MEET COACH JUAN JOHNSON

Coach Juan Johnson welcomed by James Clemens Principal Dr. Kerry Donaldson as he made his entrance into the gym to address students, faculty and media in January.

Juan Johnson is the new kid on the block. He is currently in his first season as head coach of the football program at James Clemens High and arrived in Madison from Mobile’s Baker High where he guided the Hornets to a 9-3 overall record, and most importantly, the program’s first playoff victory in 40 years while being named the Class 7A Coach of the Year by the Alabama Football Coaches Association. Being one of over 50 who applied for the position at James Clemens, which became vacant after four-year head coach Chad McGehee retired from coaching leading the Jets to a 27-16 record with two region titles and an overall 22-6 region record, the hiring process was narrowed to a final three before Johnson was selected to lead the program.

“It’s just a matter of how you deal with people as if you can embrace people and show them the things in which they do well, things have a tendency to go your way,” said Johnson. “We want to grow in the Madison community and retain the growth of my family as a whole as it’s just a matter of embracing the people, showing them who you are, showing them what you want to do, and enhancing the product of what we put on the field and the community.”

Johnson and his wife of 13 years, Tiffany, are proud parents of three daughters, Emma Grace, 10, Ella Gray, 6, and Emily Grace, 4. They currently rent a home in the area, but already feel grounded in their new community they call home. “The family is happy,” said Johnson. “Though this is the third school for my daughters in three years, we all feel good where we are. There are very high academics here in Madison and this a great family community with everything any family would want or need. This has been a good transition for us so far.”

Earning a degree in history from Tuskegee University and a master’s in physical education from Auburn-Montgomery, Johnson began his coaching career in 2007 where he made stops at Opp, Stanhope-Elmore and T.R. Miller as an assistant coach. In 2016, he moved to Hewitt-Trussville where he remained through the 2023 season as offensive coordinator. His tenure with the Huskies proved to be outstanding with a high-powered offense that helped win 71 games in his eight seasons. He was given the opportunity to take the head coach job at Baker and felt comfortable completing many of the tasks he had for 17 seasons as an assistant.

Now, Johnson, who turned 41 in August, indicated since his arrival three major changes have taken place with the James Clemens football program: a high-tempo offense on the field, one half of his coaching staff is new and some ideas of improving the facilities on the ground with a new Athletic Director on board. One of those new hires among the staff for Johnson is Riley Niblett, a highly experience coach who made stops at some highly successful schools like the IMG Academy and Valdosta High of Georgia. He and Johnson agreed on a very potent offense will be the type of action fans will see once the team hits the field with a season opener on the road against Gardendale, a Class 6A powerhouse located just north of Birmingham.

The defense will be led by coordinator Anthony Gideon, who remains on the staff from the 2024 season.

“This is exciting for me coming back to a region I’m familiar with as I know this is a very competitive region of Class 7A schools,” said Johnson.

While at Hewitt-Trussville, Johnson experienced playing against many of this area’s teams. Most notably, a game against Bob Jones at Madison City Schools Stadium when a power failure occurred, and the game ended up being moved to Huntsville’s Milton Frank Stadium. He said, “It was probably the most unique high school football games I’ve been a part of, so I have a background of playing some of the teams here. When I arrived here, they told me a lot of the annual game versus Bob Jones and I hope to control that rivalry.”

“You want to instill faith and believe in the kids that are here and have them do the work, as if you do that work, it will show on Friday nights,” added Johnson. “I will get these players to buy in our program by believing in the process, believing in the vision, believe in what we do and control our team.”

He was a two-sport player in high school starring in both baseball and football. On the diamond, he was a second baseman, but changed to shortstop and some part-time pitching while in college. In football, he was a safety, which means he was a naturally gifted headhunter, and that mentality has carried over to his adult life and his coaching style.

“Very much so, even in the interview process it was very much set on the offensive tempo of just go, go, go,” said Johnson. “If you know my background you know physicality is what I love to bring. I’m sure I had a lot of concussions back in the day, but that was in the day they told us to get up and shake it off. Those days made me tough. All that has been really good and I’m really proud.”

The 2025 James Clemens football season is in action. It will look and feel new with Johnson at the helm of the efforts and, if anyone has doubts about what is going to happen on County Line Road, just wait and see how the new kid on the block takes charge. Hang on for the ride.