Johnny Nansen (born February 28, 1974) is a Samoan-born

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. He is the co-

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

and

inside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...

s coach for the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

, a position he has held since 2024.

Early life

Nansen was born on February 28, 1974, in

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. The Apia Urban A ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

and lived in Laulii,

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

early in his childhood. Nansen moved to the mainland United States at the age of 14.

Playing career

Nansen played football at Jordan High School in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

and went on to play college football at

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

, where he was on the team from 1992 to 1996. After lettering on the football team for three years, Nansen earned his bachelor's degree in business administration in 1997.

Coaching career

Early Coaching Career

Nansen began coaching in 1998, serving as

for Cabrillo High School in

. The following year, Nansen served as a graduate assistant for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

and worked with the defensive line. He then served a one-year stint at Montana State, followed by a four-year stint at Idaho State, where he coached cornerbacks from 2001 to 2002 and the entire secondary in 2003.

Idaho

Nansen's first Division I-A job was with the

Idaho Vandals The Idaho Vandals are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing the University of Idaho, located in Moscow, Idaho. The Vandals compete at the NCAA Division I level as a member of the Big Sky Conference. The Idaho Vandals football, footbal ...

. Nansen spent five seasons (2004–2008) at Idaho; he coached the linebackers from 2004 to 2006 and the defensive line from 2007 to 2008. He also served as special teams coordinator for his entire tenure there.

Washington

Nansen returned to the Power Five with a five-season stint at

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. He coached the defensive line from 2009 to 2011 and the running backs from 2012 to 2013; he was also in charge of special teams during those five years. Washington played in four bowl games while Nansen was there and produced a top 20 rushing offense during his final year there.

USC

Nansen spent the next six seasons of his coaching career at

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. He served as assistant head coach from 2014 to 2018, and he also coached running backs from 2014 to 2015, linebackers from 2016 to 2018, and inside linebackers in his final year at USC in 2019. In 2018 he was nominated for the

Broyles Award The Broyles Award is an annual award given to honor the best assistant coach in college football. First awarded in 1996, it was named after former University of Arkansas men's athletic director Frank Broyles. The award is presented in Little ...

UCLA

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, Nansen was hired as the defensive line coach at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, following the departure of the Bruins' defensive line coach Vince Oghobaase to

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

Arizona

In December 2021 he was named the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Wildcats under Jedd Fisch to replace Don Brown.

Texas

In January 2024, Nansen joined the Longhorns as a co-defensive coordinator/inside linebackers coach, reuniting with

Steve Sarkisian Stephen Sarkisian (; born March 8, 1974)Stephens, Ken. – "QB Genealogy – Steve Sarkisian is latest in long line of talented BYU quarterbacks". – ''Dallas Morning News''– December 31, 1996. is an American football coach and former player ...

. Sarkisian and Nansen had previous work experience together at Washington and USC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nansen, Johnny Living people 1974 births Samoan expatriates in the United States Players of American football from Long Beach, California Sportspeople from Long Beach, California American people of Samoan descent Washington State Cougars football players Louisville Cardinals football coaches Idaho State Bengals football coaches Montana State Bobcats football coaches Idaho Vandals football coaches Washington Huskies football coaches USC Trojans football coaches UCLA Bruins football coaches Pacific Islander American players of American football American football linebackers