It's been one of the most interesting offseasons Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson has ever experienced: one coordinator was fired; three other assistant coaches accepted jobs elsewhere; four underclassmen left for the NFL.
But now that Signing Day is past, Johnson said he is looking toward the start of spring practice and that he's excited to get out on the field to see how the new pieces come together, particularly on a defense that gave up of
To try to improve that unit, Johnson dismissed defensive coordinator Dave Wommack in January and hired former Virginia head coach Al Groh, who has already begun teaching his 3-4 system. Three other coaches took jobs elsewhere: recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach Giff Smith (Buffalo Bills), linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary (assistant head coach at Louisville) and special teams coordinator and A-backs coach Jeff Monken (head coach at Georgia Southern).
Replacing them are recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach Andy McCollum, inside linebackers coach Joe Speed and A-backs coach Lamar Owens.
Johnson sat down last week to discuss the various coaching searches, how the hires fit together and what he hopes to see once spring practice starts on March 29 as Tech sets about defending its ACC championship.
Q: Has this been the most change you've experienced in one year on your staff? Was it expected change?
A: Well, some of it was expected. We made the change at coordinator. I knew that was coming. I don't think I expected the others. I think it was just kind of coincidence and timing.
Q: When you started hiring for the defensive coordinator's position and the others, can you give a sense of what you look for and how you go about doing it?
A: I wanted guys who are going to fit in, but guys that I know. I had other guys in mind, but for all the jobs on defense -- I had Joe in here at the same time as another guy -- but other than that, we hired the only guy we interviewed.
Q: When you say "fit," give me a sense. Is it personalities, coaching styles?
A: It's all of it. They've got to fit in. I want guys who are able to get along. You want guys who can get along with each other. I want guys who can get along with the kids. It's hard to single out into individual stuff.
Q: How much of it is coaching knowledge and how much of it is organization and, like you said, getting along with the kids for recruiting purposes?
A: It depends upon the position. Like the defensive coordinator position, probably the most important factor there was the overall knowledge of the schemes. You've still got to be able to get along but that would the No. 1 thing. For a lot of the other positions, it might be recruiting, it might be administration, it might be whatever role you want them to take.
Q: Since you had a few jobs to fill, did you have an idea of what you wanted from each one?
A: Pretty much. They were all on defense, except for one. I knew that in one of the two defensive positions, I needed a guy (McCollum) that was familiar recruiting this area and who could come in and do that. The other, I wanted a guy that I knew that was solid and would be a good recruiter. I think Joe's going to be great at that representing the school.
Q: How do they make you better?
A: Everybody has to fulfill their role. Not only are they good coaches but I think they'll be good recruiters. The biggest misnomer in the world is the recruiting coordinator. Everybody acts like that guy recruits all the players. He doesn't have anything more to do with it than the other eight coaches. He sets the schedule. That's about it.
Q: Of the two guys that I've had a chance to speak with -- Groh and McCollum -- they were both very complimentary toward you and what you're building here. Is that what you expect to hear from people when you're hiring for a job?
A: We never talk about me when talking about a job. I think I've got a track record. They can see what we've done. I never ask them, what do you think about me? I never came up.
Q: They've got to get along with you regardless, right?
A: There's only one chief. It's not going to be an equally shared power structure. It won't be a democracy. I think you listen and take advice. But the bottom line: if there's one person responsible for making the decisions, I think they all know that.
Q: What are your expectations?
A: Certainly my expectations are that we will play better on defense. Like I said before, I'm a bottom-line guy. I've known these guys. It's not like I just hired them and don't know what they are going to do. I'm not going to evaluate them on four weeks of spring practice. They are good coaches and good people. We'll play it out and see.
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