Jerrod Terrel Johnson (born July 27, 1988) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player who is the

quarterbacks coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, associate and assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordina ...

for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

. Johnson was Texas A&M's starting quarterback from 2008 to 2010, finishing his collegiate career ranked first in school history with 8,011 passing yards and 8,888 yards total offense. He is currently second in school history in passing yards (behind Kellen Mond) and third in total offense (behind

Johnny Manziel Johnathan Paul Manziel ( ; born December 6, 1992), nicknamed "Johnny Football", is an American former football quarterback. He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies and was the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy. He played prof ...

and Kellen Mond). Johnson was signed by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2011 and would play in the NFL for six seasons with the Eagles,

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. Johnson's coaching career began in 2017; he held various assistant coaching roles on the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

and

Playing career

College

2006 season

Johnson saw no action during the 2006 football season as he was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

. He was also on the Aggie basketball team for a while during the 2006–07 basketball season, playing minor minutes under coach

Billy Gillispie Billy Clyde Gillispie ( ; born November 7, 1959), also known by his initials BCG and Billy Clyde, is an American college basketball and current men's basketball coach at Tarleton State. Gillispie had previously been head coach at UTEP, Texas ...

in three games against Big 12 opponents, recording just a single assist and no points or rebounds. He chose to focus on football after the season.

2007 season

During the 2007 football season Johnson backed up junior Stephen McGee at

. He took 20 snaps the entire season, and 13 of those 20 were running plays. He compiled 161 all-purpose yards for five touchdowns.

2008 season

Prior to Johnson's sophomore season, head coach

Mike Sherman Michael Francis Sherman (born December 19, 1954) is an American gridiron football coach and former player who most recently was the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was the head coach of the Green B ...

became the Aggies' new coach. During fall camp Johnson competed for the starting job with senior Stephen McGee, but lost out to the veteran team leader. Johnson was then moved to part-time receiver. He made his first catch vs

Arkansas State Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the state. The university ...

for a gain of 36 yards. His role as a wide receiver continued for only a brief period. In the second game of the season, vs New Mexico, Stephen McGee suffered a right shoulder sprain on the opening series. Johnson stepped in and completed 10-of-19 for 124 yards and 3 touchdowns. He returned to the wide receiver position against Army, but McGee re-injured his shoulder during the game, paving the way for Johnson to step in and lead Texas A&M to a victory. Against Kansas State, Johnson compiled 419 passing yards and 487 total offensive yards, setting then-single game school records in both categories. He threw for 381 yards and a career-best four touchdown passes against

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State be ...

. Johnson threw for a career-high of 4 interceptions against Baylor.

2009 season

Johnson and

Ryan Tannehill Ryan Timothy Tannehill III (born July 27, 1988) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies, playing wide receiver until his junior year, and was selected eighth overall by the Miami Dol ...

battled for the starting position during the 2009 offseason, but Johnson eventually prevailed. Johnson led the team to a 6–6 regular-season record including an upset road win at Texas Tech. He compiled a school-record 3,217 passing yards in the regular season, and also led the Big 12 in touchdown passes for the season. In the 2009

Independence Bowl The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bow ...

against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, he completed 29 of 58 passes for 362 yards and two touchdowns, but was sacked three times and intercepted twice in the loss. He was named Second-team All-Big 12 for his performance during the 2009 regular season.

2010 season

In the spring prior to his 2010 season, Johnson had

arthroscopic Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the j ...

shoulder surgery. He entered the 2010 season as the Preseason

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Okla ...

Offensive Player of the Year and a

dark horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person, team or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, that is unlikely to succeed but has a fighting chance, unlike the underdog who is exp ...

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

candidate. However, he failed to meet the high expectations. He threw nine interceptions in the first five games of the season, and then struggled in the 30–9 loss to Missouri. A sports editor noted that Johnson struggled with his accuracy and seemed to have less of a "zip" on his passes. During the ensuing Kansas game, he split time at quarterback with second-string

. Tannehill outperformed Johnson with his 12-for-16 passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson lost the starting job to Tannehill after the Kansas game. Over the first seven games, Johnson posted 158-of-279 passes for 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His passing efficiency rating was 125.4. He was also sacked 25 times on 304 plays. However, during the Kansas game, he raised his total career yardage to 8,888, breaking the school record of 8,876 held by Reggie McNeal from 2002 to 2005. He is the A&M career leader in both total offense (8,888 yards) and passing yards (8,011 yards). Johnson continued to stay on the sidelines for the remainder of the season. Despite losing the starting position, Johnson was noted for his humility.

