Pepper Johnson thought this was his chance to move up a chair, but now he might be left without one altogether.
The former Giants linebacker interviewed for the defensive coordinator job with his old team, but was passed over in favor of Steve Spagnuolo.
“I feel bottled up,” Johnson said, via the New York Daily News. “I have a lot of knowledge and a lot of information that I feel like I just have to keep to myself.”
Johnson has been coaching for 15 years, but hasn’t been able to graduate from position-coach jobs. He spent 14 years with the Patriots coaching linemen and linebackers, but thought moving to Buffalo would give him a better chance to stand on his own.
“Moving away from the Patriots, spending a year in Buffalo, I was hoping it would open doors and open some eyes, that more people would be watching,” Johnson said, “And (that some team) will give me a call before all this is said and done.”
Now, he’s not sure what’s next.
Johnson said new Bills coach Rex Ryan told him he’d have a job waiting for him there if the Giants job didn’t materialize, but the Bills have hired line and linebackers coaches, making it unclear what role he’d play there.
