In six seasons at Navy, Johnson compiled a 45-29 record and five consecutive post-season bowl appearances from 2003-2007. Johnson took over a Navy football program that was coming off the worst two-year span in its 123-year history (1-20) and had recorded just two winning seasons in the last 20 years. After a 2-10 mark in Johnson's first year, the Midshipmen achieved what many thought was no longer possible at an Academy. Johnson brought the Midshipmen back into the national spotlight with a 43-19 (.694) record over the last four-plus years. Johnson dominated the other two Service Academies like no other coach in the school's annals, posting an 11-1 (.917) overall record, including a perfect 6-0 mark against rival Army.
In five seasons as head coach at Georgia Southern, Johnson compiled a 62-10 record and two NCAA Division I-AA National Championships (1999, 2000). Johnson took over a Georgia Southern program in 1997 that was 4-7 the previous year and orchestrated a turnaround that ranked among the NCAA's best, directing the Eagles to a 10-3 record. He was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year by the media and Region II Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association.
In 1998, Johnson guided the Eagles to a perfect 11-0 regular season record and the school's sixth NCAA Division I-AA National Championship Game appearance before finishing with a 14-1 mark. He directed a high-powered offensive unit that tied or broke 100 records during the campaign, again earned the league's top coaching honor and received The Sports Network's Eddie Robinson Award -- symbolic of the division's national coach-of-the-year selection.
Although, Johnson's current offense is widely referred to as a triple option offense, in the following video, Johnson discusses how the triple option is only a fraction of his flexbone offense; an offense that has evolved from the wishbone as well as run & shoot formations and passing schemes.
