El Toro’s Johnson Resigns to Follow His Sons’ Careers

Bob Johnson, one of the most successful football coaches in the Southern Section the past 13 years, announced his resignation Tuesday at El Toro High School.

Johnson’s teams compiled a 119-45 record and won six league and three Southern Section titles. El Toro also qualified for the playoffs 13 straight years, the longest current streak in Orange County.

Johnson said his desire to support and watch his sons, Bret and Rob, throughout their college careers was the reason for his decision to resign. Bret is a junior quarterback at Michigan State, having transferred from UCLA after losing his starting job this season; Rob, a senior at El Toro, is a highly recruited quarterback who has not yet made a college commitment.

“I’m not burned out, and there’s nothing I enjoy more than coaching kids,” said Johnson, 45. “But I’ve followed both of my sons’ athletic careers since they were youngsters and I want to watch them play college football.

“I don’t want to be coaching at Muirlands and La Paz (Mission Viejo High) while Bret is playing in South Bend, Ind. I’ve always been there for my kids, so it’s time to put my profession on hold.

“I want to coach again. I’m not done coaching. I’m going to take a back seat for a while,” said Johnson, who said he’ll likely consider coaching again once his sons finish college. “I’m a guy who doesn’t look down the road that much, but maybe in a year or so I’ll think I need to get back.

“There’s a lot of me that wants to go into college football. We’ve done quite a bit in the high school area--but I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t go back to that either.”

Johnson was hired at El Toro in 1978 after being an assistant coach at Los Amigos. He immediately built the program into one of the strongest in the county. El Toro was the tri-champion of the Sea View League in Johnson’s third season and the school won the league title three straight years from 1980-82.

El Toro won its first postseason championship, defeating Fullerton, 35-19, for the Central Conference title in 1982.

El Toro’s Southern Conference championship team finished 14-0 in 1986 and is considered one of the best in county history. The team featured Johnson’s son, Bret, who was named the county’s back of the year as a junior.

“This team deserves to be ranked with anyone you want to talk about,” Bob Johnson said after the title game.

El Toro repeated as Southern Conference champion in 1987, finishing 12-2.

El Toro’s only losses in 1987 came while Bret was recovering from knee surgery. Despite the injury, Bret repeated as the county’s back of the year.

After an off-year in 1988, El Toro returned to a postseason championship game in 1989 with son Rob playing wide receiver. The Chargers lost to Paramount, 26-20, in the Division III title game.

Rob moved to quarterback this season and led El Toro to a second-place finish in the South Coast League. But once again, Paramount beat El Toro in the playoffs, 19-8, in the semifinals of the Division II playoffs.

“I wouldn’t trade the last 13 years for anything,” Johnson said. “I’ve enjoyed the challenge of being the No. 1 team in the county and the relationship I had with the staff and players at El Toro.

“The staff here was responsible for our success. We always maintained some of the best high school coaches in the county, and the program’s success will continue long after I’m gone.

“These are important times in my sons’ lives, and (Johnson’s wife) Debbie and I made a decision to support our sons. We’ll be traveling, tailgating and enjoying the games as fans for a change.”

Johnson will continue to teach physical education at El Toro. Don Martin, El Toro principal, said he didn’t anticipate opening the coaching position until after the holiday break.

“We have plenty of time until spring ball begins,” Martin said.

JOHNSON’S RECORD

The career coaching record of Bob Johnson, who resigned Tuesday as El Toro High School coach:

Year Record Postseason 1978 7-3 1979 7-5 1980 7-5 1981 7-5 1982 12-2 Central Conf. champion 1983 6-6 1984 9-4 Southern Conf. semifinalist 1985 9-4 Southern Conf. semifinalist 1986 14-0 Southern Conf. champion 1987 12-2 Southern Conf. champion 1988 6-5 1989 12-2 Division III runnerup 1990 11-2 Division II semifinalist Total 119-45

Note: El Toro won six league titles, three division titles and qualified for the Southern Section playoffs 13 straight years under Johnson.