Nansen most recently served as Arizona’s defensive coordinator for two seasons and has previously worked with Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian.
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Longhorns will have a new man helping direct the defense next season.
On Saturday, the program announced the hiring Johnny Nansen to serve as the team’s co-defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach, according to a report from KVUE’s media partners at the Austin American-Statesman.
Nansen joins the Longhorns after serving as Arizona’s defensive coordinator for the last two seasons. He replaces Jeff Choate, who left the team after their Sugar Bowl loss to become the head coach at the University of Nevada.
Nansen has prior history with Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian. In 2009, Sarkisian, the newly hired head coach at Washington, hired Nansen to serve as the team’s defensive line coach, a role he served in from 2009 until 2011. In 2012, he was promoted to running backs coach and assistant head coach and similarly served in that role for two seasons. He also oversaw the Huskies’ special teams units during his tenure.
Nansen again worked with Sarkisian from 2014 until 2015, when he served on Sarkisian’s staff at USC as the assistant head coach, running backs coach and special teams coordinator.
Nansen will now assist in overseeing a defense that saw drastic improvements in 2023 under Choate and defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski. His defense at Arizona ranked 29th nationally in scoring, allowing just over 21 points per game en route to a 10-3 record. In comparison, the Longhorns’ defense ranked 15th in scoring defense, allowing just under 19 points per game in 2023.
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