Back in late December Scott Frost announced the hire of Will Johnson as the new defensive backs coach for the UCF program.
Johnson spent last season as the defensive backs coach at North Dakota State, who have been an FCS power for over a decade and were recently announced as the latest member of the Mountain West of the FBS ranks.
During his time with the Bison, Johnson helped NDSU capture a title in his first season on staff, and this past year they ranked third in FCS in passing yards allowed at just under 150 yards per game, and the secondary led all of FCS in pass efficiency defense and scoring defense while allowing just 13 points per game.
Johnson arrived on staff in Fargo after playing defensive back at Oklahoma for three seasons, and then attended NFL camps with the Jets and Eagles prior to the start of the 2018 season.
He would start his coaching career with stops on staffs at USC and Oklahoma, where he was mentored by current UCF defensive coordinator Alex Grinch for four seasons under Lincoln Riley. In his support staff role with those programs he assisted with meetings and drills for Trojans and Sooners defensive backs, and ran the scout team and assisted with special teams. He spent the 2020-21 seasons under Grinch at Oklahoma before making the move to Southern California for the 2022-23 seasons.
Now, less than eight weeks after his hire at UCF, Johnson is set to make a move to the NFL.
Multiple reports share today that Johnson is expected to join the staff of the Minnesota Vikings.
He becomes the second college coach today set to leave their college program to join Kevin O'Connell's staff. Earlier today we shared Chili Davis, who was recently promoted to special teams coordinator for Mike Locksley at Maryland, is also reportedly expected to join the staff.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.