Jeremiah Johnson joined the Kent State football staff in January of 2022 as Defensive Coordinator.
Johnson came to the Golden Flashes from the University of Northern Iowa where he had served in a variety of defensive roles since 2007 and had been the defensive coordinator since 2013.
In 2021, the Panthers ranked 14th in the FCS in total defense and 13th in scoring defense. Like the Golden Flashes, Northern Iowa thrived at creating turnovers, ranking fourth in the FCS with 27. The defense's attacking style recorded 35 sacks in the 2021 fall season, good for 14th in the FCS.
The 2021 fall season was a continuing trend for Johnson, whose defenses have consistently ranked in the top-10 in multiple categories. The Panthers have ranked in the top-15 in scoring defense, total defense and turnovers forced in each of the last three seasons, ranking in the top-10 in the 2019 fall and 2021 spring seasons. In his nine seasons as the Panthers' defensive coordinator, UNI ranked in the top-20 in scoring defense seven times and six times in total defense.
