Jay Johnson is not exactly a name you want to mutter in East Lansing these days. The former Michigan State football offensive coordinator was shown the door following Mel Tucker’s firing in 2023, and fans were thrilled to see him go.
Johnson’s offenses were often predictable and lacked a spark, which led to essentially some of the worst offensive performances in program history following the Kenneth Walker III season.
Tucker hired him before the 2020 season and there was hope that he’d be better than Dave Warner and Brad Salem in the final years of Mark Dantonio, but we were all tricked into thinking he had a pulse after that magical 2021 campaign. It’s fairly clear now that he was carried by some pros like Walker III, Jayden Reed, and Jalen Nailor. Heck, the offense was so loaded that Keon Coleman barely played.
In 2022, his offenses came back down to earth as Payton Thorne regressed and the run game was non-existent — just like the offensive line.
In 2023, fans were done with him and the second Tucker was fired, they could rest easy knowing that his time in East Lansing was running out.
Following his Michigan State coaching days, Johnson found another offensive coordinator job in the FBS — shockingly — as Wyoming hired him at the same position. He’s been there for the past 1.5 seasons, but after a 3-4 start to the 2025 campaign, along with having the nation’s No. 116 scoring offense, the Cowboys have relieved him of his duties.
Breaking: Multiple sources have told me that Jay Johnson has been relieved from his Offensive Coordinator role at Wyoming. Receivers coach Jovon Bouknight will take over.https://t.co/sseHBr21gQ
— Pokes News (@Pokes_News) October 20, 2025
This doesn’t come as much of a surprise to Spartan fans who watched his offenses constantly underperform and immediately sniffed out by opposing defenses. It’s especially unsurprising for Wyoming fans who watched the nation’s No. 124 scoring offense improve by just 0.7 points per game so far this season.
Johnson is now the second former Michigan State assistant to either be fired or find himself on the hot seat after underperforming (Chris Kapilovic was getting roasted by Alabama fans earlier this year).
Tucker’s coaching tree isn’t exactly sturdy.