Home > Waco Breaking News > Archives > 2009 > June > 29 > Entry
Connally’s Johnson stepping down as head football coach
Kevin Johnson, Connally’s head football coach for the past five years, is stepping down from that role just two months before the start of the season.
Steve Hoffman, the Cadets’ offensive coordinator under Johnson, will take over as head coach for the upcoming season.
Johnson will retain his athletic director position until a full-time replacement can be found, probably through December or January. He is also taking on assistant principal duties at the high school.
Johnson said the reason behind the move was family-related, as the change should offer more free time in his schedule.
“I’m not at the point where I’m ready to give (coaching) up yet,” Johnson said. “But I just needed something that will free up a little more time with my family.”
In five seasons at Connally, Johnson registered a 29-25 overall record with playoff appearances in 2004 and ‘05.
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Comments
By Wesley
June 29, 2009 2:00 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
Hopefully Coach Johnson doesn’t leave Connally. He has been there as long as I can remember. After Coach Borrow left I thought Coach Johnson was a good fit. Maybe Coach Williams from the Junior High will become the head coach.
By J-Star
June 29, 2009 2:13 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
WOW!!!!Talk about injustice to those kids coming back!!!!!!!!Spin it any way you want it!!!!!!!!!!Two adays around the corner and your leader takes off at the eleventh hour!!!!!!!!!
By Snoopy
June 29, 2009 2:36 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
J-Star,
How is that an injustice to the STUDENTS returning to play football in an extra-curricular activity? It is not like they signed to play football under Coach Johnson. He did not recruit those players to go to Connally did he?
I think it takes a big man to do what he did. With his mother in law being sick like she is, his wife expecting, I am sure he wanted to be around for those. If you think about it he would never be at home from August to at least November/December. He has his school duties, coaching duties, practice, games, film review, game prep, and then maybe he gets Sunday off and starts over again on Monday. I am sure he would love to coach but it sounds like this man knows where his priorities are.
By Junior
June 29, 2009 3:11 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
Like he is going to get on here and say, “im a horrible coach and no one wants me coaching anymore and since i have one more year left on my contract they have to find something to do with me,” hey he can be Vice Principle, lets push the current one out of that spot for him. He has the biggest ego i have ever seen. To do this two months before the season is ridiculous, how long have you were expecting, how long have you known about the illness, yet you wait till now to decide you will take the other role instead of getting let go altogether, come back to coaching again, not at Connally you wont. Good luck and God Bless on the issues you do have but stay in the Vice role, you may be better at that.
By Wesley
June 29, 2009 3:21 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
Junior you are retarded. Coach Johnson was a assistant principle before he became head coach. Coach Johnson is a good man, he has no ego. He is a great teacher, a good coach and a great person. He was my computer teacher in 99 when I was a freshman. Coolest teacher I ever had.
By chsalumni08
June 29, 2009 3:50 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
Wow you should of stepped down 2 or 3 years ago and maybe our junior and senior year would of been worth something!!!
By Leave Him Alone
June 29, 2009 4:26 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
I think what Coach Johnson did was admirable. He was VERY decidcated to Connally and devoted a lot of time to his job but your family does have to come first. It’s not like he was coaching the NFL or anything. He’s not leaving for good, he’s just stepping down to give someone who DOES have the time the job.
Plus, it’s not like he’s not going to give every spare minute he has to the athletic program because he will.
By Spell Check
June 29, 2009 5:47 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
JUST A LITTLE FYI: It’s PRINCIPAL, not principle. Remember the Principal is your pal!!! Principles are morals and standards that we live based on.
By thank god
June 29, 2009 6:19 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
Thank god it finally happened. It should of happened a couple of years ago. The participation levels under Johnson has nosed dived because of how he treated the kids. If they don’t respect you they are not going to play for you. Their numbers were so low they were not able to have a freshman team last year. The 9th graders combined with other underclassman for a JV team. That is sad at a 3A school. It was time for him to go.
By CS rules
June 29, 2009 7:01 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
All of you are acting like he really did something for Connally! Like he led some great football program. Take a look at his record, 29-25 - Common people! Maybe as vice principal he’ll makes some changes… because Connally has turned into CRAP! I graduated from there in ‘02 & believe me it was nothing like it is now! It might as well be LA Vega :)! Anyhow, everyone is taking up for him like he was some great coach that took them to state or something..
By junior
June 29, 2009 7:56 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
I never said he wasnt a good man, but as far as coaching and taking the football team to better places he hasnt done and anyone anywhere else would lose their job if the program went from where it was when Burrows left to where it is now….He lost good solid kids every year to other schools and the ones he had he blamed it on their attitude, well a coaches job is to change those attitude and get the kids to play as a unit which they have not done since he took over. I am sure he is a great person, no one is saying that, we are saying look at the program and you still are suppose to try and win. His first year, the Cadets won district and went three rounds deep, second years, less wins, didnt win district and went one round deep in playoffs, third, fourth and fifth years, each year had less wins than one before and never made the playoffs. Also his timing stinks and it isnt going to help this years senior class being put in this position…yeah think about his family but also think about the kids that put in sweat and blood for the team being put in this situation.
By Give me a break
June 29, 2009 11:03 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
Give me a break! Don’t say he didn’t do anything with the football team, that’s just stupid.
Junior: you said “anywhere else would lose their job if the program went from where it was when Burrows left to where it is now” …I’m pretty sure Coach Johnson never had an 0-10 season, Coach Burrows did in 2000 I believe.
This comments are contradicting, complaing about what Connally has “turned into” and then criticizing him because he disciplined those kids.
If you people would choose your job over your family’s needs then that is sad. Quit judging the man for what you should do yourselves. This is an extracurrcular activity for these boys, it’s not going to make a difference in the outcome of their lives just because he wasn’t head coach like they were expecting.
By It's Time
June 29, 2009 11:20 PM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
I think this is long overdue. Too many kids have dropped out of athletics because of Johnson’s attitude toward them. My son said his time in Junior High under coach Williams was great, then as soon as he hit High School under Johnson, it all went downhill….not just for him, but for most of his classmates in athletics. The kids had no respect for him, because he had no respect for the kids. That is unless you were the star on the team. But coaching athletics should be about building every child up, not just 1 or 2. It takes quite a few more than that to make a team, and oops, I hear he ran out of kids because things were so bad. Yep, this is long overdue.
By junior
June 30, 2009 12:03 AM | Link to this | Report comment abuse
Burrows then brought that 0-10 season to consistant winning seasons. 0-10 was his first season, when he left it slowly went back down season after season to where it was when Burrows took over, Burrows took over the program after the coaches before him destroyed it, then Johnson took over after it was back up, then had success the first year with Burrows system and kids in place, then as i have stated multiple times the program is back down again. I am stating fact. So tell me what did he do for the program or what has he done beside get new facilites built. That was long over due. what else has been done. You say he was bringing disciplin to the team, did you watch the same games i did, wasnt much disciplin in those games. Tons of over snaps, false starts and personal fouls.
The junior high teams always came in undefeated or with great records and couldnt do the same in High School….shall i continue or do you get it now…again its on the athletic side of things, in personal life he is a good man.