The Houston Gamblers named Curtis Johnson their new head coach on Wednesday.
“We’re very excited for Coach Johnson to bring his 35 years of experience improving players at the professional and collegiate levels to the USFL family as the new Houston Gamblers Head Coach,” said Daryl Johnston, executive vice president of football operations.
The former Tulane head coach replaces Kevin Sumlin.
“Coach Johnson has been on the USFL head coach radar, so when Coach Sumlin recently informed us that he would be stepping down, I immediately called Curtis. We’re thrilled that he enthusiastically embraced the challenge to be the Gamblers Head Coach,” Johnston said.
Johnson, 61, returns to professional football after two separate stints with the New Orleans Saints as a wide receivers coach and senior offensive assistant. In 2009 he coached on the team that won Super Bowl XLIV.
He went 15-34 in four seasons as the head coach at Tulane (2012-15).
He’s also been an assistant at California, San Diego State, SMU, Idaho, and Miami, where he helped the 2001 Hurricanes win the national championship.
He takes over a Gamblers team that will be hosted in Memphis, Tenn., for the upcoming season.
The Gamblers went 3-7 in 2022, the first season of the USFL reboot. Season 2 kicks off in April.
–Field Level Media