In 2026, John Tomlinson joined the Howard University football team as quarterbacks coach.
Tomlinson is an experienced football coach and renowned quarterback developer with over two decades of experience spanning the NFL, USFL, and NCAA.
For two seasons, he was a member of the UCLA football team in two capacities: assistant quarterbacks coach (2024) and senior advisor (2025). While serving as assistant quarterbacks coach, he helped develop Ethan Garbers into a top-ranked Big Ten quarterback.
During the 2023 season, Tomlinson served as an offensive assistant for the Washington Commanders where he broke down opponent coverages and assisted with game planning.
For two seasons (2022-23), he held the dual role of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Pittsburgh Maulers where he guided the team from a 1-9 finish to a USFL Championship appearance.
In 2021, he joined Juniata College for one season as passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Before joining the Eagles, he served as running backs coach and director of player development at Brevard College for one season (2020). During his time there, they were ranked in the top 20 for the first time in school history on their way to USA South Co-Conference Champions, which was also the first time in school history. Two running backs appeared on the All-USA South Conference first team.
In the spring 2019, he was at North Carolina Central University, serving as quarterbacks coach and helped install a West Coast offensive scheme.
For four seasons (2017-2020), he was a quarterback consultant at Green Oaks Academy High School in Shreveport, Louisiana. He helped train and mentor Keith Baker, who finished sixth on the Louisiana HS All-Time passer list with 9,838 passing yards and 89 touchdowns (which saw him pass Payton and Eli Manning, Brock Berlin and Ryan Perrilloux).
Tomlinson had three stints doing the National Football League's Bill Walsh Minority Internship. In 2019, he was the running backs coach intern with the Las Vegas Raiders. From May 2017 to January 2018, he was the assistant quarterbacks coach and did offensive quality control for the Cleveland Browns. In 2010, he worked on the staff of the Indianapolis Colts, working with the quarterbacks.
He spent four years at Cedar Hill High School in Cedar Hill, Texas where he coached the quarterbacks and was the assistant passing game coordinator. He coached the No. 1 ranked quarterback in passing yards during his time there and was a top 5 dual-threat quarterback. He coached two nationally ranked quarterbacks, two State Championship teams in TX 5A and 6A where they garnered top 10 national rankings (2013 & 2016).
Beyond coaching on the gridiron, he is an author and the CEO/Founder of Equalizer Games, a sports technology platform aimed at improving decision-making skills and football intelligence for athletes. He is also the author of the book 4th & Inches: A Football Coach's Season Devotional.
In 1993, Tomlinson graduated from Winston-Salem State University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science while minoring in Mathematics.
