Travis Johansen is officially set to be the Rutgers defensive coordinator next season, as the board of governors has officially approved the contract he signed in their meeting yesterday. He comes to Rutgers with a lot of defensive coordinator experience and some head coaching experience.
He spent six years as the defensive coordinator for FCS South Dakota before becoming the team’s head coach in 2025. He led the Coyotes to a 10-5 record and an FCS playoff appearance during his only season as their
head coach. He also has defensive coordinator experience at Grand View, which competes in the NAIA, and at DII Concordia (MN).
The last three years at South Dakota have been some of the most successful in program history, winning 10 games or more in each of those seasons. He was the defensive coordinator for the Coyotes during the first two and their head coach during the last one.
In 2023, when he was defensive coordinator for South Dakota, the team finished fourth in the FCS rankings and had its first-ever 10-win season in D1. The defense, in particular, finished in the top 10 in terms of scoring defense and top 25 in terms of both total defense and passing defense. The team repeated these finishes in 2024 and was a top ten scoring defense again in 2025.
In 2025, Johansen led his team as the head coach to the FCS playoffs, posting a 10-5 record and beating three top 25 FCS teams before getting knocked out in the quarterfinals.
“When you played the Coyotes in my time here, you were in for some of the most competitive and physical football teams in the country. What once was a win on the schedule is now far from that. The program is set up to win long terms, and I am incredibly proud of the work we did,” said Johansen in a statement to 247sports
Respect from NFL Coaches
When NFL defensive coaches were first adapting to spread offenses, they reached out to college-level coaches for tips and tricks on how to defend them. Johansen was quoted in an article written by Connor Orr of Sports Illustrated that sought to break down this phenomenon, as he was one of the coaches who was reached out to. That article was written in 2018 when Johansen was at Grand View.
A few more interesting facts about Johansen are that both he and Nebraska DC Rob Aurich coached at South Dakota under longtime head coach Bob Nielson. Aurich was one of the candidates heavily pursued by Rutgers early on in the search.
Johansen’s Thoughts On the Move Up to the Big Ten
After having so much success at the lower levels, Johansen is eager to take on the challenge of rebuilding Rutgers’ defense in the Big Ten.
“I feel like I’ve done this before at USD, and the challenge to get it done in the Big Ten is a special opportunity.”
In an interview with Jay Elsen of Midco Sports, Johansen spoke about how a chance to work with Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano was something that he could not pass up.
“Coach Schiano is as respected a coach as there is in the country. His experience in defensive football and as a leader was very enticing and something I couldn’t pass up.”
To support me and my work, please follow @Andrew78Rice on X!
