Erik Johnson
Assistant Coach - Defensive Coordinator
Erik Johnson joins the Griffon football staff as defensive coordinator for the 2023 season, after spending the previous three seasons alongside coach Tyler Fenwick at Southeastern Oklahoma.
In 2022, Southeastern Oklahoma boasted the third-stingiest defensive unit in the Great American Conference, allowing just 367.0 yards per game. Maalik Hall continued to be one of the most disruptive players in the GAC, finishing atop the league in sacks with eight en route to AFCA All-America honors.
In 2021, his defensive unit helped Southeastern put together one of the biggest single-season turnarounds in DII history, improving by 7.5 games to post a 9-3 record. That squad was also led by Hall, who earned GAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in addition to honorable mention all-American honors from Don Hansen's Football Gazette. Hall led a grouping of five Savage Storm players on the defensive side of the ball to earn all-GAC laurels. That 2021 defense allowed 24.3 points per game and kept offenses to 367.8 yards per game of total offense and just 210.1 yards per game through the air.
Johnson has almost 30 years of coaching experience under his belt, with a five year-stint as defensive backs coach at Claremont College in California, and a long tenure at Occidental College, where he served as defensive coordinator from 2002-2012.
While at CMS he coached six defensive back who earned All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors, including three first team selections. Those teams tallied 54 interceptions over five seasons and a total of 80 takeaways in that span.
Prior to CMS, Johnson was the defensive coordinator for Occidental College from 2002-2012, where he was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2012 season. During his time at Occidental, the team won four SCIAC titles and the defense led the SCIAC in fewest points allowed and rushing defense in 2003 and 2004.
Over 20 of his players at Occidental earned All-SCIAC honors, including Mike Bryant, the SCIAC's first three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
Prior to his arrival to Occidental, he coached at Crescenta Valley High School (Defensive Coordinator, 2001), John Muir High School (Assistant Coach, 1993-1994; Head Coach, 1994-2000) and Blair High School (Assistant Coach 1991-1993).
While at John Muir High School, Johnson coached over 40 athletes who went on to play Div. I FBS or FCS football. The Mustangs' offense broke several school records, including total yardage and points scored in a season. Defensively, John Muir ranked in the top five in points allowed in the CIF Southern Section in 1999 and 2000. Johnson's teams won four league titles and made the CIF playoffs every year, advancing to the semifinals twice, and the quarterfinals three times. He was named Pacific League Coach of the Year twice (1997 and 1998) and San Gabriel Valley Coach of the Year once (1997). He won four Pacific League titles at Muir and one at Crescenta Valley.
Johnson played quarterback at Citrus College (1986-1987) before transferring to St. Mary's College for the 1988 and 1989 seasons. He graduated from Cal State LA with a Bachelor of Arts in social science.
Johnson and his wife Gina have a daughter, Amber, and one grandson, Tyler.
Michael Gallo
Assistant Coach - Defensive Line
Michael Gallo returns to his alma mater as defensive line coach for the 2023 season.
A two-year letterwinner for the Griffons in 2016 and 2017, Gallo has spent the last two seasons coaching the defensive line at Missouri Southern.
Two of Gallo's mentees on the Lion defensive front earned all-MIAA selections this past season, as Solomona Fetuao and Jamie Tago were named to the third team. Fetuao finished the season with 27 tackles, including 6.5 for loss and three sacks with eight QB hurries and one forced fumble, while Tago notched 21 tackles with team highs in tackles for loss and sacks, with 9.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. Fetuao and Nick Kruse were all-MIAA selections in Gallo's first year at MSSU.
Prior to his time in Joplin, Gallo spent two years at Southwestern Oklahoma State, where he helped coach inside linebackers for the Bulldogs.
Gallo started his coaching career in St. Joseph, serving as the freshman offensive coordinator and assistant defensive line coach at Central High School.
A native of Glendora, California, Gallo received his degree in health and physical education in 2018 with a degree in health and physical education, and completed his master's degree from Southwestern Oklahoma in 2021.
Eriq Moore
Assistant Coach - Defensive Backs
Eriq Moore enters his first season on coach Tyler Fenwick's staff in 2023, previously serving as defensive backs coach at Emporia State.
Over the past two seasons, Moore helped lead the Hornets to a 15-6 overall record and two post-season appearances. Emporia's defense improved from allowing 28.3 points per game, ranking seventh in the MIAA in his first season in Emporia, to 21.7 points per game, ranking third this past season. A vital part of that improvement was a reduction in passing yards allowed of 65.9 yards per game year-over-year. Two defensive backs under Moore's tutelage – Montrell Wilson and Derrick Maxwell – tied for the MIAA lead this past season with three interceptions apiece.
Moore served as defensive backs coach at Southern Arkansas for two seasons and Chadron State for one after his playing days. A three-year starter at Southeast Missouri State, Moore earned a scholarship after walking on to the team as a freshman and was twice voted by his peers as a team captain.
A preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference selection ahead of his senior campaign in 2016, Moore was recognized as the Redhawks' top defensive back the year prior as he won the Ken Hargens Award. For his career, Moore totaled 178 tackles, picked off eight passes, recovered four fumbles, and forced three fumbles.
