Paul Johnson was the absolute right man for Georgia Tech in 2008. He was bold and brash, which Chan Gailey demonstrably hadn’t been, and he was different in a way that tantalized. Could a coach who didn’t feature the forward pass in the 21st century win big in a major conference? For two seasons, Johnson could and did.
But now it’s 2013, and Tech hasn’t won much in a while — it’s 24-22 since 2009, its ACC championship season — and the past three weeks have yielded increasingly distressing reversals. The Jackets did next to nothing against Virginia Tech; then they led by 10 points at Miami only to trail by 22 inside the final 20 seconds, and then they went pointless on seven consecutive second-half possessions at BYU, where Tech trailed by 25 inside the final minute.
Four ACC teams are included among the nation’s top 20 teams this week. The Yellow Jackets, who were the class of this conference in 2009, are not among them. Not since Nov. 20, 2011, has Tech been ranked in either of the major polls. Not since 2009 has Tech drawn a vote in a final poll.
Johnson beat Georgia in Year 1 and won the ACC in Year 2 and made Tech football relevant in a way Gailey had not. Once Gailey’s recruits left, the high times ceased. The Jackets are 1-9 against ranked opposition since 2009. They’re a collective 3-14 against Virginia Tech, Miami and Georgia, and even that total obscures a greater truth: Since Oct. 17, 2009, the Jackets are 0-12 against those three annual opponents.
This week Tech athletic director Mike Bobinski, who started work on April Fools’ Day, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Ken Sugiura that he feels the Jackets “are coaching perfectly well.” He expressed full confidence in Johnson. He also said, rather oddly, “At some point, it also is a matter of a team and a collective mindset where players just resolve, ‘You know what? It’s not going to be this way anymore.’ ”
This means … what? That players to date have been satisfied with going .500? That three-star recruits should, by force of will, rise above their station to vanquish superior forces? That expert coaching is falling on unresponsive ears?
For an AD to back his inherited coach is one thing. For that AD even to imply that the coaching has been top-shelf is to ignore both recent results and bottom-line reality. At $2.75 million, Johnson is the ACC’s second-highest-paid coach (after Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher). Is Tech the ACC’s second- or even its fourth-best program? Is Tech getting its money’s worth?
Over Johnson’s first two seasons, Tech went 20-7. Nothing since has been nearly as good. This year was supposed to show us if all that ailed the Jackets after Joshua Nesbitt completed his eligibility in 2010 was the lack of the right quarterback and the right defensive coordinator. It has shown us much more.
It has shown that an improved defense — under Ted Roof, Tech’s D has risen to 26th nationally in yards against — and a more talented quarterback have made little difference. It has also shown that Johnson’s offense is, for the first time, the chief reason Tech isn’t winning. (It ranks 60th in the nation in yardage, down from 35th last season.) Strength has become weakness.
Might what is shaping up as the best recruiting class under Johnson change Tech’s fortunes? Or is the rejuvenated ACC about to get too tough — eight conference teams (counting Louisville) have compiled higher-rated 2014 classes than Tech’s, which is ranked No. 31 by Rivals.com — for the Jackets?
Johnson doesn’t fit scheme to talent; he fits talent to scheme. After the Virginia Tech loss, he said his men would run the option better or there would be “other people playing.” But what if Johnson’s offense has taken Tech as far it can? What’s the point of having the Overlord of the Option as head coach if the thing no longer works as designed?
Tech has six games to make something of this season, but with Clemson and Georgia still to play, 7-5 would appear to be the Jackets’ ceiling. Would that be enough to satisfy those in power that Tech is being coached perfectly well? And if not, what could be done?
Tech is still paying off the $7.2 million due Paul Hewitt, who last coached basketball here in 2011. If it decided to fire Paul Johnson this winter, it would owe him $7.9 million. We can all agree that the Georgia Institute of Technology is a shining exemplar in the fields of architecture and engineering. We can also agree that it’s the world’s worst at negotiating coaches’ contracts.
About the Author