College statistics

Professional

Johnson played in the 2011 East–West Shrine Game. A sports editor commented that Johnson had the least zip of all the quarterbacks who played, and did not throw like he used to during the 2009 season. He went undrafted in the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

Hartford Colonials

Johnson was selected first overall in the 2011 UFL Draft by the

Hartford Colonials The Hartford Colonials, originally the New York Sentinels, were a professional American football team that played in the United Football League in its 2009 and 2010 seasons. A charter member of the UFL, the Sentinels began play in 2009 nominall ...

. However, the Colonials went out of business and Johnson was a free agent.

Philadelphia Eagles

He signed as an undrafted free agent with the

on July 26, 2011. He was waived on August 13.

Arizona Rattlers

He was assigned to the

Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League ...

on September 27, 2011.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The

signed Johnson on January 13, 2012. They then cut him on August 31, 2012.

Sacramento Mountain Lions

Johnson signed with the

Sacramento Mountain Lions The Sacramento Mountain Lions were a professional American football team based in Sacramento, California that played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League. The franchise originated as the California Redwoods, and pl ...

in September 2012, serving as the team's backup quarterback. He became the team's starter in Week 2 of the 2012 season after an injury to starter Josh Johnson.

Seattle Seahawks

The

signed Johnson on April 24, 2013. He was released on June 14, after the Seahawks signed

Tarvaris Jackson Tarvaris D'Andre Jackson (April 21, 1983 – April 12, 2020) was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL). Jackson played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Alabama State ...

who had just been released by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

Chicago Bears

On September 1, 2013, Johnson was signed by the

to the practice squad. He was released on September 4, 2013, and was brought back on September 9. He was again removed from the practice squad on September 24. Johnson was re-signed by the Bears on December 30, 2013.

Baltimore Ravens

Johnson was signed by the

. On August 29, 2016, he was waived by the Ravens.

Dallas Cowboys

Johnson was signed by the

on September 1, 2016. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Cowboys.

Coaching career

San Francisco 49ers

In 2017, Johnson joined the

under the

Bill Walsh William Ernest Walsh (November 30, 1931 – July 30, 2007) was an American professional and college football coach. He served as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the Stanford Cardinal, during which time he popularized the West Coast off ...

Diversity Coaching Fellowship under head coach

Kyle Shanahan Kyle Michael Shanahan (born December 14, 1979) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta ...

Indianapolis Colts

In 2019, Johnson joined the

under the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. On February 17, 2020, Johnson was promoted to offensive quality control coach under head coach

Frank Reich Frank Michael Reich (; ; born December 4, 1961) is an American football coach and former player who is the interim head coach at Stanford University. He played 14 seasons as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He became a coac ...

Minnesota Vikings

In 2022, Johnson was hired by the

as their assistant quarterbacks coach under head coach Kevin O'Connell.

Houston Texans

On February 12, 2023, Johnson was hired by the

as their quarterbacks coach under head coach DeMeco Ryans, who Johnson had previously worked with in San Francisco. Johnson was part of the staff that led the Texans to a 10–7 regular season finish, the AFC South title, and a Wild Card Round victory over the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

and Johnson helped guide and develop rookie quarterback

C. J. Stroud Coleridge Bernard "C. J." Stroud IV (born October 3, 2001) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes f ...

in 2023, who went on to win

NFL Rookie of the Year Various entities present an NFL Rookie of the Year award each season to the top rookies in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL considers the (rookie) of the year awards by the Associated Press (AP) to be its official honor. Since 2011, th ...

Personal life

Jerrod has one brother named Marquis. Their father, Larry Johnson, who also played for the Aggies, died of a stroke in December 2007. Jerrod married his wife Braidee Ireland in May 2021.Molitor, Jack (November 25, 2008) Currently in a committed relationship
This one's for you, Dad
thebatt.com

References

External links

Montreal Alouettes profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jerrod 1988 births Living people American football quarterbacks American men's basketball players Arizona Rattlers players Baltimore Ravens players Dallas Cowboys players Chicago Bears players Hartford Colonials players Montreal Alouettes players Philadelphia Eagles players Pittsburgh Steelers players Sacramento Mountain Lions players Seattle Seahawks players Texas A&M Aggies football players Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball players Players of American football from Houston Basketball players from Houston San Francisco 49ers coaches Indianapolis Colts coaches Minnesota Vikings coaches Houston Texans coaches Coaches of American football from Texas