Johnson resigns as UA defensive coordinator
Twenty days after his hiring, Ellis Johnson resigned as Arkansas’ defensive coordinator Thursday to take the same position at South Carolina, Hogs head coach Bobby Petrino announced today.
Johnson will replace Brian VanGorder at South Carolina. VanGorder was hired by head coach Steve Spurrier on Dec. 19, but resigned Thursday morning to become defensive coordinator with the Atlanta Falcons.
For comments from Spurrier on the hiring of Johnson, click here.
Here’s what Petrino had to say through a news release this afternoon:
“Ellis Johnson has resigned as defensive coordinator,” Petrino said. “I spoke with Coach Johnson this morning and he felt like this is the best decision for his family. I certainly understand that. He and his wife are both from South Carolina and many of their relatives still reside in the state. I wish Coach Johnson and his family the best. We will now move forward in hiring a defensive coordinator.”
Ellis Johnson
Johnson is married to the former Caroline Courie of Columbus, S.C., and they have two sons, Eli and Charlie, and a daughter, Sandra Elliott.
In a Thursday article written before Johnson’s decision to resign, the former Citadel head coach told reporter Tom Murphy of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that his wife was looking forward to living in Northwest Arkansas.
“My wife was excited,” Johnson said. “She’s heard a lot about Fayetteville. Coach [Rocky ] Felker’s wife said they’re going to retire here one day…. Coach Danny Ford’s an old friend of mine. They just loved it here.
“We’ve heard a lot about the things for children: schools, the environment. So there were some things she was excited about and was optimistic about making that change.”
Johnson was the defensive coordinator at Mississippi State for the last four years before he followed Petrino to Arkansas on Jan. 4.
No word on leading candidates to replace Johnson, but one thinks a hire will happen pretty quick with national signing day (Feb. 6) just around the corner. We’ll keep you up to date.
Do you think Johnson’s departure will affect the Hogs’ recruiting class?
31 Responses to “Johnson resigns as UA defensive coordinator”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
CLASSIC to say the least..
Hell he didn’t just want out of MISS-STATE he wanted to GO HOME..
SOMEONE bigger and better needs to STEP up and STEP UP QUICKLY..
GO HOGS
CLASSIC OR CLASSLESS??? I understand his reasons and don’t have a problem with that. What I have a problem with is that he is doing this 2 weeks before our biggest recruiting weekend that is bringing in a bunch of defensive players!!! What I have a problem with is that he had the opportunity to go there a month ago and came here. Very unprofessional if you ask me.
Definitely classLESS. This guy is awful and the SEC is loaded with teams that have given Arkansas fans a reason to hate. This guy could have waited 2 weeks or not come and let us get someone else while there were other guys out there. Any ideas on anyone now? Where is Keith Burns?
Of course it will affect the recruiting class. Any defensive player has no idea who he will be playing for. Even if we hire someone else tonight, how long are they going to stay - three weeks? Recruits want stability to establish a player-coach relationship. This is very troubling. Hopefully, Coach Petrino had a good idea this was coming and has already tested the waters for a big-name replacement. If this vacancy drags on for more than a few days it will be difficult to finish off the recruiting season. The new defensive coordinator will need to go around and visit all of his recruits to give them a ‘warm and fuzzy’ about playing for him.
Has Dana Altman been calling our coaching staff?
Good riddance. In reading Spurrier’s comments, this dude was USC’s second choice to begin with. I recall Johnson being quoted as saying that he had “chosen” UA over USC - because of the history of the program as well as his wife’s desire to live in Fayetteville, yada, yada. The timing is problematic, but the UA can do better, regardless. GO HOGS!
Ps. Call Reggie.
Dissapointing, but let us all remember how disgusted we are with ESPN, etc. for dissing coach Petrinto. Lets try to be civil enough to show we have much more class than that. For myself, I don’t want anyone that doesn’t want to be here. Let him go, lets move on an find a DC that wants and appreciates the opportunity to coach at the UA. I think we’ve been pretty successful at whipping both Miss St and SC, so what are they gaining? The right coach is out there, let’s let Petrino find him and GO HOGS!
[…] on His Mind: After less than three weeks on the job, Razorback defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson has resigned to take the same position at South Carolina. Johnson replaces Brian VanGorder, who left the Gamecocks to become defensive coordinator of Bobby […]
Just more BS from the hill.Maybe people are correct in believing this is a second rate program.We have a point guard that coulnd’t start for MSU,a QB that couldn’t start on any other SEC team and fans that dont what the hell is goin on lol.What a mess.
Classic. What is good for the goose is good for the gander, lol. Nobody stays anywhere or has any loyality anymore. NCAA needs to change the rules and just let the players go from school to school without having to sit out a year. If the coaches can do it…let the players do it too. I have been an avid sports fan my whole life, but its to the point where I just about don’t care anymore.
Ellis Johnson never seemed sincere about all the great things he cited as reason for coming to the UofA. I’m not sure what to think about the program right now.
