A day after Georgia Tech’s bowl (Music City) and opponent (Ole Miss) were determined, Yellow Jackets coach Paul Johnson spoke with reporters Monday in his office. Among the topics were the season’s progress, Rebels defensive coordinator and former Tech coordinator Dave Wommack (who Johnson fired in 2010) and the Georgia game. Questions and answers were edited for clarity and length.
Q: What about the challenge of playing Ole Miss?
A: It's going to be a big challenge. I've been sitting here watching the tape. They're very athletic. They've got a lot of good players.
Q: Does Mississippi run the same system that Dave (Wommack) did here?
A: I can't remember now. I'm sure they're the same. That's kind of his package. They're very multiple. They do a lot of stuff.
Q: Will having a coach who coached in spring practice against your offense for two years be a factor?
A: I don't know. You'd have to ask him. There's only so many ways you can line up. Most everybody we play has a pretty good idea of what we're doing, just like we have a pretty good idea of what they're doing. It's probably a little bit overrated.
Q: Have you crossed paths with him?
A: I've probably seen him a time or two. I don't know about crossed paths.
Q: Would you say you’re on good terms?
A: I would assume as good a terms as you could be. He's probably not inviting me to his Christmas party, but I think we left on good terms.
Q: He’s a good guy?
A: He is a good guy. I've said that all along. At the time, it just didn't seem to be working, not the way I thought it should work.
Q: What are your takeaways from the season?
A: Well, I think you'd like to win every game when you play. You go back and you look at that and you try to figure out what you could have done differently or things that we did well, things that we didn't do as well. Try to focus on that and try to work on it.
Q: I would think turnovers was a big part of it, both (not enough) takeaways and (too many) giveaways.
A: I don't know that it's turnovers so much. We lost five games. Every team that beat us, I think the least games they won was eight. So we lost to a team that won 10, a team that won nine, three that won eight. So they were pretty good teams.
Really, and you could make a case for (the) Clemson (game) for a while, but, really other than the Clemson game, we had a chance in all those games to win the game. Woulda, shoulda, coulda and we didn’t.
We probably had chances to lose a couple we won. That’s the way it works. You’re disappointed. I mean, I’m disappointed we didn’t win another conference game (which would have given Tech a share of the Coastal Division and put the Jackets in the ACC championship game).
And sometimes, it’s the way the schedule falls. The cats we played early (Virginia Tech and Miami) weren’t the same teams at the end. They were minus a few players.
Q: Dynamics change as the season goes on.
A: It does. Ours unfolded all in September and October. I mean, you look at the schedules. Look at all of them. That has a lot to do with it. We played nine bowl teams. Nine. In contrast, Duke, who won our division, played how many, five or six? (Note: Duke played six, not including the ACC title game.)
Clemson, same thing. It comes into play now. It is a factor. … I’m not knocking (Duke). They had a great year.
Q: The Georgia game, is that something that’s still eating at you?
A: Frustrating. Yeah, it's frustrating, any game you don't win, and we had beaucoup chances. We had a lot of chances to get it done and didn't get it done. You have to give them some credit. They found a way to get it done.
Q: Was that game quarterback Vad Lee’s best game?
A: I thought he played well. I don't know that that was the best game he played. He hit some big plays. When you hit some big plays, it helps. We hit a couple big pass plays, but he's played OK in some other games, too.
Q: It seemed like he ran the ball pretty aggressively.
A: I think that he's kind of committed to do that the last couple of games. He didn't play much in the one before that (against Alabama A&M). But I thought he gave us a chance, a chance to win the game. We just didn't make enough plays at the end.
Q: Are you aware of any players considering transferring?
A: Not that I'm aware of. They usually won't tell you that anyway until after you finish playing the bowl game.
Q: And any coaching changes that you’re contemplating?
A: Haven't even gone through it. We'll sit down and talk when we finish. We finished the (Georgia) game and went right to recruiting. I'll sit down with each coach and we'll go through evaluation and my expectation, their expectations and all of that.
