Former Kaizer Chiefs coach Cavin Johnson, who had a short-lived stay at Amakhosi, has shared his views on the current coaching situation at the club and calls for Pitso Mosimane to take over.
In recent years, the Phefeni Glamour Boys have had more coaching changes than silverware, and Johnson, who led the team as caretaker between October 2023 and July 2024, knows it all.
The 66-year-old, who took charge for 22 matches, winning six, drawing seven, and losing nine, says he doubts whether the nine months he was afforded were enough to create success at Chiefs.
When FARPost asked him what type of coach Chiefs should hire next, Johnson smiled before giving an honest, light-hearted response. “Look, they’ve signed a lot of players, they’ve developed a few more youngsters… I can’t tell you what type of coach they need now,” Johnson said. “Because I was there and they let me go. So… if you ask me, I’d say hire Cavin Johnson again,” he laughed.
Johnson has always viewed Chiefs as a patient club that gives coaches time to build projects and succeed. But lately, he feels that identity has faded. “Was I given enough time, yes or no? Was I treated right? Yes, or no? All those questions come up,” he added.
WHAT CAVIN JOHNSON THINKS ABOUT THE COACHING MERRY-GO-ROUND AT CHIEFS
When asked if Amakhosi’s current squad is stronger than the one he managed, Johnson was cautious. “Not really. Maybe in certain positions they have better players,” he said.
On the public’s growing calls for former Al Ahly and Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane to take over, Johnson wasn’t ready to commit to an opinion. “I don’t know, don’t know, I really don’t know my friend,” he said. “What I know is Chiefs were known as the team that kept coaches for at least two years, three years. But this has not been the case in the last few years.”
Since Steve Komphela left in 2018, Chiefs have gone through eight coaches in seven years, a surprising number for a club once praised for its stability:
Giovanni Solinas [July–Dec 2018]
Ernst Middendorp [Dec 2018–Sept 2020]
Gavin Hunt [Sept 2020–May 2021]
Stuart Baxter [June 2021–April 2022]
Arthur Zwane [May 2022–June 2023]
Molefi Ntseki [July–Oct 2023]
Cavin Johnson [Oct 2023–June 2024]
Nasreddine Nabi [June 2024–?]
Meanwhile, Chiefs are reportedly still negotiating Nabi’s exit terms in what’s becoming a continuous story of instability at Naturena.
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