Don’t forget that John Thompson - defensive cord. went to LSU from Memphis State when Nick Saban was hired - lasted a few weeks and then was hired by Arkansas as DC. This stuff happens, it’s no big deal. The position coaches do the hands on stuff - the cord. are more managers.
The recruiting thing maybe a negative but thats why the head coach makes the big bucks.
Some of these comments sound like what the Falcon fans were saying when we got Petrino - do you really want to go there?
Gambler — if your a Razorback fan then I’m a Russian astronaut. Get your dynamite and go fishing!
Yeah, it’s hard to fault the man for wanting to go home, and the fact that UA had no problem hiring a man away from another job ruins our credibility, allowing things like this to happen. Hopefully we’ll find a good replacement and press on.
One of you posted above and said something like
“there’s no such thing as loyalty any more”.
I don’t see where Ellis Johnson owes Petrino any
apology or explanation. After all, Petrino wrote the
book on “No Loyalty”.
The Arkansas program is in much deserved trouble.
WOW… I agree with UA65!!! No one thought it was a problem when Petrino left the Falcons hanging…. but, now that the shoe is on the other foot, we need to eat cheese to go with all of the whinning that I am hearing!
No, I am not complaining I am ok with Petrino. What I am simply saying, what is good for the goose is good for the gander…..
I don’t blame coaches for looking out for themselves because we as fans want unless they go 11-1 on a regular basis and win a national championship every 3-5 years!
I am sure everyone on this post has had only one job since High School or College… right? Or were you fired beause of heat from your peers, customers etc? Or did you take a better job with a better salary and benefits that fits the needs of your family and career goals and better yet retirement?
Johnson is 56 years old and has time in the USC system towards retirement! Is that such a bad thing? Unless all you rich folks were going to give him a pension from your personal accounts! I know I am not..
Let’s wait on the season to unfold and root for guys to make it to the NFL! That is one of the best recruiting tools you can have anyways!!!!
I wonder if Ellis thought of the talent USC has and the fact they play Arkansas every year. Steve Spurrier may not keep him around long if Petrino puts 70+ on them.
Frankly, I was a little disappointed when Ellis Johnson was announced as our DC. He wasn’t exactly a defensive genius at Miss State, even though they got better as the season went on. Heck, he looked about as inept as Reggie Herring against LSU and Arkansas. Both of those teams pulled apart his Bulldog defense.
I say let Petrino go out and find somebody better. Something tells me he will.
Oh and for all those who think the program’s a mess, especially the biggest malcontent on this blog, ua65, we got the right head coach instead of “settling” for Muschamp, untested and unworthy.
ua65… Dude…. you’re entitled to your negative views, but surely the “a” behind the “u” stands for Auburn or Alabama, eh? Regardless, Petrino will figure things out and the Razorbacks can do better than Ellis Johnson.
Although the schedule is unforgiving and absolutely brutal, I have a feeling next year will be somewhat of a pleasant surprise. In two to three years, we will rise again. GO HOGS!
Ps. The same can be said for John Pelphrey, who has an extremely talented group of incoming players. When he gets his own guys for his style of B ball, championship banners will fly again.
Gentlemen this is what we call “Karma”. I agree with you 007 Petrino will figure things out. It very well might take a year or two but rest assure it will be taken care of.
ua65, you my acquaintance, why do you even waste your time blogging on this site. As you said you are no longer a Razorback fan (according to the blog from 2 days ago). You are now a proud citizen of the great state of Mississippi! You have said you are now a fan of Ole Miss.( because you are a Nutt Hugger!) You have said that Houston Nutt was ran out of town by Arkansas Fans. The way I see it, Houston Nutt has stole over $3mil from the University and the Razorback Foundation. I take that personal seeing how I am a UofA Alum and a Razorback Foundation donor. You have said that the Nutt family was the first family of Arkansas Athletics. My question is “Since When?” Yes HDN’s father was an admirable man working with children with disabilities, however I do not think, I could be wrong but don’t think so, there is no member of the Nutt Family in the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.
HDN never started a game for Arkansas because he was not good enough. I am sure Coach Broyles will attest to that, instead he transferred to an inferior school OSU, Danny Nutt, probably a good man, has lived in big brother’s shadow until health did not permit it. Dickey coaches basketball in probably the worst conference in America and has a losing record as a Head coach. So what exactly is it that makes the Nutt family the first family of Arkansas athletics? Oh, I know ua65 said so. 65 you also said you were glad that you were now a Mississippi resident where you could socialize with the educated people that are in Mississippi instead of all of us hillbillies from Arkansas. The last time I checked, Mississippi had the highest illiteracy rate per capita in the nation. (65, per capita means % vs population) You should fit right in there. After all Ole Miss is the cellar dwellar of the SEC. you have a coach that can compete but will lose more big games than he will win, and will lose alot of the games he is supposed to win. If you do make it to a bowl game you will surely lose it because he will be outcoached. I sincerely hope you are not a U of A alum, because if you are, you are a disgrace to our University. Keep your ass in Mississippi you belong in the dumbest state in the nation along with the sorriest football team in the SEC.