He and his wife Unique, have two sons, EJ and Elijah.
Colin McQuillan
Assistant Coach - Outside Linebackers / Special Teams Coordinator
Colin McQuillan was named outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator at Missouri Western in August of 2023. He was previously a graduate assistant and student assistant on the Griffon coaching staff from 2010-12
McQuillan initially rejoined the Griffon coaching staff in 2015 as a graduate assistant. Prior to coaching the running backs, he coached the MWSU linebackers in 2016 and assisted with the defensive backs in 2015. Linebackers Darrian Bass and Cody Lindsay earned All-MIAA Honorable Mentions under McQuillan's guidance.
All four starters in the 2015 Griffon secondary received All-MIAA honors. Corner Mike Jordan was also named to five different All-American first teams and was selected as a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award before signing as an undrafted free agent with the Los Angeles Rams. McQuillan also coached second team All-MIAA corner Sam Brown, who signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Baltimore Ravens. First-year starting safeties Donte Watkins and Jonathan Owens both earned All-MIAA Honorable Mention nods while reserve defensive back Elroy Douglas was drafted in the fourth round of the CFL Draft by the Hamilton Tiger Cats following the 2015 season.
A 2012 MWSU graduate, McQuillan was a student assistant on the football staff from 2010-12. Since then, he has coached in the high school ranks, spending two seasons at Riverside High School in Wathena, Kansas, as an assistant football coach and head baseball coach. He also spent one season at KC Wyandotte High School where he was the head strength and conditioning coach and offensive coordinator. He was also the head girl’s basketball coach at Union Star High School from 2008-2011.
OUTSIDE OF MWSU
McQuillan recently worked as the special teams and run game coordinator at Graceland University from January of 2022 to this summer. In McQuillan's only season at Graceland, he helped guide a defense that improved from one of the worst in the nation to being ranked in multiple categories. He had two defensive linemen earn All-Heart honors, second team and honorable mention, respectively. The Graceland defense was No. 1 in touchdowns allowed and Interceptions in the Heart Conference. Up front, the Graceland Defense improved from allowing 271 yards rushing a game in 2021 to only 145 yards rushing a game in 2022.
Prior to that, McQuillan spent four years at Southwestern Oklahoma State as its defensive coordinator. From 2017-21, he guided a defense that had two individuals selected to play in postseason All-Star games while earning multiple honors, including First-Team Academic All-American, All-Conference DB (Led Great American Conference in INT/PBU), Preseason D2 All-American DB, two Academic All-District and 12 Academic All-GAC.
Brandon Sanders
Assistant Coach - Kickers & Punters / Defensive Analyst
The 2023 season will be Brandon Sanders' first with Griffon Football, following Head Coach Tyler Fenwick, Defensive Coordinator Erik Johnson and Offensive Coordinator Todd Throckmorton over from Southeastern Oklahoma.
BEFORE MWSU
Sanders, who is a 2022 Southeastern Oklahoma Storm alum, is no stranger to working with Fenwick and Griffon Football Defensive Coordinator Erik Johnson. In August of 2020, Sanders joined the duo at Southeastern as a defensive undergraduate assistant during the COVID-19 shutdown. Collaborating with both Fenwick and Johnson in 2021, Sanders helped mentor a Storm defense that only gave up 24.3 points and 367.8 yards per game, both the third-least averages allowed in the Great American Conference (GAC) that season.
In August of 2022 and now a defensive graduate assistant at that point, Sanders saw the Storm's special teams unit put up impressive numbers with 13.2 yards per punt return and 20.3 yards per kickoff return, respectively good enough for second and third best in the GAC. On top of that, Southeastern's defense remained stingy in 2022 with Sanders' assistance, only allotting 367 yards per game to land the Storm as the third-best total defense in the conference.
From 2018-19, Sanders suited up for East Texas Baptist football in Marshall, Texas, majoring in mathematics before transferring to Southeastern Oklahoma in July of 2020. Sanders earned a Bachelor of Science in Liberal and Applied Studies in May of 2022 before beginning his current quest for a master's degree in sports administration. In Sanders' young career as a collegiate coach, he has guided nine All-GAC selections on the defensive side of the ball, including the 2021 GAC Defensive Player of the Year and a Don Hansen and AFCA All-American in outside linebacker Maalik Hall.
Victor Vera
Assistant Coach - Defensive Backs
Victor Vera officially joined the football coaching staff in August of 2024 as an assistant defensive backs coach for the Griffons.
Prior to joining the Griffons, Vera coached at Simpson College during the spring season. There, he was responsible for coaching the cornerbacks. He also handled equipment management, film coordination and recruiting in the Northwest Iowa and Texas regions.
Additionally, Victor has experience working as a graduate assistant defensive backs coach at Howard Payne University, where he assisted with recruiting, film coordination, academic support and equipment management.
Vera obtained his Bachelors in Science from East Texas Baptist and his Masters in Sport Wellness and Leadership from Howard Payne University.
Dakari Streeter
Assistant Coach
