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High school football coaching ‘legend’ Bob Johnson dies after fight with Alzheimer’s

March 12, 2026

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Hall of Fame high school football coach Bob Johnson, who built powerhouse programs at El Toro and Mission Viejo and became known for mentoring for his sons and other top quarterbacks, died Wednesday after a long fight with Alzheimer’s disease, his son Bret confirmed.

Johnson, 80, retired at Mission Viejo after the 2017 season as Orange County’s all-time leader in coaching victories with 338, according to county football historian Dennis Bateman.

In a coaching career that spanned five decades, Johnson guided El Toro to three CIF Southern Section titles in the 1980s and later led Mission Viejo to five section championships and a state crown in 2015.

Johnson accomplished it all despite taking about a decade off from coaching to watch his sons Bret and Rob play as collegiate and professional quarterbacks.

“He lived for coaching kids,” Bret Johnson said in a phone interview. “He touched not just the lives of players but parents (and) boosters.”

“There’s a lot of people that he helped and touched,” he added. “That was pretty much what he was all about.”

Mission Viejo coach Bob Johnson is set to retire at the end of this season after a five decade coaching career. He has the most wins in O.C. history and is third in state history. Photographed at Mission Viejo High School in Mission Viejo, CA on Thursday, October 26, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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The quarterback position was Johnson’s specialty. His arsenal of coaching knowledge included years as quarterback coach with the Elite 11 camp and hosting 7-on-7 competitions.

“He was one of the first guys to do passing league,” said Brett Paton, who played for Bob Johnson at El Toro and later coached with him. “Bob was a competitor. There was no one more competitive.”

At El Toro, Bob Johnson coached his sons Bret and Rob as quarterbacks. Bret went on to play at UCLA and Michigan State and later in the Canadian Football League. Rob played at USC before a 10-year career in the NFL.

Both sons coached under their father at Mission Viejo. Bret’s son Brock became a standout quarterback for the Diablos.

Bob Johnson’s wife Debbie, who he was married to for nearly 60 years, was a fixture at football games.

“He was about family first,” Bret Johnson said of his dad. “Not overly affectionate (as a father), but you knew he loved you.”

As a coach, Bob Johnson was known as an innovator.

In the late 1980s, one of his El Toro teams traveled to Pennsylvania for a national spotlight game, which are now commonplace on the high school scene.

As co-founder of the Elite 11 quarterback camp, Johnson mentored many future professionals. His proteges included Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer (Santa Margarita/USC) and Mark Sanchez (Mission Viejo/USC).

“I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from him,” said Palmer, now the football coach at Santa Margarita. “He had a tremendous love for the game and strived to help everyone reach their goals.”

“The game of football is better because of men like Bob Johnson,” Palmer added.

Bob Johnson was known as an “old-school” coach.

Bret Johnson said as a high school football coach at Mission Viejo, his father wrote notes on yellow legal pads and received assistance from aids to send emails.

Yet, Bob Johnson’s ability to recognize and evaluate talent was impressive.

“He could identify talent,” Paton said. “He would say in a meeting, ‘I don’t know what we’re doing with this guy. He’s got to be playing.’ So we’d try him here and there and he’d turn out to be one of our best guys.”

Johnson was inducted into the CIF-SS Hall of Fame in 2018 and California High School Football Hall of Fame in 2023.

His SoCal roots include coaching Los Amigos from 1970-72. He played quarterback at Redondo Union High School and El Camino College.

While living at a memory care facility in Aliso Viejo, Johnson was affectionately known as “Coach,” Bret Johnson said.

“The word ‘legend’ gets thrown around way too much but Bob was a true legend of the game,” said Greg Biggins, a recruiting analyst for Rivals/On3. “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.”

Bob Johnson’s death generated an outpouring of support. One of his friends was Mater Dei boys basketball coach Gary McKnight.

“He was my walking partner for six years,” McKnight, 73, said. “We talked a lot about our boys.”

“If I was two minutes late, he’d be on my case,” the coach added. “He was a great man.”

Bob Johnson is survived his wife Debbie, sons Bret and Rob, daughter-in-laws Chalene and Dana and six grandchildren. Service arrangements haven’t been announced.

High school football coaching ‘legend’ Bob Johnson dies after fight with Alzheimer’s Orange County Register

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High school football coaching ‘legend’ Bob Johnson dies after fight with Alzheimer’s

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