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The momentum seems to be building for Paul Johnson. Not the momentum of overwhelming excitement by internet posters, but momentum that he looks more and more like our next head coach.
Local radio is saying they have multiple "sources" that Paul Johnson seems to be a done deal. Of course I wouldn't count my chickens at this point. Just wait it out.
In the meantime, it is interesting to note that many of these candidates have ties to one another. For example Will Muschamp was Chris Hatcher's DC in 2000. Giff Smith played at GaSouthern at the same time Paul Johnson was the OC for Irk Russell, which could bode well for keeping Giff if PJ is our guy.
Now, it seems that the best source for Paul Johnson updates is this blogger. Evidently he is now at SMU and was at Duke yesterday.
Here's another interesting point - we are competing with SMU and Duke for Johnson's services, and evidently we have the least amount of money to offer. Duke's AD has made it clear that they are willing to break the $2MM barrier if necessary to get the right guy. SMU has raised over $10MM from alumni towards a new coach fund and would likely start in the $1.8M range. Tech's offer is likely to be in the range of $1.2M - $1.8M. However, Duke is a possible graveyard for coaches and SMU is a rebuilding job to put it mildly.
In another interesting twist of fate, do you know who SMU's new AD is? Steve Orsini, the same guy who hired George O'Leary at UCF and the same guy that was assistant AD at GT for awhile. Small world folks.
Lastly, there is a HUGE amount of concern being "voiced" about Paul Johnson's offense. I think it is clear that he is going to have to clarify his intentions if he is the guy. I'll have more on that later.
One last thing - www.firepauljohnson.com is already taken, so don't bother.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Is Paul Johnson Our Guy Now?
Posted by Scott at Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Labels: Football
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12 comments:
If GT is willing to pay $1.5M-$1.8M, I can't imagine the money would be a huge factor to Johnson.
Johnson ran a wide open offense at Hawaii in the 90's... he's going to take the talent we have and build the offense to suit the team. I have a lot of confidence this is the right guy. He wins wherever he goes.
Scott - Take a look at this....
http://www.fanblogs.com/smu/007372.php
I'm not certain where Johnson is headed, but the guy took his wife to SMU, has worked with the SMU AD in the past, and his agent has done deals with the SMU AD before. And from the sound of things, SMU is prepared to pay up, too.
I guess we'll know soon enough.
If a coaching candidate chooses SMU over GA Tech, wow, then we aren't as lofty as we think.
man. you knew exactly what I was thinking when you said that www.firepauljohnson.com was taken.
What about www.dropjohnson.com? Has a nice ring to it, I think. Reminds one of canchan.
Seriously though, I don't think the triple option would work at GT, but I don't think he would be hired if something like that was going to be a problem. Johnson has shown that he can build an offense that has a chance to be successful wherever he is. I say let's trust Radakovich to make the right decision, and get behind the coach until he establishes himself here. The only guy listed here whom I think we would need to treat with skepticism would be Neuheisel because of his off-the-field history, but let's just sit back and enjoy something new, for at least a year or two.
More than anything, I'm on the edge of my seat to see what Radakovich is going to pull off. I can't shake the feeling that he's going to pull out some kind of blockbuster.
Fire Paul Johnson!? Unbelievable! Guys if you get PJ as your head coach, you WILL win at least one National Championship. That's right I said National Championship- remember 1990. With that being said, who cares what type of offense he runs. The man is a master of the game AND he is a bonafide winner. If you have any experience with the Spread Offense (because that's what it is, not the triple option) you should know that the playbook runs the spectrum- from the triple option to the 5 wide receiver look. I am of the belief that it's not whether GT want's PJ, it's whether PJ wants GT. If he wants to prove the naysayers wrong about his offensive schemes, or win a National Championship at the highest competitive level, he will take the job. Otherwise, why would he? He gets at least 1.4M at Navy, he graduates almost 100% of his players, and he's more popular in Annapolis than the Govenor!