Arkansas is a better place without you and I certainly hope you stay there, The Razorback Nation is stronger than ever more excited than ever and certainly looking forward to playing the University of Ole Miss in 2008.
Go Hogs!!
Gambler Sob why r u still here I thought you would be in Tulsa by now you Goof ball! Perhaps you might consider moving to Mississippi with ua65. maybe the two of you could split the cost of a doublewide in some first class trailer park.
crittcohawger,
Would you please take Wally Halls place!!! If we can get the negative press to support the positives that are coming out of the UofA system instead of the negative things, we will start to reunite the Razorback Nation. You are 100 percent correct in your article. Attention all Hog fans: The lose of coach Johnson will “NOT” affect Razorback recruiting, period. The recruits that have committed to Ark. did not abandon those commitments when Nutt left so why would they leave now. Coach Johnson never had any affect on any of these recruits. Hog fans, we are in a transitional time at the UofA, give these coaches our time and support to return this great university to prominience.
For those who think the recruiting is peril since Johnson left, you need to the read the column on the home page titled, “Recruiting: Razorbacks swinging for the fences.” I haven’t seen this many out-of-state recruits reconsidering and considering Arkansas since the Lou Holtz era.
Petrino appears to be putting his influence on Razorback Football already.
[…] Morris, undoubtedly, wrote his commentary as a response to Arkansas defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson leaving Fayetteville for South Carolina after Brian VanGorder departed the Gamecocks coaching staff after less than a month on the job. […]
Did someone mention the strong recruiting of Lou
Holtz? Uh, I believe that was the era in which most
of the great Arkansas talent was leaving the state for
Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
I can not believe you rate the accomplishments of a family by whether or not they are in the “Hall of Fame.”
If you kiss enough butts you can get into the Hall of Fame. That’s why a legendary coach like Bill Stancil
at Fort Smith is not in the Hall. He wouldn’t kiss the right butts. And don’t try to tell me that Coach Stancil doesn’t deserve to be there. The Hall of Fame is political just like everything else.
So, the Nutt family worth is based on their love and concern for others…not some Hall of fame.
The Houston Nutt Family worth is about $3mil more than what it should be. He is a crook and a Used Car Salesman. He must have had something on White, for White sure folded under his pressure.
65 blog on a site where people would really like to read what you have to say. perhaps your illiterate friends in the Great State of Mississippi would like to hear how great HDN is. The state of Arkansas does not care, we have long since moved on and looking forward to the future.
ua65,
You don’t know jack about Arkansas football. During the Lou Holtz era, we had players like Dan Hampton, Billy Ray Smith, Ish Ordonez, Gary Anderson, Greg Horne, Ron Faurot, Bobby Joe Edmonds, shall I go on or are you just humilated enough at your lack of knowledge that you’ll go to some other school’s blog??
How we’d be blest if you did!!! You’re so negative! Listen to Billy Joel’s song, “Angry Young Man.” The words describe YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, ua87, that’s what’s so frustrating..I know so much more about Razorback football than any of you guys.
I challenge any of you to sit down and take a test on the subject with me…beginning with John Barnhill’s
arrival in Fayetteville until the present time.
Yes, Holtz had some quality players, but did nothing with the program other than what had already been done. His best team was the one Frank left him ‘ready made.’ The only place Lou could have won a national championship was Notre Dame…because at that point in time recruiting was still pretty much ‘built in at South Bend.’
65 did you just wake up from your afternoon nap, and feeling full of yourself again? Like I said your remarks are no longer worthy of a response. You’re tired go back to sleep.
Give Granny my best wishes, If she hasn’t already left you for an open minded Razorback fan.
P.S. your illegitimate grandson
“Crittcohawger”…you are typical of any product from Crittenden County. Redneck and stupid all packed up as one.
65 give me a break! You live in a Mississippi trailer park, you are probably 100 pounds over weight, smoke 2 packs of winston a day and have to lift up your gut to take a leak.
Tell granny I love her. Dont forget to give Fido the 2 day old mash potatoes that are still on the stove. He gets hungry too. The last time I came to visit Granny I could see his ribs. This spring I’ll send some one over to weedeat your lawn, you know that strip of grass between the trailer and the redclay gravel driveway.
65 your remarks look like you r getting a little flustered I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I’m sorry! just trying to open your eyes thats all!
Your illegitimate grandson.
Good thing I don’t know your real identity and address.
I would drive over to that Redneck Mecca and lay a good ‘whipping’ on your foul mouthed, disrespectful self. I haven’t forgotten some of the things that kept me alive while in the Marine Corps in Viet Nam…but a scumbag like you could care less about the veterans who have kept this country free so filth like you can do your thing.
I will not bother you people on this site anymore.
I actually am too good to associate with trash.
Mission Accomplished!!!