Karl Johnson steps down as Dublin Scioto football coach after 23 seasons
Karl Johnson, the longest-tenured head football coach in the OCC, has stepped down after leading Dublin Scioto for 23 seasons.
He informed his team Dec. 5, before the athletics department made the announcement on its Twitter account.
“It was a really hard decision,” Johnson said. “For me and my family and where things are with me, I’m in good health and my wife (Beth) and I have things we want to do. I’ve loved being the head coach at Dublin Scioto, but it just felt like the time was now. I love coaching the kids. I still love coaching. I still love football. I love Scioto, but it was just time.”
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Johnson, 57, went 146-104 with 14 winning seasons and 12 postseason appearances. He underwent open-heart surgery in January 2020, but did not miss any time during the 2020 season.
“I was proud of myself for fighting through that and continuing to coach, but I’m also three years older and it doesn’t get easier as you get older,” said Johnson, who will remain a teacher in Scioto’s Alternative Learning Program. “I have other things I want to try to do. I feel like I’ve given everything I can and everything I have to the program for 23 years.
“It’s been a labor of love and our coaches are fantastic. We have some great young coaches that I believe would do a great job here.”
Athletics director Nick Magistrale has been impressed with Johnson’s success at Scioto and with his character.
“How fortunate a school is to have the same head football coach for 23 seasons,” Magistrale said. “He set the bar in regards to leadership and overseeing a successful high school football program. His character is unbelievable. Anyone who knows Karl Johnson knows that he’s a man of character and that’s what makes you a great leader of young men because you have such solid character.”
The Irish finished 4-7 overall this season, losing to Uniontown Lake 33-17 in the first round of the Division II, Region 7 playoffs. Scioto went 4-3 in the OCC-Capital Division to tie Canal Winchester and Delaware for third behind champion Westerville South (7-0).
Senior Ashton Wilson, a tight end and defensive end who played three seasons on varsity, credits Johnson for his development.
“He definitely helped me become more athletic,” Wilson said. “He helped me become smarter about the game, thinking more critically about more than just my assignment and thinking more about the big picture. He helped me gain some confidence and perform at the best level I could compete at.”
Magistrale said the search is underway for Johnson's successor.
“A football coach and a football program at a high school can really help dictate the culture of the school just due to the sheer numbers of a roster and the number of kids in your building that happen to be involved in that sport,” Magistrale said. “We want to make sure we identify and get the best coach for Dublin Scioto football.”
Before coaching at Scioto, Johnson served as an assistant coach at Dublin High School, which is now Coffman. He joined the Scioto staff as an assistant when the school opened in 1995, the same year the Irish won the Division II state title.
Johnson, who returned to Coffman as an assistant in 1997 before taking over the Scioto program in 2000, has some advice for his replacement.
“I would tell him to just love coaching the kids,” Johnson said. “My hope is someone will come in and build on what we’ve done and make it better.”
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@ThisWeekFrank
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Karl Johnson steps down as Dublin Scioto football coach
