After 41 Years, Merv Johnson Steps Down
Merv Johnson, who has been involved with the Oklahoma football program for the last 41 years, was publicly thanked by arguably the greatest quarterback of all time and had an award for integrity named in his honor, announced his retirement as the Sooners' radio analyst Friday.
The 84-year-old Johnson joined Barry Switzer's staff in 1979 and served in that capacity until 1997.
He then began a 20-year run as the program's director of operations, and was hired by athletic director Joe Castiglione as radio analyst in 1999, working alongside play-by-play announcers Bob Barry Sr. and Toby Rowland.
From 1979 to 2019, Johnson put together a mind-boggling streak of 513 consecutive OU games.
"I felt very fortunate to have coached and broadcasted for so many years," Johnson said in an OU press release. "Year in and year out I've been so proud to be associated with such a great university and football program. I'm looking forward to spending time with my family. My family is all around me here. I'm going to love watching the games with them."
In his 41 years with the Sooners, Johnson was part of 33 bowl games, 19 conference titles and two national championships (1985 and 2000).
Johnson's first game as a Sooner was Sept. 15, 1979, when third-ranked Oklahoma posted a 21-6 win over Iowa. That Hawkeyes squad, coached by Hayden Fry, included a fearless young defensive back by the name of Bob Stoops.
Stoops went on to win a school-record 190 games as OU head coach from 1999-2016. His first game as the Sooners' head coach was also Johnson's first game as the team's radio analyst.
"Not many men have been more ingrained with OU and football than Merv Johnson," Castiglione said in the press release. "For 70 years, he played, coached and broadcasted the sport, and regardless of which role he was in, he was always a delight to the fans. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Merv for serving Sooner football and all of us so well.”
Johnson was born in King City, MO, and played offensive tackle at the University of Missouri. His first coaching job was at Mizzou in 1960-61, and he coached under Frank Broyles at Arkansas — alongside Switzer for part of the time — from 1962-74. He was hired by Dan Devine as offensive coordinator at Notre Dame, a position he held form 1975-78. His star pupil in South Bend was a skinny quarterback from Pennsylvania by the name of Joe Montana.
When he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, Montana issued a personal thanks to Johnson during his enshrinement speech.
After Notre Dame, Johnson became Switzer’s offensive line coach, coordinator and value recruiter. He passed up numerous opportunities to take a head coaching job to remain in Norman and has been regarded as college football’s most qualified assistant who never became a head coach.
In addition to induction into the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Johnson has also received the National Football Foundation’s Mike Campbell Lifetime Achievement Award as well as the NFF’s first Integrity In College Coaching Award — an award that was subsequently named the Merv Johnson Integrity Award.
Stoops also made Johnson his director of football operations, a savvy move that put the program back in touch with years of strong recruiting connections. Among Johnson’s numerous jobs over the years was to hold walk-on tryouts, and he routinely found prospects who could contribute to the team.
"I remember when we added Merv to the broadcast,” Castiglione said. “I went back and listened to the game later and it was clear that we had a winner. His uncanny knack for seeing things before they happened made him a necessity for any football fan. It gave all of us the unique perspective of watching the game with a very knowledgeable coach. Not only did he entertain us, he taught us the game, and always with his characteristic charm and class."
Rowland, now entering his 10th season as OU's radio play-by-play announcer, said, "Merv Johnson is an Oklahoma icon. Working alongside him for the last nine years has been one of the greatest thrills of my career. We're going to miss him in our booth immensely."
To get the latest OU posts as they happen, join the SI Sooners Community by clicking “Follow” at the top right corner of the page (mobile users can click the notifications bell icon), and follow SI Sooners on Twitter @All_Sooners.
