Friday, December 07, 2007

Paul Johnson To Georgia Tech

I am sad for Navy, but I'm hopeful we will see some triple option in the ACC.  Congratulations Coach Johnson!

pjohnson

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GEORGIA TECH FOOTBALL

Tech to introduce Johnson as football coach
Navy coach will be unveiled Friday afternoon
By TONY BARNHART
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/07/07

Georgia Tech will introduce Paul Johnson as its next football coach at a press conference at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Johnson's timetable to take over the Georgia Tech program was not immediately known. Navy (8-4) is scheduled to play Utah in the Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 20.

Now that Johnson is Georgia Tech's head coach, what happens to Jon Tenuta, the Yellow Jackets' defensive coordinator? Tenuta has been serving as interim head coach since Gailey's firing on Nov. 26 and is currently preparing the team for the Humanitarian Bowl on Dec. 31 against Fresno State.

Contacted Friday morning, Tenuta would not speculate whether he will remain as Georgia Tech's defensive coordinator under Johnson.

"My job is to manage the football program and get our team ready to play Fresno State," Tenuta said. "I look forward to that because our players deserve every chance to succeed. I have made that commitment to them."

Johnson, who is 107-39 in 11 seasons as a head coach, won a pair of national championships at Georgia Southern in 1999 and 2000. He took over a Navy program that was 0-10 in 2001. He has won five straight Commander in Chief Trophies, which goes to the top school among the service academies. He is 11-1 in six seasons against Army and Air Force.

Johnson's decision to come to Georgia Tech will send a ripple throughout the coaching carousel. Johnson entertained strong offers from SMU and Duke, which are still looking for new coaches today.

Johnson was named Navy's 36th head coach on Dec. 9, 2001. The program had been 1-20 in the previous two seasons and Johnson was 2-10 in his first season in Annapolis. But over the past five seasons he is 43-19.

Johnson has been successful at Georgia Southern and Navy by running a version of the triple option offense. But over the years he has made it clear that if he landed a job at a BCS school, his offense would be more diversified. He spent eight seasons as the offensive coordinator at Hawaii (1987-94) before going to Navy as offensive coordinator (1995-96).

Johnson then took over at Georgia Southern where he was 62-10 with two Division I-AA national championships. He was on Erk Russell's original staff at Georgia Southern when the program was started in the early 1980s.

A native of Newland, N.C., Johnson has an undergraduate degree from Western Carolina and a Master's Degree from Appalachian State. He and his wife, Susan, have a daughter, Kaitlyn (14).

Find this article at:
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/gatech/stories/2007/12/07/gtfoot_1208.html

 

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Report: Johnson leaving Navy for Georgia Tech

Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - Navy coach Paul Johnson is set to become the next head football coach at Georgia Tech, according a report in the Atlanta- Journal Constitution.

Citing two anonymous sources close to the hiring process, the newspaper reported that Johnson has yet to finalize the deal by signing a contract.

Johnson, 50, would replace Chan Gailey, who was fired November 26 after a 7-5 season ended with his sixth consecutive loss to Georgia.

Johnson turned around the Navy program that suffered the worst two-year stretch in its 122-year history prior to his arrival, going 1-20 between the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

After a 2-10 mark in his first year, Johnson led the Midshipmen to a school- record five-straight bowl games and a school-record six consecutive wins over arch-rival Army. He finished 37-29 at Navy.

Prior to joining the Naval Academy, Johnson posted a 62-9 record in five seasons with the Georgia Southern Eagles.

Johnson won consecutive I-AA National Championships (1999 and 2000), five straight Southern Conference championships, and was also named Division I-AA National Coach of the Year four straight times (1997-2000).

12/07 14:59:00 ET

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