SUNNYVALE, CA -- Having spent 11 years coaching in the NFL and four more at the collegiate level, Mike Johnson is probably overqualified for a high school coaching position, but you couldn’t tell from looking at him on the sideline at The King’s Academy.
With a play-calling sheet in hand and headphones on, Johnson paced the sideline, occasionally squatted in concentration, and barked out instructions as if he was still the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive coordinator.
Instead, he’s the new coach at The King’s Academy, and if a 49-14 victory over San Jose Friday night in his first game is any indication, this team will finish a lot better than last year’s 5-5 record.
Despite winning by 35 points, Johnson was rather modest afterwards. When asked about the team’s effective offense, he said: “It’s a work in progress. We did some good things tonight, and we got scalded a bit in certain areas that we have to get better at. But it was a good start for us.”
Yes, the team’s offense – which scored six touchdowns – isn't totally where it wants to be. It started off with a bang, as running back Alex Bae scored a 72-yard touchdown on The King’s Academy’s very first play from scrimmage, the longest opening run in school history.
After a quick three-and-out from San Jose, owed, the Knights struck again, taking just two plays for quarterback Dominic Sabel to find a wide-open David Friske over the middle for a 46-yard touchdown. The King’s Academy took a 20-0 at the end of one quarter thanks to the first of two touchdowns by freshman running back Maurice Washington, setting the tone for a decisive blowout.
It was a tough situation for San Jose, a team that formed late and hired a new coach, David Ashkinaz, just this past summer. It is also a team that didn’t win a single game last season and was shut out in their first game this year. However, it did score a pair of touchdowns, thanks to a couple of lengthy touchdown runs by running back Kyle Alves.
“I couldn’t have asked more from my kids today in terms of effort,” said Ashkinaz. “I don’t look at end scores because those are byproducts of a lot of things. When it comes to effort and heart, I feel like our kids gave that 100 percent today.”
This night, though, seemed to be about Johnson. Adjusting from the NFL and college ranks to high school isn’t a major concern for him, since players at this level “have the same issues and problems that the NFL guys have, but [NFL players] have 350 plays and we have 50.”
He served as the offensive coordinator/interim head coach of UCLA in 20l1, and prior to that, was the 49ers’ offensive coordinator in 2010. That followed stints with the Ravens, Falcons (where he worked with Michael Vick), Chargers, and Oregon State. His resume surely begs the questions, “Why coach high school, and why choose The King’s Academy?”
Johnson turns to faith for the answer.
“This is where the Lord has put me at this moment,” he said. “I just walk my path and I don’t question it. For whatever reason, I ended up here. I’m enjoying it. I love the kids and I’m happy.”
Added Johnson: “This school has great potential. There are great people that work here. This place is a gold mine waiting to happen, and you can’t find that everywhere.”
