A long-time coordinator, quarterbacks, and receivers coach, Michael Johnson can fill an opening on Joe Moorhead's 2019 Mississippi State staff

Coach Joe Moorhead is expected to fill the just-opened wide receivers coach position with Michael Johnson. He would be coming from the University of Oregon where he has served in this same role for the 2017 and ’18 seasons as part of Mario Cristobal’s staff. Steve Robertson of GenesPage247 first reported Johnson as a candidate for this job. Johnson arrived this weekend for the formal meeting with Moorhead.

Johnson would be the second offensive assistant selected by Moorhead this week, and take the receivers coaching role of Luke Getsy who is leaving for a return to the Green Bay Packers after this one season in Starkville. Getsy also served as passing game coordinator, though it is yet to be determined who will have that role for State in 2019.

Moorhead was able to quickly hire Terry Richardson away from Connecticut to replace running backs coach Charles Huff after he left for Alabama early this week.

This past season Johnson helped coach-up a passing game in which no less than eleven Ducks caught a touchdown pass. Most were snagged by Memphis native Dillon Mitchell with ten touchdowns of his 75 receptions and 1,184 yards. Oregon had more first downs via passing than rushing in ’18, by a 140-118 margin, and 29 passing touchdowns.

Johnson joined new OU coach Cristobal after three years as head coach at The King’s Academy in Sunnyvale, Ca. Before this he spent two years as personnel director at North East Sports Consultants.

But this was just an interlude of sorts for the long-time college and National Football League coach and offensive coordinator.

Johnson spent 2011 as offensive coordinator at UCLA, with those Bruins winning the Pac-12 South and playing in the championship game. When Coach Rick Neuheisal stepped down after the regular season Johnson was named interim head coach for the Fight Hunger Bowl.

The previous decade saw Johnson work nine NFL seasons with four franchises. He was quarterbacks coach at San Francisco in 2009, then promoted to offensive coordinator in 2010. Johnson had sat out the 2008 football season following two years with Baltimore as wide receivers coach.

His longest NFL stint was 2002-05 with the Atlanta Falcons. The first year Johnson coached wide receivers, then was promoted to quarterbacks coach where he worked with Michael Vick in two Pro Bowl seasons.

Johnson got his foot in the NFL door in 2001 as quarterbacks coach at San Diego. That season saw Doug Flutie throw for 3,476 yards as the starter, while a rookie named Drew Brees began his professional development.

Johnson had three seasons coaching in college football and the Pac-12 first, as wide receivers coach for two years and then quarterbacks coach all at Oregon State. In 1999 he was part of the program’s first bowl game in nearly four decades, the Oahu Bowl.

His own playing career was spent at quarterback, as he started in 1988 and ’89 at the University of Akron and was the school’s Athlete of the Year for 1989-90. He moved to the MAC program after beginning his college career as backup quarterback at Arizona in 1985-86, then spending a season at Mesa Community College. From 1991 through ’95 he made the roster for World League franchises at San Antonio, Orlando, and Shreveport, with a 1992-93 stay in British Columbia of the CFL.

He earned a B.S. in communications from Akron. Johnson, 51, is a native of Los Angeles. His son, Michael Johnson Jr., was a top 2018 dual-threat quarterback prospect who signed with Penn State.

With the expected additions of Richardson and Johnson, the offensive staff is mostly re-stocked. This pends assignment of a position to December hire Tony Hughes, who filled the slot if not officially role held by tight ends coach Mark Hudspeth in 2018. Hudspeth left to become a head college coach for the third time, now at Austin Peay.

As of Friday, reports that defensive line coach Brian Baker was a candidate for a position on Alabama's staff as well emerged. Baker, who was hired by Dan Mullen and coached this past year for Moorhead with two likely first-round draft picks, was on the MSU campus Friday working on the weekend's recruiting visit process.