Johnson back home as Friendswood coach

It wasn’t by design that Jordan Johnson is returning home. He simply emerged as the best candidate to become the Friendswood Independent School District’s next athletic director and head football coach.

Johnson, the current offensive coordinator for playoff powerhouse Denton Guyer, was confirmed for those two positions Monday night in a special meeting of the FISD Board of Trustees.

Johnson, only the fourth Friendswood head football coach since 1965, replaces Robert Koopmann, who retired Jan. 27 after serving as the Mustangs’ coach and AD the past 11 seasons.

“My time spent throughout Friendswood ISD, and just the way my teachers and coaches poured everything into my life makes this special,” Johnson said. “That experience really changed my life at a pivotal moment, and it means the world to come back and have the opportunity to do that same thing for athletes at Friendswood High School.”

Friendswood superintendent Thad Roher said Johnson is the ideal fit for the Mustangs program.

“We worked really hard with our community, administration team and different groups putting together a leadership profile,” Roher said. “And in that leadership profile, Jordan checked all those boxes. He’s been away from Friendswood for a number of years and has been very successful in what he’s done.”

In serving as Guyer’s OC the past three seasons, Johnson helped guide the team to the state semifinals in 2020 and 2022 and the state quarterfinals in 2021. Guyer fashioned a 39-6 record during that time, which included two 14-win seasons.

Johnson would like to experience similar success at Friendswood.

“At the beginning of any year, when you start practicing, I think it’s smart to practice with playing 16 weeks in mind,” Johnson said. “I think all that comes about by buying into the process. Because I’m extremely confident, ultimately one day, yes, I absolutely believe Friendswood is that type place.

“But first off, we have to diagnose what that process needs to look like and strive for it every single day. And if we do that, special things will happen.”

Johnson, who is working on his master’s degree in secondary education at Texas A&M-Commerce and expects to complete it in December 2023, will begin his duties at Friendswood on March 20.

“I would like to start with just meeting the coaches and players,” he said. “There are so many people in Friendswood that I love and appreciate. One thing I am most looking forward to is to see that number swell.”

Prior to coaching at Guyer, Johnson served as Rockwall’s wide receivers coach from 2014-2019. He helped Rockwall reach the state semifinals in 2019.