Legendary California high school football coach dies after battle with Alzheimer's

One of the titans of California high school football died early Wednesday morning, with news breaking that former El Toro and Mission Viejo coach Bob Johnson had passed at the age of 80.

Johnson had been enduring a battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

The Hall of Famer had retired in 2017 after winning six CIF-Southern Section titles at Mission Viejo and three at El Toro. In the process, he became one of the five-winningest head coaches in state history while winning 342 games. Those victories also made him the second-winningest coaches in Orange County’s illustrious history, and his teams lost just 95 total games over a career that spanned five decades.

He was later inducted into California High School Football Hall of Fame in 2023 and was well-known for his development of quarterbacks — including former USC stars Mark Sanchez and Heisman winner Carson Palmer.

“The word ‘legend’ gets thrown around way too much but Bob was a true legend of the game,” Greg Biggins, a recruiting analyst for Rivals, told the Orange County Register. “Bob was one of the original QB gurus and unlike today, he did it for the love of the position and not a quick buck.”

In addition to his high school coaching prowess, Johnson was also one of the co-founders of the Elite 11, a passing academy that holds camps across the country before inviting 20 of the nation’s top rising senior quarterbacks to Los Angeles for a three-day training and competition session.

Elite 11 Finals alumni include Palmer, Andrew Luck, Matthew Stafford, Tim Tebow, and more recently Trevor Lawrence, C.J. Stroud, and Bryce Young.

Johnson’s sons were also standout quarterbacks

During his time at Mission Viejo, Johnson coached multiple NFL Draft picks: offensive lineman Jeff Baca, offensive tackle Jarrett Patterson, quarterback Jordan Palmer and defensive end Nick Reed.

His two sons, Rob and Bret, were also standout high school quarterbacks who went on to careers at UCLA and USC, respectively. Rob starred at El Toro before signing with the Trojans as one of the state’s top quarterback recruits in 1991. He left USC holding virtually every major passing record, many of which were later broken by Sanchez and Palmer, two of his dad’s proteges. He was named to All-Pac 10 team in 1993 and was later taken in the NFL expansion draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1995.

Bret played at both UCLA and Michigan State before a brief career in the Canadian Football League.

Both sons followed in their father’s footsteps to become coaches after their playing days were over. Rob currently serves as an assistant at Mission Viejo.