Zack Johnson enters his first season here at Fairmont State and will be the Falcon’s Associate Head Coach, Defensive Coordinator, and Linebackers Coach.
Coach Johnson comes to Fairmont State after serving as the Co-Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers coach at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) for the past two seasons. During his two-year stint at IUP, Johnson helped lead one of the PSAC’s best defensive units and was a key figure in their 2022 PSAC Championship.
In 2023, the Crimson Hawks defense ranked #2 in the PSAC in scoring defense (19.7) and finished in the top five in almost every defensive category in the league. IUP landed four defensive players as All-PSAC selections.
Coach Johnson helped mentor 1st Team All-PSAC linebacker, Drew Dinunzio-Biss. Dinunzio-Biss had 94 total tackles and 5.5 sacks on the season while also earning postseason All-American honors.
IUP landed five defensive players as All-PSAC selections in 2022. The IUP defense was stout once again in 2022, helping the program capture the PSAC Championship with a win against Shepherd. The Crimson Hawks ranked fifth in the PSAC in scoring defense (19.8), 28th nationally in total defense (291.2), 25th nationally in red zone defense (.697) and 18th nationally in interceptions (15).
Additionally, the Crimson Hawks featured a vaunted one-two punch at the linebacker position with All-PSAC First Team selection Drew DiNunzio-Biss and Connor Kelly. The pair combined for 169 tackles and 15.0 TFLs in the middle of the IUP defense.
Johnson went to Indiana from the University of Charleston (W.Va.), where he spent the last five seasons, including two as the defensive coordinator. Prior to Charleston, Johnson spent the 2016 season at Ohio University where he was the defensive graduate assistant.
Johnson directed one of the top defenses in Division II, as the Golden Eagles ranked seventh in the nation in points allowed (14.3) and 12th in total defense (260.4). The Charleston defense was stingy with the pass, leading the nation with an 87.9 efficiency defense and ranking 13th with just 153.0 yards allowed through the air. The Golden Eagles were also sixth in the nation with a 26.6 defensive third down conversion rate and ninth with 3.5 sacks per game.
Six Golden Eagles defenders earned All-Mountain East Conference (MEC) in 2021, including lineman Eliah Goodman, linebacker Keon Freeman and defensive back Kei Beckham.
At Ohio, Johnson helped the Bobcats rank as the No. 1 defensive unit in the Mid-American Conference and the top-5 rushing defensive in Division I. He helped the development of NFL Draft picks Quinten Poling and Blair Brown. Johnson helped coach the Bobcats to an 8-6 record and a trip to the 2016 Dollar General Bowl.
The Morgantown, West Virginia native graduated from West Virginia University in 2015 with a Bachelor's Degree in Physical Education/Health Education and minors in Special Education and History. While at WVU he served as a student assistant on defense with the linebackers from 2012-2015. He helped with the development of NFL Draft pick Nick Kwiatkowski. He and his wife, Kaylynn, have a son, Micah, and are expecting twins in April.
