Where did Jeff go?
He’s moved to a new location. Check him out on the new blogging platform and let him know what you think.
Home > Jeff Schultz > Archives > 2008 > December > 16
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Johnson happy at Tech, no matter who calls
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sometimes, a coach doesn’t need to say he had options to go elsewhere, even when everybody knows he had options to go elsewhere.
Did Auburn call?
“I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you,” Paul Johnson said, smiling.
So what you’re saying is, Auburn called?
“I try not to talk about that stuff. It doesn’t serve any purpose. Once you’ve answered that, you have to answer that all the time. So what if they called? What good does it do to tell everybody? It doesn’t help me. It doesn’t help them. So it’s best to leave it at that.”
But if Auburn didn’t call, wouldn’t you just say that?
“I’m happy at Georgia Tech. And that’s where I plan on being for a while.”
Georgia Tech has a football coach. A good football coach. A very good football coach who suddenly finds himself as the flavor of the month.
Would you have expected all three back in August?
The Jackets defeated Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Miami and Georgia this season. At 9-3, a win over LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl would give them a double-digit win total for the first time since 1998, and only the third time in 52 seasons.
These kinds of results get a coach noticed. So it wasn’t surprising that: 1) Johnson’s name was dropped into coaching searches, most notably Auburn; 2) Dan Radakovich is moving quickly to significantly upgrade his contract, which averages about $1.6 million per year in guarantees, relatively modest for a coach who beats Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Miami and Georgia in his first year.
“It’s being in this market,” Radakovich said. “It’s part of college football. You have to know that when he has the year that he had, and with his track record, at some point people will come knocking on the door, and he becomes a hotter commodity than he was a year ago.”
Johnson, chatting the other day before a bowl preview luncheon, didn’t have to confirm Auburn was interested. That’s kind of obvious. (Radakovich’s non-denial denial: “I don’t want to comment on somebody else’s coaching search.”)
But it’s just as obvious that Johnson wasn’t interested. He is happy here. He likes the school, the administration, the players. He likes being back in the South after six winters in Annapolis, Md., at the Naval Academy.
There’s also this: “I’ve been here one year. It wouldn’t send much of a message to anybody if you bolted on people after one year. I’d like to think I’ve got a little more about me than that.”
Georgia coach Mark Richt recalled that when he was an assistant coach at Florida State he was offered the Pittsburgh job. He asked his wife, Katharyn, whether she could see herself living in Pittsburgh the rest of her life. When she said no, he turned the job down, even though he wanted to be a head coach.
In that sense, Richt and Johnson are bookends. Neither seems consumed with the next destination. They are the anti-Petrinos.
“I’ve never been a job-jumper,” Johnson said. “An old coach told me once you don’t have to take every job that’s offered to you. That’s pretty sage advice. When you get into a good situation and you like the people you’re working with and you like where you live, then it takes something special to get you to leave.”
That old coach: Erk Russell.
Johnson has achieved a lot in a short amount of time at Tech. But his greatest accomplishment is changing the mind-set of the program. This is the campus where former athletics director Dave Braine used academic standards as a crutch for limited expectations.
Johnson came to Tech, not merely because he felt he had accomplished all he could at Navy, but because, he said: “I felt like we could win a championship here, and that’s something I wanted to accomplish.”
And he’s not answering the phone.
Permalink | Comments (131) | Post your comment | Categories: Tech/ACC
Rational thinking at Auburn? No way
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
And now for the Tuesday Countdown:
10 - Racism is the only logical explanation for the dearth of African American head coaches in Division I college football. Four out of 119 coaches is beyond embarrassing. It’s shameful. It’s certainly more than plausible at a Southern school (Auburn) that has never had an African American head football coach and rejects probably the strongest job candidate (Turner Gill) who happens to be black and is married to a white woman. There’s just one problem.
9 - To assume Auburn gave the job to the overmatched Gene Chizik (5-19 in two seasons at Iowa State) sort of assumes they know what a good football coach is anyway. Remember, this is the same school that secretly [met behind an airplane hanger with Beelzebub’s first lieutenant, Bobby Petrino, when the Tigers already had a great football coach (Tommy Tuberville). When Tuberville went undefeated, they were forced to give him the world or have him walk (which he should have). After one bad season - during which, by the way, Tuberville manned-up and accepted responsibility for hiring the wrong offensive coordinator - Tuberville was fired.
8 - So now Nick Saban turns around Alabama in roughly a week, wins its first 12 games before losing to Florida for the SEC title, and Auburn panics. This is an administration that’s incapable of clear, rational thoughts even in normal circumstances - what would you expect when the heat’s on?
7 - Final word on Auburn. We really can’t know for certain how Chizik will fare as a coach. But there’s no question he’s going to get flattened in recruiting for at least two years, and only 10-win seasons will enable him to make a dent in Alabama’s class. Gill, a young African American with an offensive mind, at least would’ve given Auburn something Alabama doesn’t have in a recruit’s living room.
6 - Letting Rafael Furcal go was one of the biggest mistakes the Braves ever made that nobody wants to talks about. It follows that the possibility of bringing him back, as reported, would be a huge boost for general manager Frank Wren, whose offseason I think is running second only to Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs. The signing would free the team to deal Yunel Escobar in a package for a pitcher, and right now the staff is too dependent on medical miracles.
5 - There was a rumor in a Canadian tabloid this week that Thrashers general manager Don Waddell is close to losing his job. This makes so much sense on every level, except for two obvious ones: 1) The franchise has nobody in the organization capable of taking over at mid-season. Assistant general manager Larry Simmons is a numbers guy, nothing more. The organization lacks hockey minds. 2) To hire a replacement from the outside would necessitate spending money - which isn’t real high on the Atlanta Spirit’s agenda right now.
4 - One final hockey thought (sorry, I know it doesn’t move the meter). The Thrashers are tied for the worst record in the league and, with 22 points in 29 games, are on a pace for 62 points. That would be the fourth lowest total in team history, behind 39, 60 and 54 in the franchise’s first three seasons. Way to build.
3 - The Georgia Force announced it will not play this season. No word yet on whether that will affect attendance.
2 - Evander Holyfield fights Nikolai Valuev Saturday for the WBA heavyweight title. The bout will be held in Zurich, Switzerland. It was moved from halftime of a Force game.
1 - Auburn just gave $5 million to Tommy Tuberville to walk away and $2 million a year to a coach, Chizik, who finished the season with a 10-game losing streak. They’re one board meeting short of being General Motors.
Permalink | Comments (31) | Categories: UGA/SEC