Fire Paul Johnson dot com???? Did you even look at the survey on this very site? Paul Johnson is the clear favorite of the alumni. If we have a clear favorite and at the same time other people trying to get him fired already....NO WONDER OUR PROGRAM IS LESS THAN WE WANT IT TO BE...WE HAVE TOTALLY DIFFERENT FACTIONS PULLING OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS. If SMU and/or Duke is able to get Paul Johnson, when he is our clear favorite....I will officially give up on Tech Football. The day smu or duke can out recruit coaches (either from money or otherwise is the day we should just stop playing football.
(PONY UP 2 MIL, what is the problem...if those non-football schools can pony up 2 mil, why can't we?!?!?!? You cannot expect to win without a very special coach. You cannot expect to KEEP a very special coach, without paying him. Do we want to win or do we not? If we do not, why are we bothering?????)
OH, and to the folks saying "we don't need a triple option". A - we need a WINNING coach, regardless of the system... B - no one EVER said that is the only system he runs...to wit...he was an assistant under June Jones with the run and shoot...
The man uses whatever system best fits his personnel to win. IF YOU GUYS RUN OFF THE CLEAR FAVORITE (BASED ON VOTES)...THEN I SAY WE DESERVE TO LOOSE...WE DON'T KNOW A WINNER WHEN WE SEE ONE IF WE DON'T GET PAUL JOHNSON.
Yes Scott, I'm a bad sport. I'm sick of our 'nation' being divided. Based on your survey, there is a clear favorite and it's Paul Johnson, with Hatcher the only other candidate with ANY support...if we don’t' end up with one of both of those guys...we can NOT expect the fans to be all warm and fuzzy.
Do you think UGA would get the guy they wanted, or would they let SMU or DUKE get our guy?...HELL NO...go figure...they kick the crap out of us every year almost...it's no coincidence.
OH, and to the folks saying "we don't need a triple option". A - we need a WINNING coach, regardless of the system... B - no one EVER said that is the only system he runs...to wit...he was an assistant under June Jones with the run and shoot...
The man uses whatever system best fits his personnel to win. IF YOU GUYS RUN OFF THE CLEAR FAVORITE (BASED ON VOTES)...THEN I SAY WE DESERVE TO LOOSE...WE DON'T KNOW A WINNER WHEN WE SEE ONE IF WE DON'T GET PAUL JOHNSON.
Yes Scott, I'm a bad sport. I'm sick of our 'nation' being divided. Based on your survey, there is a clear favorite and it's Paul Johnson, with Hatcher the only other candidate with ANY support...if we don’t' end up with one of both of those guys...we can NOT expect the fans to be all warm and fuzzy.
Do you think UGA would get the guy they wanted, or would they let SMU or DUKE get our guy?...HELL NO...go figure...they kick the crap out of us every year almost...it's no coincidence.
Sorry for the double post, I don't think I hit submit twice. I must have been excited :)
And yes…everyone is entitled to their opinion about the coach…just as I am. I can only suggest that if we do not get one of the clear favorites and said favorites end up at either IAA or Duke, then we should strongly consider just abandoning football altogether. It’s nothing but pain for us if we can’t get cherry pick our coach over the IAAs or Dukes of the world. WWFFD? (What Would Football Factories Do?....hate them or not…they have built a winning football team…it starts with getting AND KEEPING a special coach. It’s not enough to just find one and get them here…we also have to pay big bucks to keep them from ever leaving. If we do find a special guy, but only can pay him 1.8 mil…then 3 years out the UGA’s of the world take him from us with a 4 mil contract…then it just means we cannot hope to compete. We must be willing to match any offer to keep “our guy”, if we should be lucky enough to find him in the first place. Never ever let dollars keep a coach from leaving, if he is one of the special few who can win at Tech. Stadium renovations be damned, everything else be damned…the most important piece of a winning football team is the coach. Period…nothing else is even a close second.
All you who are furious that we can't pony up the money, I'm guessing that's an invite for the AA to send the bill for their shortfall to you personally? Let's be real. AA's don't run on hopes and dreams and ours is not nearly as cash rich or as profitable as the football factories. Yes, if we can pay like the football factories, we can play like the football factories (oh and we'd have to lower academic standards and allow criminals and thugs to play). Personally I'd rather not be a football factory. If BCS football turns into a football factory or bust proposition why not go to tournament football (the tournament subdivision formally known as I-AA). Hey, at least that subdivision knows how to name a national champion.
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