CRETE, NEB. - After four losing seasons in the last five years, Doane football has a new leader at the helm. Johnathon Johnson is the new Tigers head coach and after four losing seasons in the past five years, he’s looking to bring Doane back to a winning tradition.

Something that attracted him to Crete? A hometown feel.

“I’m from a small town in Georgia, a place on Friday night when there’s a home football game, you could rob everybody in town, because everyone was at the game,” Johnson said. “Crete’s that way to me… Everybody here loves Doane University, they love their football team, they love the university and there’s a pride and history.”

Johnson and the Tigers met with the media on Monday at small college media days in Crete. Johnson came to Doane from Hilbert College in New York where he was an assistant coach and defensive coordinator. He also has FCS experience having coached at D1 Stetson University.

As he transitions the Tigers into a new era, his number one goal is establishing a culture.

“We want our players to love each other, we want our coaches to love our players  and we ant them to love Doane University and the Crete community,” Johnson said. “We’ve been working very hard at that this spring to establish that through the different things we’ve done in the community, as well as here on campus. Just establishing that love and culture between the players and coaches and in the community, will give us a step.”

Johnson brings with him an entire new staff of assistants and coordinators. Something senior linebacker Reece Zutavern says has given new life to the the Tigers.

“I think it just has energized us as a whole,” Zutavern said. “I think they’ve brought a lot of energy, new ideas and philosophy that will help our football IQ and help our playing ability as well.”

Having had just one non-losing season, a 5-5 finish in 2021, seniors like Zutavern and Crete native Owen Kuntz say they’re motivated to end their careers on a high note.


“It’s always a big motivator, no one likes to lose,” Zutavern said. “I think the big thing motivating me is to get better everyday as a team, unit, and that’ll propel the defense and propel the team to get better as well.”

“Going into my last year of eligibility, I would like to leave the program better than I found it,” Kuntz said. “The last two years are what they are, but we have an opportunity to set this program up for success moving forward.”