Longhorns hire Johnny Nansen as co-defensive coordinator, linebackers coach

AUSTIN (KXAN) — After helping guide the Arizona Wildcats to a 10-3 season and Alamo Bowl title, Johnny Nansen is headed to Austin.

Texas Athletics announced Nansen’s hire Saturday, and he’ll take over as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. He replaces Jeff Choate who is now the head coach for the Nevada Wolfpack.

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“Johnny is a guy I’ve known for a long time, and I have so much respect for,” Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “He has a wealth of knowledge and experience, is highly regarded in our business, and is a tremendous recruiter. He’s a high-energy coach who does a great job developing his players and getting the best out of them.”

For the past eight seasons, Nansen has been part of the Wildcats’ defensive staff with the last two as the coordinator. The Wildcats made a huge turnaround after a 5-7 season in 2022 to a No. 14 ranking at the end of the regular season and a 38-24 win over No. 11 Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl. The Wildcats forced six turnovers against the Sooners, scoring 27 points off of them.

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Nansen previously coached under Sarkisian at Washington on both offense and special teams, and also at USC where Nansen handled linebackers, the defensive run game and was an assistant head coach. He was also named the Pac-12’s recruiter of the year in 2017 by 247Sports.com.

It didn’t take much convincing for Nansen to take the job, he said.

“When Coach Sark called it was an easy decision. It’s a dream come true to work at a place like Texas — with all its rich history and tradition — and reuniting with Sark is a big part of it, too,” Nansen said. “He gave me a chance at Washington and USC, and I’ve been fortunate to grow as a coach through him and look forward to doing that again.”

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