Brian Johnson is in his fourth campaign as the head football athletic performance coach at Cal in 2024 after spending the previous 11 seasons on strength and conditioning staffs at FBS schools and in the NFL. In his most recent position before joining the Golden Bears in 2021, Johnson spent three campaigns as the director of strength and conditioning at Arizona (2018-20), where he heavily implemented sports science while also working as a liaison between the football program and the university's Center for Innovation in Brain Science. Johnson started his professional working career as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Florida State (2010-11) before being hired as the head strength and conditioning coach at Akron at the age of 27. He spent the offseason prior to the 2012 campaign at Akron before his alma mater LSU came calling. For the next three seasons (2012-14), he was an assistant strength and conditioning coordinator with the Tigers then held similar roles with the San Francisco 49ers (2015-16) and at Texas A&M (2017) before moving on to Arizona.
Johnson was a member of bowl staffs and winning teams in each of his first six collegiate seasons as a coach, starting with two campaigns at Florida State (2010-11) before three at LSU (2012-14) and one at Texas A&M (2017), with three of his first four teams (2010, '11, '13) each winning 10 contests. He added a seventh bowl game to his resume with the 2023 Cal squad.
Johnson has coached 80 players during his 12 collegiate seasons that have been selected for the NFL Draft including a total of 11 first-rounders highlighted by six in 2013 while at LSU.
Coaching Career
California – Head Football Athletic Performance Coach (2021 – Present)
– Helped Cal secure bowl-eligibility and a Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl selection in 2023 after wins in each of its final three regular-season games at home against Washington State and then on the road at state rivals Stanford and UCLA
– Cal averaged 172.8 yards on the ground per game in 2023, which was fourth in the Pac-12 and the Bears' highest mark since 2012, including four games of 235 or more yards with a 357-yard rushing game in the season-opener at North Texas that was the most by the Bears since since rushing for 431 against Washington in 2008
– Cal's 2023 defense led the nation with 16 fumbles recovered and tied for the national lead with 28 turnovers gained, both leading the Pac-12
– Cal outscored its' 2022 opponents in the fourth quarter, 106-97, and highlighted its 2022 season with 21 fourth-quarter points to win the Big Game over Stanford in its 11th of 12 contests on the campaign
– Cal came on strong at the end of his first campaign in 2021 with four victories in its final six contests, including arguably its most impressive performance of the season in a 41-11 Big Game win that marked Cal's largest margin of victory against Stanford since 2004
– Teams have won their final regular-season game in three of his first four campaigns
– Helped Daniel Scott be selected in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft by Indianapolis after shining at the 2023 NFL Combine with a time of 4.45 in the 40-yard dash to rank second among 19 safeties, while recording the top time in his position group for the 3-cone drill (6.75) and 20-yard shuttle (4.17), as well as being in the top five for safeties in the broad jump (10' 8", 4th), bench press (22, 4th), vertical jump (39.50", 5th) and 10-yard split (1.55, T-5th)
– Had Cameron Goode (Miami Dolphins) and Elijah Hicks (Chicago Bears) taken in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft, while Patrick McMorris (Miami Dolphins) was selected in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft
Arizona – Director Of Strength And Conditioning For Football (2018-20)
– Tenure was highlighted by a 44-15 victory over No. 19 Oregon in his first season in 2018 and a four-game win streak to open the 2019 campaign in which the Wildcats won the final three with fourth-quarter comebacks and outscored their opponents 25-3 in the final period
Texas A&M – Assistant Strength And Conditioning Coach (2017)
– Helped a 7-6 club to a berth in the Belk Bowl in his lone season with the Aggies
San Francisco 49ers – Assistant Strength And Conditioning Coach (2014-15)
– Helped the 49ers to an 8-8 record in his first season with the club in 2014
