# Taver Johnson

Taver Johnson (born July 8, 1972) is an American football coach who is an assistant defensive backs coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He previously served as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns, and Las Vegas Raiders of the NFL and spent 23 years coaching in the college football ranks. Johnson attended and played college football at Wittenberg University (1990–1993), where he was a back-to-back All-American and the All-North Coast Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 1992 and 1993.

## Coaching career
### Early coaching stops

After graduating from Wittenberg, Johnson joined his alma mater's staff and served as the defensive line coach for the 1994 and 1995 seasons. After leaving Wittenberg, Johnson joined the staff at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. During his three years at Millikin, Johnson served as the strength and conditioning coach (1996), the linebackers coach (1997) and the defensive coordinator (1998). During his one season as defensive coordinator, Johnson's Millikin team allowed just 14.1 points per game.
Johnson served as a graduate assistant for Bob Davie's Notre Dame team.

### Miami (Ohio)

In 2000, Johnson left Notre Dame to serve as the linebackers coach at Miami (Ohio). Johnson spent three years at the school and produced four first-team All-Mid-American Conference selections.

### Cleveland Browns

In 2004, Johnson was hired by the Cleveland Browns as their assistant special teams coach.

### Miami (Ohio)

In 2005, Johnson returned to Miami to serve as the program's defensive coordinator for the 2005 and 2006 seasons. During the 2005 season, Johnson's defensive unit allowed 23.5 points per game, which was the 42nd best mark in the nation. Johnson's 2006 team allowed 25.3 points per game.

### Ohio State

In 2007, Johnson joined the Ohio State Buckeyes as their defensive backs coach. Johnson would go on to spend five seasons at Ohio State, where he coached three consensus All-Americans in Malcolm Jenkins, Kurt Coleman and Chimdi Chekwa.

### Arkansas

In 2011, after Jim Tressel resigned from Ohio State, Johnson went south to coach the linebackers for Arkansas in 2012. After Bobby Petrino resigned as head coach of the Arkansas program, Johnson was named as the interim head coach until John L. Smith accepted the full-time position. Johnson would switch back to coaching defensive backs in 2013.

### Purdue

In 2014, Johnson joined the Purdue Boilermakers as their defensive backs coach, spending three years at Purdue for three seasons.

### Temple

In January 2017, Johnson was named as the defensive coordinator at Temple under Geoff Collins, who was named the head coach of the Owls the month prior.

### Ohio State

In February 2018, following a one year stint as defensive coordinator at Temple, Johnson re-joined the defensive staff as cornerbacks coach at Ohio State.

### Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

In 2019, Johnson was hired by the Oakland Raiders as their assistant defensive backs coach under head coach Jon Gruden. In 2021, he was moved to offensive assistant, as new defensive coordinator Gus Bradley had brought several defensive coaches with him from his previous stint with the Los Angeles Chargers.

### Eastern Michigan

In May 2022, Johnson was announced as the defensive pass game coordinator and safeties coach at Eastern Michigan. He replaced Fred Reed, who died earlier that month. Eastern Michigan Head Coach Chris Creighton said, "Thinking about the need to find a new coach has felt wrong, uncomfortable, and seemingly impossible. Thankfully, through the natural course of coaches who knew Fred reaching out to offer their condolences, we found the right fit. We thought it would be ideal if we could find a candidate who knew Fred, and had significant relevant coaching experience along with the maturity, sensitivity, and emotional intelligence to be able to come into this very complicated situation. Coach Johnson is this person and he really wants to be here. He will join us in honoring Coach Reed, as we give everything we have to make this program and this team the very best it can be both on and off the field."

## Personal life

Johnson and his wife have a son and a daughter.