coach for the Atlanta Falcons. Chad spent his first two seasons in Atlanta as the assistant defensive backs coach. He was formerly a quality control assistant at the University of Oklahoma before he joined the Falcons as a defensive assistant.

Kenneth Gwane Evans is a retired American football coach. Evans previously served as head football coach at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and East Central High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Evans has worked as an assistant coach at Oklahoma, Florida, North Texas, and Louisiana Tech.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Walters (American football)</span> American football player and coach (born 1985)

Ryan Walters is an American football coach and former safety, who is the current head football coach for the Purdue Boilermakers. He played college football for Colorado from 2004 to 2008. He then served as the defensive coordinator for the Missouri Tigers (2018–2020) and the Illinois Fighting Illini (2021–2022).

Brad Davis is an American football coach who is currently the offensive line coach at Louisiana State University.

References

  1. "Merv Johnson - Oklahoma Sooners". www.soonersports.com. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015.
  2. "Sooner Magazine". Archived from the original on August 24, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  3. "Tulsa Sports Charities Blog – Merv Johnson to Preview OU Football Season". www.tulsasportscharities.org. Archived from the original on August 25, 2013.
  4. Kersey, Jason Oklahoma football: Merv Johnson finds solace in work after his wife's death November 27, 2013
  5. "Forde: Been there, done that". November 3, 2004.