LSU – Assistant Strength And Conditioning Coordinator (2012-14)
– Helped LSU post a combined 28-11 record, finish ranked in the AP Top 25 three times (No. 14, 2012, 2013; No. 23, 2014) and reach three bowl games including a victory at the Outback Bowl (2013) during his three campaigns at his alma mater with the Tigers going 10-3 in 2012, 10-3 in 2013 and 8-5 in 2014
– Worked with seven players selected in the first round of the NFL Draft in Barkevious Mingo (2013), Eric Reid (2013), Odell Beckham Jr. (2013), Kelvin Benjamin (2014), Leonard Fournette (2017), Jamal Adams (2017) and Tre'Davious White (2017)
– Served as the football program's academic liaison
Akron – Head Strength And Conditioning Coach For Football (2012 Offseason)
– Spent the offseason between the 2011 and 2012 campaigns as the head strength and conditioning coach for football before returning to his alma mater LSU before the beginning of the 2012 season
Florida State – Assistant Strength And Conditioning Coordinator (2010-11)
– Helped squad to a combined 19-8 record, including victories in the Chick-fil-A Bowl (2010) and Champs Sports Bowl (2011) in his first two seasons as an assistant strength and conditioning coach, with the Seminoles ranked as high as No. 16 in 2010 when they recorded a 10-4 mark and No. 5 in 2011 before finishing 9-4
– Worked with four players selected in the first round of the NFL Draft in Christian Ponder (2011), Eli Manuel (2013), Xavier Rhodes (2013) and Björn Werner (2013)
NFL Playing Career – Baltimore (2008-09); Tampa Bay (2007); Arizona (2007)
– Signed as an undrafted free agent with the Arizona Cardinals in 2007 but was released after training camp before spending a pair of seasons on practice squads with playoff teams for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2007) and Baltimore Ravens (2008), as well as a second and final campaign on injured reserve with Baltimore in 2009
Collegiate Playing Career
LSU (2002-06)
– Played in 44 games with 28 starts during five seasons as an offensive lineman with his teams combining for a 54-13 overall record, one national championship (2003), one SEC title (2003), two SEC Championship Games (2003, '05), three bowl victories (2003 Sugar Bowl, 2005 Peach Bowl, 2006 Sugar Bowl) and bowl appearances in each of his five campaigns
– Earned second-team All-SEC honors as a fifth-year senior in 2006
Other
– A certified strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
– Certified in Functional Range Conditioning
– Holds a USA Weightlifting Level 1 Coaching Certification and is a certified Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES) through the National Academy of Sports Medicine
Year-By-Year Coaching Positions
Seasons: Team – Position (Postseason)
2010: Florida State – Assistant Strength And Conditioning Coach (ACC Atlantic Division Champion, ACC Championship Game, Chick-fil-A Bowl)
2011: Florida State – Assistant Strength And Conditioning Coach (Champs Sports Bowl)
2012 (Offseason): Akron – Head Strength And Conditioning Coach For Football
2012: LSU – Assistant Strength And Conditioning Coordinator (Chick-fil-A Bowl)
2013: LSU – Assistant Strength And Conditioning Coordinator (Outback Bowl)
2014: LSU – Assistant Strength And Conditioning Coordinator (Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl)
2015: San Francisco 49ers – Assistant Strength And Conditioning Coach
2016: San Francisco 49ers – Assistant Strength And Conditioning Coach
2017: Texas A&M – Assistant Strength And Conditioning Coach (Belk Bowl)
2018: Arizona – Director Of Strength And Conditioning For Football
2019: Arizona – Director Of Strength And Conditioning For Football
2020: Arizona – Director Of Strength And Conditioning For Football
2021: California – Head Football Athletic Performance Coach
2022: California – Head Football Athletic Performance Coach
2023: California – Head Football Athletic Performance Coach (Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl)
2024: California – Head Football Athletic Performance Coach
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Birthdate: March 24, 1984
Hometown: Tallahassee, FL
High School: Godby HS
College: LSU, 2006, BA, General Studies; Concordia University Irvine, MA, Coaching and Athletic Administration, 2019
Family: Wife – Angela; Son – Deacon; Daughter – Chandler
Last Updated
July 21, 2024
