The Juniata football team added to their ranks as John Tomlinson joined the staff as the Passing Game Coordinator/Quarterback Coach. Tomlinson comes to JC from Brevard College in North Carolina, where he was the running backs coach and the Director of Player Development. 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.  

From 2017 to 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 9838 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. He was the assistant QB coach from May 2017 to January 2018 and did offensive quality control for the Cleveland Browns. In 2010, he worked on the staff of the Indianapolis Colts, working with the quarterbacks.

In the spring semester of 2019, he was at North Carolina Central University, where he was the quarterback's coach and helped install a West Coast offensive scheme.  

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 #1 ranked QB in passing yards during his time there and was a top 5 dual-threat QB. He coached two nationally ranked QB's, two State Championship teams in TX 5A and 6A, where they garnered top 10 national rankings in 2013 and 2016. 

Tomlinson graduated from Winston-Salem State University with a B.S. in Computer Science while minoring in Mathematics in 1993.