PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers football head coach Greg Schiano has named Travis Johansen defensive coordinator. Leading South Dakota to the FCS Playoffs quarterfinals in his first season as head coach in 2025 and previously winning a national championship at Grand View, the Minnesota native has directed six top-10 defenses in bringing 14 years of defensive coordinator experience to New Jersey.
"We are excited to welcome Coach Johansen, his wife Natalie, and their children Laila, Layne and Tate to Rutgers," Schiano said. "Travis is a strong leader, sharp defensive mind and winner. He has a proven track record of player development and innovation, which makes him a great fit to lead our defense."
Taking over as South Dakota head coach in 2025 after six seasons on staff as defensive coordinator (2019-24), including three as associate head coach (2022-24), Johansen led the Coyotes to a 10-5 mark and a second-place finish in the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) with a 6-2 league record. That featured three straight victories over ranked opponents to end the regular season and a final ranking of No. 9 (Stats Perform). He became the first coach in program history to win double-digit games in their first season, as USD earned an FCS Playoffs berth, shutting out Mercer, 47-0, to reach the quarterfinals for the third consecutive season – a program first.
Cornerback Mikey Munn was named Second Team All-America by FCS Football Central in his first season as a starter after leading the conference and ranking third in the FCS with five interceptions, adding 10 pass breakups, while cornerback RJ Stewart was selected as a Freshman All-American with 10 passes defended (seven breakups, three interceptions). The defense placed 22nd nationally with 12 interceptions overall. Offensively, First Team All-America running back L.J. Phillips Jr. rushed for 1,921 yards to lead all FCS players.
Johansen has produced 16 defensive players who have gone on to be drafted in the NFL, signed as a free agent or received camp invites in his coaching career. That includes 10 pros from South Dakota, plus three from both of his stops at Grand View and Concordia, St. Paul. In the 2024 NFL Draft, defensive back Myles Harden was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round. He joined defensive back Mike Reid (Carolina Panthers) and linebacker Jack Cochrane (Kansas City Chiefs), who is a two-time Super Bowl champion, as active players during the 2025 season.
In his previous two seasons as defensive coordinator (2023-24), Johansen led a unit that ranked inside the top 10 in scoring defense and top 25 in total defense each year, as the Coyotes made consecutive trips to the FCS Playoffs quarterfinals. In total, Johansen owns 14 seasons of defensive coordinator experience during his stops at South Dakota, Grand View (2013-18) and Concordia, St. Paul (2006-12).
In leading the USD defense to new heights, he coached a pair of MVFC Defensive Players of the Year in Brock Mogensen (2023) and Mi'Quise Grace (2024), who were also Buck Buchannan Award finalists, an honor presented to the best defensive player at the FCS level. Overall, he mentored seven All-America picks and seven First Team All-MVFC performers as coordinator with the Coyotes. Photo credit: Adam Pearson
The 2024 season saw Johansen lead a unit that sat top 10 in scoring defense (seventh, 17.6) and top 20 in rushing defense (17th, 116.1). The Coyotes put together one of the best seasons in school history with an 11-3 (7-1 MVFC) record with a share of the MVFC title and a trip to the FCS Playoffs semifinals, both program firsts. The MVFC honors saw seven all-conference defensive honorees for USD, including three First Team All-MVFC performers with Nick Gaes (10) and Grace (9.5) finishing 1-2 in the league in total sacks.
The defense played a key role in the Coyotes' breakthrough season in 2023. The campaign featured a team ranked No. 4 in the final FCS rankings (STATS Perform and AFCA), picking up the first 10-win season in the DI FCS era and first since 1986 as a program, the most MVFC wins in a season and the first trip to the FCS Playoffs quarterfinal round. The defense was instrumental in the team's success, being ranked in the top 25 in the FCS in three defensive categories: No. 8 in scoring defense (17.7), No. 18 in passing defense (180.8) and No. 25 in total defense (323.3).
The 2021 season proved to be a breakout season for the Coyote defense under Johansen, in just his second full season (non-COVID year). That season saw USD make the program's first MVFC Championship Game appearance, as well as hosting their first home FCS Playoffs game. South Dakota finished 7-5 with the defense ranking inside the top 25 in three categories, including No. 21 in sacks per game (2.75), No. 23 in scoring defense (20.7) and No. 24 in rushing defense (120.9).
Johansen's first season at USD in 2019 featured several highlights. During a three-game win streak in the first half of the season, the Coyotes held their three opponents to a combined 745 yards and 16 points. It marked the first time since 2008 that USD held three consecutive foes to 16 points or fewer. South Dakota went on to knock off No. 5 South Dakota State on Senior Day inside the DakotaDome when Johansen's unit stopped three fourth-quarter drives to preserve a 24-21 victory.
Johansen arrived at South Dakota after six seasons as defensive coordinator at Grand View (Iowa), where the Vikings compiled a 61-11 record with five Heart of America Athletic Conference championships, six NAIA playoff appearances and the 2013 NAIA national title following a 14-0 campaign. Grand View finished inside the top 15 of the NAIA national rankings in all six seasons, including four top-10 rankings.
During his stop in Des Moines, Johansen was a Heart of America Assistant Coach of the Year finalist in each of his last two seasons and was a national coordinator of the year finalist in 2015. He was featured in a Sports Illustrated article, "The Search to Save NFL Defenses," in November 2018. Grand View was ranked as one of the top NAIA defenses throughout Johansen's stay there, producing seven defensive All-Americans.
Johansen worked with the secondary at his alma mater (Concordia, St. Paul) before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2011. The year prior, the Golden Bears won eight games, most in their Division II era, and competed in the Mineral Water Bowl. He recruited Concordia's first NFL Draft pick in Zach Moore, a sixth-round selection by the New England Patriots in 2014.
Johansen grew up in Blaine, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities, and was a standout linebacker at Concordia, St. Paul, where he earned All-NSIC honors as a team captain and won two NSIC championships. He graduated with a degree in kinesiology and sport science in 2006 and stayed on staff at Concordia for seven years before moving to Grand View.
In his playing career, Johansen was a four-year starter with a 33-13 record, including a 24-7 mark in conference play. He finished with 221 career tackles, 23.5 for loss and five sacks in his dual role as a safety and linebacker for the Golden Bears. Johansen was inducted into Concordia University's Hall of Fame Class of 2021. By the time he left CUSP, Johansen participated in 65 of the program's 102 total wins at the NCAA Division II level, including a member of both NSIC championship teams and all three Mineral Water Bowl appearances, as both an athlete and a coach.
Personal
Hometown: Blaine, Minn.
Alma Mater: Concordia, St. Paul (2006)
Wife: Natalie
Children: Daughters, Laila and Layne; Son, Tate
Coaching History
2026-present: Rutgers (defensive coordinator)
2025: South Dakota (head coach)
2022-24: South Dakota (associate head coach/defensive coordinator)
2019-21: South Dakota (defensive coordinator)
2013-18: Grand View (defensive coordinator/secondary)
2011-12: Concordia, St. Paul (defensive coordinator)
2006-10: Concordia, St. Paul (defensive assistant)
