Bennett Johnson takes over Goldsboro football job

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on March 29, 2014 11:24 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Goldsboro High administrators got the coach they wanted all along.

Bennett Johnson got his dream job.

The record-setting high school quarterback was officially named the Cougars' new varsity head football coach Friday morning. He succeeds Eric Reid, who resigned in December after guiding the program to 61 victories in a seven-year stint.

"Just being here one year, it didn't take long to figure out how much I love these kids, love the community," said Johnson, who served as the Cougars' offensive coordinator in 2012.

"When I realized I could come back and bring most of the staff that was here with me, it was a no brainer."

Goldsboro High principal Brian Weeks, athletics director Ray Lippert and Wayne School of Engineering principal Gary Hales steered a selection committee that interviewed numerous quality candidates for the position.

They met with the players several times and assured them they were not looking for a "quick" fix.

"We let them know we were taking our time so that we made a good decision, not a quick decision just to fill a position, but a decision that we were bringing a quality coach over here for a while," Weeks said.

"We felt like Coach Johnson offers some continuity to the program after being here before. We're definitely excited about adding him to the staff."

In his previous stint at Goldsboro, Johnson devised an offense that produced a 2,000-yard quarterback and a 1,000-yard running back. The Cougars scored 62 touchdowns that season, seized the program's third Carolina 1-A Conference regular-season championship and finished with 10 wins.

The 26-year-old Johnson, who starred at Beddingfield High School in Wilson, has spent the last two years at Mount Olive Middle School. Before his arrival in Wayne County, he worked as an intern with current Wilson Fike head coach Tom Nelson and coached the running backs at Pinecrest HS.

"Coach Reid laid down the foundation here and I just want to say that I'm thankful he gave me the opportunity to get involved in this school two years ago," Johnson said. "To get a job like this at 26 years old is nothing more than a blessing. Even though I'm young and it's my first head coaching job, I've gotten to see things through a lot of different lenses. I've seen things I like, I've seen things I don't like.

"I'm hoping I can take that experience and apply it here."

Goldsboro finished a disappointing 4-7 last season and did not advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.