Former Titans Assistant Named Associate Head Coach for Big Ten Program

Craig Johnson spent more than a decade with Tennessee under coach Jeff Fisher.

Brett Davis/USA Today Sports

Craig Johnson, who spent more than a decade as a Tennessee Titans assistant coach, has been named associate head coach and running backs coach at Indiana University.

The school announced the move Monday, a week after reports first surfaced that the move was pending.

"I am thrilled to be at Indiana University," Johnson said in a release. "I plan to bring a wealth of knowledge both on and off the field. It has been a blessing to have worked with some of the best football athletes at the collegiate and professional levels, and we are looking forward to great success at IU.”

Johnson, 61, has 38 years of coaching experience split almost evenly between the NFL (20 years) and college football (18 years). He spent the past two seasons as a senior analyst at the University of Maryland.

His first job in the NFL was as an offensive assistant with the Titans under Jeff Fisher in 2000. He remained with the team through 2010 and spent the majority of the time as quarterbacks coach (2002-09). In his final season, he served as assistant head coach/running backs.

After that, he was quarterbacks coach with the Minnesota Vikings (2011-13) and running backs coach with the New York Giants (2014-19) before he went to Maryland.

This will be Johnson’s second job with the Big Ten program. He was quarterbacks coach at Northwestern from 1992-96.

"Craig is the total package,” Indiana coach Tom Allen said. “His experience and character fit our culture perfectly and will benefit greatly the young men in our program."

Johnson replaces Deland McCullough, who left to become running backs coach at Notre Dame.