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Fort Lewis College Athletics

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Johnny Cox

Recruiting Areas: Colorado, Arizona

Johnny Cox, one of Fort Lewis College’s all-time greats, looks to maintain the Skyhawks upward trend in his fourth season in the fall of 2025. Hired as the 16th head coach in program history, Cox returned to Durango on Jan. 10, 2022, to rebuild his alma mater into a quality program within the daunting Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. 
 
The 2024 season was a turning point for Fort Lewis as Cox guided the program to a 3-8 overall record and a 2-7 mark against RMAC competition and snapped the then-longest losing streak in college football at 40 games. The Skyhawks got back on track with a win over Arizona Christian (Sept. 14) before later handling Adams State (Nov. 2) and New Mexico Highlands (Nov. 9) on back-to-back weekends to earn the program’s first conference wins since 2019. In addition, Fort Lewis finished in seventh place in the RMAC among ten conference teams.
 
Since his arrival, Cox has emphasized student-athlete success both on and off the field and saw 18 Skyhawks named to the RMAC Academic Honor Roll and 24 Skyhawks to the National Football Foundation Colorado Chapter (NFFCC) Academic All-Colorado team in 2024. Four players then advanced to earn College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors. On the gridiron, however, Fort Lewis boasted two Second-Team All-RMAC selections in Jacob Penney (LB) and Orlando Guevara (KR). Penney finished fifth in NCAA Division II with 122 total tackles (11.1 tackles per game), while Guevara finished second in the RMAC and 34th in DII with 536 return yards and owned one of nine 99+ yard kickoff returns for a touchdown in the nation. The duo later earned First-Team All-Colorado honors from the NFFCC. Jacob LaCroix (OL), Cheilotam Udengwu (OL), Kalib Davis (FS), and Hunter Villavicenio (P) were all named Honorable Mention All-RMAC as well.
 
In his second season with Fort Lewis in 2023, the Skyhawks improved in various statistical categories across the board including rushing yards per game (+21.7), passing yards per game (+52.31), total offense (+74.1), posted six games with 300+ yards of total offense for the first time since 2016, and scored the most points in a single season since 2018 with 146. 

Cox coached two-year Skyhawk Braden Wingle (QB) to one of the most statistically significant careers at Fort Lewis as Wingle hung up his cleats ranking eighth all-time in career passing yards (3,724), first in average yards per pass (9.7), second in career completion percentage (59.5%), sixth in completions (384), and seventh in attempts (645). 

Fort Lewis saw Villavicencio (P) capture Second-Team All-National Football Foundation Colorado Chapter honors: he's the first to secure any such honor since 2018. Villavicenio was also named Second-Team All-RMAC, while Peyton Monson (WR) and Lacroix (OL) each earned an All-RMAC honorable mention. In addition, nine Skyhawks were tabbed with RMAC Academic Honor Roll nods, while Julio Romo (OL) and Tristen Williams (LB) were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. 

In 2022, Fort Lewis improved its total offense by 42.9 yards per game under the direction of Cox and his new coaching staff's offensive scheme. Most notably, Max Hyson (DE) – a First-Team Academic All-RMAC selection – was named the NFFCC All-Colorado Scholar-Athlete of the Year over Colorado football athletes across the Division I and Division II landscape, including 2022 Harlon Hill Award Winner John Matocha from Colorado School of Mines. 

17 additional Skyhawks earned Academic All-Colorado honors in 2022 alongside Hyson. Fort Lewis also captured three All-RMAC Honorable Mentions through the regular season, including Ryan Barkley (OL), Dylan Holt (WR), and Zach Russell (TE). Three additional Skyhawks were named to the RMAC Academic Honor Roll: Barkley, Williams, and Matthew Waid (P). 

A 28-year coaching veteran, Cox is a 1994 graduate and two-time All-American at FLC. He rejoins the Skyhawks after spending eight seasons at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, an NCAA Division II program competing in the Mountain East Conference.

Inducted into the FLC Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999, Cox was a four-year star for FLC at the wide receiver position from 1990-93. Cox earned First Team All-American honors in 1992 and 1993 while being named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Player of the Year for the 1993 season.

Cox still owns FLC school records in receiving yards (3,611) and receiving touchdowns (33), while his 220 career catches are the second most in program history. His dominance on the field made him a two-time finalist for the Harlan Hill Trophy, which is awarded to the best player in NCAA Division II football.

He continued his playing career in 1994-95 when he was invited to training camp with the Green Bay Packers in 1994. Cox also played one season with the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League in 1995.

It was during that time when Cox also got his coaching career off the ground as he served as the defensive backs coach at FLC in 1994. After earning his master's degree and serving as a graduate assistant at the University of Texas from 1997-99, Cox returned to FLC to serve as the offensive coordinator in 1999 and interim head coach in 2000.

Following a four-year stint as an assistant coach at North Dakota State, Cox served four seasons (2000-03) as head coach at Rex Putnam High School in Milwaukie, Oregon, before making his return to the college ranks as special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach at Holy Cross for the 2007 season.

Cox made his NFL coaching debut as a part of former Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin's defensive staff (quality control) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2008 season. He also spent time as both the wide receivers and offensive quality control coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars under defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio's staff from 2009-11.

Following a two-year stop at North Carolina A&T as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, Cox began his time at UNC Pembroke in 2014 as the offensive coordinator and, most recently, as the Braves' associate head coach.

The Braves made tremendous strides during Cox's tenure, going from a 2-8 overall record in 2014 to posting a record of 10-2 overall in 2016. UNCP set school records in wins, was ranked as high as No. 12 in the country, and won the program's first-ever playoff game that season en route to reaching the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.
 
Born February 5, 1972, Cox graduated from Fort Lewis College with his Bachelor of Arts in Exercise Science before later completing his Master of Science in Kinesiology at the University of Texas in 2000.  

COACHING EXPERIENCE
1994 Fort Lewis, Assistant Coach (Defensive Backs)
1995-96 Overland High School (Colo.), Assistant Coach (Wide Receivers/Defensive Backs)
1996-97 North Dakota State, Graduate Assistant (Wide Receivers/Running Backs)
1997-99 Texas, Graduate Assistant (Wide Receivers/Offensive Line)
1999 Fort Lewis, Assistant Coach (Offensive Coordinator)
2000 Fort Lewis, Interim Head Coach
2000-03 North Dakota State, Assistant Coach (Wide Receivers/Kickoff Returns)
2003-07 Rex Putnam High School (Ore.), Head Coach
2007-08 Holy Cross, Assistant Coach (Special Teams Coordinator/Wide Receivers)
2008-09 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Assistant Coach (Quality Control-Defense)
2009-11 Jacksonville Jaguars, Assistant Coach (Quality Control-Offense)
2011 Jacksonville Jaguars, Assistant Coach (Wide Receivers)
2012-13 North Carolina A&T, Assistant Coach (Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator)
2014-21 UNC Pembroke, Assistant Coach (Offensive Coordinator)
2022-Present Fort Lewis, Head Coach
 
PLAYING EXPERIENCE
1990-93 Fort Lewis, Wide Receiver, RMAC Player of the Year (1993), Two-Time Regional Finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy (Best Overall Player in Division II)
1994 Green Bay Packers Training Camp
1995 Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League