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Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Assessing Johnson’s coaching staff
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lets just say I’m glad the season is over and change is around the bend.
We know we have the talent and the players to compete at the top of the ACC and against our instate rival. That much has been proven. We just need more consistent and focused leadership.
The Humanitarian Bowl was a dismal combination of poor play, injuries, and less than sufficient motivation in the face of upcoming coaching changes…
‘07 is officially behind us…so lets focus on ‘08 now.
New Coaching Staff*
Lets take a look…we all know about Paul Johnson by now. Who are the other new faces going to be, in addition to keeping Giff Smith, Brian Jean-Mary, and Charles Kelly?
Dave Wommack (Defensive Coordinator) - Wommack has nearly three decades of coaching experience, including stints at Arkansas, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Missouri, and UNLV. Looking over his resume he has experience coaching just about every defensive position as well as calling the shots as defensive coordinator.
Buzz Preston (Wide Receivers) - 27 years of coaching experience, including time at Notre Dame, Stanford, Washington State, Hawaii, and UNLV. His most recent position was at New Mexico where he coached running backs and was responsible for recruiting Southern California.
Brian Bohannon (QBs and RBs) - A UGA grad who hails from Griffin GA, not far from my hometown of Barnesville. He appears to be one of “Johnson’s Guys” who followed him from Georgia Southern to Navy. Bohannon is a young guy and can probably expect some good natured ribbing at Signing Day regarding his UGA roots.
Jeff Monken (Slot Backs and Special Teams) - Monken has connections to Paul Johnson by way of Hawaii and Georgia Southern. He’s from Illinois where 12 members of his family have been involved in high school or college coaching. At one point his dad and four brothers were all high school head coaches. He’s another young guy on Johnson’s staff.
Todd Spencer (Offensive Line) - Spencer spent the last 11 seasons working with offensive tackles at the Naval Academy. He appears to be an option specialist of sorts with experience coaching at Oregon State, Oregon, Texas, UTEP, Northern Illinois, and other locations.
Mike Sewak (Offensive Line) - Another guy with strong ties to Paul Johnson, Sewak has past history at Georgia Southern and Hawaii. Sewak is a UVA grad and former player who actually spent a season as a graduate assistant tight end coach here at Georgia Tech before signing on with Erk Russell at Georgia Southern. Sewak has been an offensive coordinator at both Ohio and Georgia Southern before taking over the Eagles as head coach when Paul Johnson moved on to Navy.
All in all this is an intriguing staff.
Wommack and Preston are the older guys, each with close to 30 years of coaching experience. Both have coached at the BCS level before and have been around the block numerous times with good success at various stops.
Bohannon and Monken appear to be Paul Johnson proteges who will handle the quarterbacks, running backs, and slot backs. They are young guys and Georgia Tech will be their first BCS conference level coaching positions. Make no mistake…they will be here to do it the way Paul Johnson wants it done.
Spencer and Sewak look to be option football specialists and offensive line coaches. Both are guys with extensive time working with Paul Johnson. Again…coaches that know the system Johnson intends to implement.
Looking at this staff…we can expect Nesbitt, Dwyer, and Jones (Roddy) to run for huge rushing numbers next season. We’ll have to see if Johnson has the pieces he needs to install a passing game along with the expected ground game and if Wommack and the holdover defensive coaches can continue the solid defensive teams that Tech has fielded over the past several years.
One thing is certain…we’re going to see a vastly different football team next fall!
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