Bill Johnson (born June 23, 1955) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former defensive lineman who is the senior defensive assistant for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was recently the defensive line coach for the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League (UFL).

Collegiate coaching career

Johnson began his coaching career at

Northwestern State Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSULA) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Johnson and Alexandria. It is a part of the Un ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

as a graduate assistant before becoming a defensive ends/linebackers coach at the school. He then served as defensive line coach and also outside linebackers coach at McNeese State. Johnson spent one season at

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

before returning to Louisiana as the defensive line coach at

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – Hig ...

. He then spent two seasons as defensive line coach at

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

before moving to

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

as their defensive line coach. He then returned to Arkansas as their defensive line coach for one season before moving to the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

. He served as defensive line coach at

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

from 2019 to 2020. Johnson's intentions to retire following the 2020 season were made public on December 21, 2020, but he stayed on staff at LSU for the 2021 season as a defensive analyst.

Professional coaching career

Johnson has served as a defensive line coach for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

, and Birmingham Stallions of the USFL. In 2022, Johnson joined the XFL as the defensive line coach for the Houston Roughnecks. On January 1, 2024, it was announced the Roughnecks staff would not be a part of the UFL Merger. On January 9, 2024, Johnson was hired to be the defensive line coach for the Birmingham Stallions. On January 30, 2025, Johnson was hired by the

as a senior defensive assistant focusing on the defensive line.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Bill 1955 births Living people Sportspeople from Monroe, Louisiana Coaches of American football from Louisiana Players of American football from Louisiana American football centers Northwestern State Demons football players Northwestern State Demons football coaches McNeese Cowboys football coaches Miami Hurricanes football coaches Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football coaches Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches Texas A&M Aggies football coaches LSU Tigers football coaches Atlanta Falcons coaches Denver Broncos coaches New Orleans Saints coaches Los Angeles Rams coaches Chicago Bears coaches Birmingham Stallions (2022) coaches Houston Roughnecks coaches