The Gophers announced the hirings of offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson and offensive line coach Bart Miller on Wednesday, confirming previous reports.
"Jay and Bart are both tremendous people and will fit in naturally with our staff," coach Tracy Claeys said in the press release. "These are two individuals we identified early in the process, and I am thrilled that they are headed to Minnesota. They are great coaches with proven track records and will help our student-athletes improve on and off the field."
Johnson, 46, graduated from Lakeville High School in 1988, was a standout quarterback at Northern Iowa, and has more than two decades of coaching experience. He spent the previous five years as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Louisiana-Lafayette.
"I am extremely excited," Johnson said in the press release. "It's a great opportunity to come home. I grew up there and have been a Gopher fan all my life, so to come back home and be closer to family and to be part of a great institution like Minnesota is certainly a very exciting opportunity for me."
Miller, 30, hails from Omaha, and was an offensive lineman at New Mexico. He was the offensive line coach for Wisconsin under Bret Bielema in 2012 and was said to have Barry Alvarez's support but was not retained when Gary Andersen replaced Bielema. Miller went on to coach the offensive line for one season at New Mexico State and two seasons at Florida Atlantic before getting this job.
"I'm very excited," Miller said in the press release. "This is a great opportunity for me and my family to be back in the Midwest and back in the Big Ten. I share Coach Claeys' vision for the program and it's an opportunity to get back to the brand of football that I believe in and that I like to coach. I think we're going to do some great things."
