
4. Moving David Johnson to running backs coach
David Johnson is a valuable coach regardless of what position he’s running. That’s because he has experience coaching all the positions on offense outside of quarterback. Sure, he was a wide receivers coach last year and in the two years prior with the Memphis Tigers.
And yes, he played receiver. But he’s also been a passing game coordinator, a tight ends coach, a special teams coordinator, a recruiting coordinator, and an offensive coordinator and head coach at the high school level.
Finally, he spent four years coaching both running backs and tight ends with the Tulane Green Wave before joining Memphis. As a result, Johnson is going to be as good in whatever role he coaches, so moving him to running back won’t change anything for Tennessee football.
His extensive knowledge of wide receiver may be greater than other positions, but he knows enough about running back to keep being an effective coach. The change is not as irrelevant as a defensive coordinator change when Jeremy Pruitt is head coach, and it has no negative impacts like getting rid of a Vol for Life.
That’s why we’ve put Johnson’s move ahead of the defensive coordinator/special teams switch and the defensive backs change. But it’s nothing to worry about or celebrate for people on Rocky Top. Tennessee football won’t notice a difference with running back play, and the fact that he replaces a former quarterback to coach the position could show improvement there. Let’s go to the coach he replaced for our next change.