Between 2001 and 2004, after following Friedgen to Maryland, he primarily served as a recruiting coordinator for the Terrapins. In 2005, Donovan was promoted to the running backs coach. He moved to the quarterback coach for the next two seasons, before being reassigned back to the running backs in 2008 amidst multiple coaching changes in the coaching staff. Friedgen himself was later removed as head coach of the Terrapins in December 2010, leaving many Maryland assistants to look for jobs elsewhere. With offensive coordinator James Franklin moving to take the head coaching position at Vanderbilt, Donovan was assigned with the play calling duties for the Military Bowl, Friedgen's final game as coach. The Terrapins won the game 51–20, the most points ever scored by Maryland in a bowl game.
Vanderbilt
On January 13, 2011, Donovan was named as offensive coordinator and running backs coach for the Vanderbilt Commodores football team, rejoining former Maryland offensive coordinator James Franklin. As noted by Jaguars.com, these were "three of the most productive offensive seasons in the program’s modern-era history". Under Donovan's direction, RB Zac Stacy ran for 1,193 yards in 2011 and 1,141 yards in 2012 to become the first Vanderbilt player with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in program history. Stacy earned second team All-SEC honors and was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in 2013. Donovan's offensive units earned three of the top four total yardage marks in school history dating back to 1945, gaining at least 4,400 yards each season, including a school record 4,936 yards in 2012. The Commodores averaged 30.0 points per game in 2012, marking the first time in school history they averaged 30 or more points per game, and followed with another program record of 30.1 points per game in 2013."
In January 2014, Donovan followed Franklin to Penn State as the offensive coordinator. Donovan came under heavy criticism from the Nittany Lion fan base for questionable play calling. In November 2015, he was fired from the Penn State program. Following the firing, a former graduate assistant who worked on the staff during the 2014 season claimed on Twitter that the offense was largely designed by the "HFC" and PennLive.com's David Jones wrote an article headlined "John Donovan was scapegoat for rebuild that will take longer than fans can accept." Surprisingly, Penn State would go on to win the Big 10 Championship the year after Donovan was fired, as new OC hire Joe Moorhead had the benefit of implementing his own system and employing a more accurate, more mobile quarterback, Trace McSorley.
On March 21, 2016, he was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars to be offensive quality control coach. After the 2016, he was named offensive assistant. Former Jaguars' offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett credited Donovan as "instrumental to the Jaguars’ red zone plan" in their 2017 AFC Championship appearance season, which included a game that they went a perfect 6-for-6 in the red zone. Following the 2018 season, Donovan was named the assistant running backs coach.
On January 10, 2020, the Washington Huskies' new head coach, Jimmy Lake, added Donovan to his coaching staff as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Personal life
Donovan married his wife Stacey in May 2005. The couple has three children named John Patrick, Cate, and Shea.
