Chris Johnson was a model student during his time at Bryan High. As a senior, he was the star quarterback, a starting basketball player, and an honor roll student. Now, more than a decade later, he’s back on campus, this time as the offensive coordinator for the Vikings.
“There’s a lot of familiarity with coming back as a coach from when I was in school here,” Johnson said. “The city of Bryan has always had a special place in my heart, so being able to come back and impact the next generation of student-athletes, especially from my hometown, means much more to me.”
After playing quarterback at Baylor University and then the University of Houston, Johnson always believed that coaching would be his next chapter. He rejoined Bryan High as a quarterbacks coach from 2019 to 2021 and then became a coach at Magnolia West until this past spring.
“In the back of my mind, I always hoped I would have the chance to return,” Johnson said. “What better way to have an impact on a young high school student than using the game of football as a medium to teach them those things.”
Principal Lane Buban was the Sam Rayburn Middle School principal while Johnson was a student. Buban hired him this past Spring as a coach and teacher for Bryan High.
“I’ve known Chris and his family for 20-plus years, and I know what kind of quality and caliber he is as a teacher and coach,” Buban said. “It was a no-brainer to bring him back.”
After Johnson’s coaching stint at Magnolia West, Buban decided to rehire him back to Bryan High because of his diverse skill set and leadership abilities.
“He is a leader, and not just with his peers, but also a leader among students,” Buban said. “He’s someone to look up to. He has high character and is just an upstanding guy.”
As a student, Johnson prioritized academics over athletics and credited his family with keeping him on top of his schoolwork.
“My parents stressed the importance of performing in the classroom first because without that, nothing you do on the field matters,” Johnson said. “I had to make sure that I was performing well, taking care of business, and doing what I needed to do in the classroom. All of that stuff translated onto the field, and I firmly believe that how you do anything is how you do everything.”
As offensive coordinator, one of Johnson’s goals this year is to stress the importance of the mental aspect of football and use his own experience as an example of how to perform.
“For me, the most important thing that took away from my time as a student-athlete was how critical the mental aspect of being able to perform on the field was,” Johnson said. “That’s equally as important, if not more, than the physical aspect of playing in the game. The mental part is what ends up deciding the game a lot of times.”
Even in the short time he has been here, Johnson has positively impacted the players he’s coached, both on the field and off.
“I really love coach Johnson,” wide receiver Tyree Love said. “He’s a really cool dude, and I like his play-styling and play-calling. I feel like this year will be a really good year just because he’s here, and he will be able to help us a lot on the offensive side.”
Since Johnson graduated from Bryan High, the players also believe that he can relate to them personally and understand how they feel about their education.
“He already knows what it’s like to be at Bryan High and what it’s like to work and go through what we go through every day on the field,” Love said. “He’s a really good coach; you can open up and talk to him when necessary.”
Another objective Johnson wants to accomplish this year is to encourage students to experience what it is like to be a football player at Bryan High and how their performance reflects on the team and the school as a whole.
“I want to keep promoting the pride aspect of what it means to be a Bryan Viking,” Johnson said. “It has been my main focus to instill in our guys to have pride in doing the little things right.”
Buban believes that Johnson’s teaching abilities and coaching skills are vital to Bryan High’s success. He also thinks Johnson will become a head coach or athletic director in the near future.
“I think that his coaching affects the classroom, and the classroom teaching affects the coaching. They help one another,” Buban said. “He has proven himself in the classroom and on the field, and I think that those are why he’s going to be a head coach somewhere pretty quick.”
Johnson loves having the opportunity to coach students at his alma mater and hopes that he can return what has been given to him.
“If the opportunity presents itself, I’d love to take that next step and become a head coach someday,” Johnson said. “Having the opportunity to give back, serve my community, and work with the next generation of student-athletes is something that I’ll always be grateful for having the opportunity to do.”