Thomas "Pepper" Johnson (born July 29, 1964) is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

, and the current defensive line coach

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

 for the New England Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

 of the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

.

College

Upon graduation from Detroit's Mackenzie High School

Mackenzie High School (Michigan)

Mackenzie High School was a public secondary education facility in Detroit, Michigan.-The early years: 1928–1940s :Located on Detroit's west side, David Mackenzie High School was named to honor the innovative educator who had served as principal of Central High School, and as first dean of the...

, Johnson played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 for the Ohio State University

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

 Buckeyes

Ohio State Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of The Ohio State University, named after the state tree, the Buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports...

 under head coach

Head coach

A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

 Earle Bruce

Earle Bruce

Earle Bruce is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Tampa , Iowa State University , Ohio State University , the University of Northern Iowa , and Colorado State University , compiling a career college football record of 154–90–2...

. Johnson lettered

Varsity letter

A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...

 every year from 1982 to 1985, and led the team in tackles in 1984 and 1985. He was a team co-captain in 1984 and 1985, and in 1985 was named as an All American. Johnson ended his college career with 379 total tackles. He was inducted into the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame

Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame

The Ohio State Varsity "O" Hall of Fame is the athletic hall of fame for The Ohio State University. Its purpose is to recognize individuals who have contributed to the honor and fame of the University in the field of athletics....

 in 2001.

NFL

Johnson was drafted

NFL Draft

The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...

 by the New York Giants

New York Giants

The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in the second round of the 1986 NFL Draft

1986 NFL Draft

The 1986 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1986...

. With the Giants, he was a member of both the Super Bowl XXI

Super Bowl XXI

Super Bowl XXI was an American football game played on January 25, 1987 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1986 regular season. The National Football Conference champion New York Giants won their first Super Bowl by defeating...

 and Super Bowl XXV

Super Bowl XXV

Super Bowl XXV was an American football game played on January 27, 1991 at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1990 regular season. The National Football Conference Champion New York Giants defeated the American Football Conference ...

-winning teams, under head coach Bill Parcells

Bill Parcells

Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells is a former American football head coach, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006...

 and assistant Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick

William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...

. After seven seasons in New York, Johnson re-joined Belichick with the Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in 1993

1993 NFL season

The 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time in league history, all NFL teams played their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks. After the success of expanding the regular season to a period of 17 weeks in 1990, the league hoped this new...

, Belichick's third season as the team's head coach. After the 1995

1995 NFL season

The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...

 season, the Browns moved to Baltimore, Maryland, and neither Belichick nor Johnson followed the team there. Johnson instead joined the Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

, whom he spent one season with in 1996

1996 NFL season

The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...

. For what would become the final two seasons of his career, Johnson again re-joined Belichick, who was now serving as the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets

New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 under Parcells. After the 1998

1998 NFL season

The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS...

 season, Johnson retired from the NFL with career totals of 25.5 sacks, 12 forced fumbles, 14 interceptions, and over 1,200 tackles.

Coaching career

Johnson began his coaching career as an assistant linebackers coach with the Patriots during the 2000 season. Johnson then served as the Patriots' inside linebackers coach from 2001

2001 New England Patriots season

The 2001 New England Patriots season was the 32nd season for the team in the National Football League and 42nd season overall. They finished with an 11–5 record and a division title before advancing to and winning Super Bowl XXXVI....

 through 2003

2003 New England Patriots season

The 2003 New England Patriots season was the 34th season for the team in the National Football League and 44th season overall. They finished with a league-best 14–2 record before advancing to and winning Super Bowl XXXVIII....

, before moving to defensive line coach in 2004

2004 New England Patriots season

The 2004 New England Patriots season was the 35th season for the team in the National Football League and 45th season overall. They finished with their second straight 14–2 record before advancing to and winning Super Bowl XXXIX, their third Super Bowl victory in four years.Following a Super Bowl...

.

Personal

Johnson's nickname of "Pepper" originated from his aunt who noticed Johnson liked to put black pepper

Black pepper

Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...

 on his breakfast cereal

Breakfast cereal

A breakfast cereal is a food made from processed grains that is often, but not always, eaten with the first meal of the day. It is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk , water, or yogurt, and sometimes fruit but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge...

. Pepper's son, Dionte Johnson

Dionte Johnson

Dionte Johnson is an American football fullback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was signed by the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Ohio State...

 (born June 28, 1986) is a former fullback

Fullback (American football)

A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...

 for the Ohio State

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

 Buckeyes

Ohio State Buckeyes football

The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...

 and the Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

. Dionte was elected as a captain of the Ohio State team in 2007, making Pepper and Dionte only the third father-son captains (after Jim and Kirk Herbstreit

Kirk Herbstreit

Kirk Herbstreit is an Emmy Award-winning analyst for ESPN's College GameDay, a television program covering college football and a provider of color commentary during college football games on ESPN and ABC. He appears annually as a commentator in EA Sports' NCAA Football. He was a quarterback on...

 and James and Jeff Davidson

Jeff Davidson

Jeff Davidson is the current offensive line coach for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League.-High school:...

) in Buckeye history.

He was referenced in the Seinfeld

Seinfeld

Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...

 episode The Diplomat's Club

The Diplomat's Club

"The Diplomat's Club" is the 108th episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 22nd episode for the 6th season. It aired on May 4, 1995.-Plot:...

.

External links

• New England Patriots bio