To what extent do you think PJ has had a learning curve at GT?
Since it's the off season I thought I'd pose this question. I am not sure what my own answer is and and thought I'd post and see what other folks think. Here is what I've been thinking about:
First consider Paul Johnson's history. Much of CPJ's experience came from Division 1-Aat GSU or service academy football at Navy, with one stop in remote Hawaii.Then CPJ moves to a team in a P5 conference in Georgia Tech.
Now imagine if CPJ had come up as an assistant in D-1 with experience at a major program (setting aside offensive scheme for a moment). Would he have been better equipped to recruit better right off the bat at GT from experience going head to head with other p5 schools? Would he have made different hires earlier to emphsasize recruiting more?
I also wonder if lack of p5 ties may have hampered CPJ's connections and ability to hire assistants. We have especially struggled to find a decent DC.
I am very glad we have Johnson and have felt he was a good coach. I have just wondered the above because it seems we had some talent related and scheme related problems on D in between PJ's Orange Bowl seasons.
Now recruiting seems to be on track, we have a great staff, and suddenly our team--while it has question marks for 2015--looks ready to move more consistently into the Top 25.
Clearly there are other factors to consider--mainly $$$$ for assistant's salaries and recruiting staff. These things aside to what extent do you feel coming up through a more unique coaching background created a learning curve for CPJ?
To what extent do you think PJ has had a learning curve at GT?
Since it's the off season I thought I'd pose this question. I am not sure what my own answer is and and thought I'd post and see what other folks think. Here is what I've been thinking about:
First consider Paul Johnson's history. Much of CPJ's experience came from Division 1-Aat GSU or service academy football at Navy, with one stop in remote Hawaii.Then CPJ moves to a team in a P5 conference in Georgia Tech.
Now imagine if CPJ had come up as an assistant in D-1 with experience at a major program (setting aside offensive scheme for a moment). Would he have been better equipped to recruit better right off the bat at GT from experience going head to head with other p5 schools? Would he have made different hires earlier to emphsasize recruiting more?
I also wonder if lack of p5 ties may have hampered CPJ's connections and ability to hire assistants. We have especially struggled to find a decent DC.
I am very glad we have Johnson and have felt he was a good coach. I have just wondered the above because it seems we had some talent related and scheme related problems on D in between PJ's Orange Bowl seasons.
Now recruiting seems to be on track, we have a great staff, and suddenly our team--while it has question marks for 2015--looks ready to move more consistently into the Top 25.
Clearly there are other factors to consider--mainly $$$$ for assistant's salaries and recruiting staff. These things aside to what extent do you feel coming up through a more unique coaching background created a learning curve for CPJ?
It's an excellent question and I suspect all your points are valid. I might add his inability to recruit a QB and, after Allen, a breakaway B back, in those latter years, had to be discouraging to him. Maybe it evolved that waving "It's Georgia Tech" was not going to be the incentive he thought it would be and that other factors were at play. It wasn't Navy, where he got a lot of under-the-radar guys who wanted a military career, or at least an academy education. Not so much I would think, engineering degrees. Not a put down of engineering, just acknowledgement that when the curriculum is so limited seeking a very small pool of math and science types, well. Lots of really good players want nothing to do with technical stuff. Now, getting Thomas as a second choice thanks to Nick Saban, and an 11-3 year and big time exposure in November, quality option QBs are at least taking notice, and from comments, a good B back will be on the field in August. But yep, his lines got bigger, faster and quicker over six years and I think, almost inperceptively,
I think there was a bigger learning curve than he (and probably the fans expected).
First recruiting. I think he underestimated this greatly. I felt (and he probably felt) that his ties from GA Southern would make recruiting relatively easy (and certainly better than Gailey's). That turned out to be very false. I think it took him almost 5 years to get it figured out. Get good recruiting coaches, get more staff and get the in roads really made.
Second, scheme - I think he overestimated how much his scheme could overcome talent. About 4 years in they changed their recruiting philosophy with the OL. Then went from smaller OL to bigger ones (though still athletic types). At some point the small lines just get overwhelmed.
Third, Special teams and Defense - I don't think he put enough attention to it for years. I think he wanted to focus primarily on offense - but as HC, the whole program is your responsibility, not just one side. I think he has releasized this and made hires to attempt to improve them.
I think last year was very important. I was one of those on the fence that wanted to see which way things were going to go. His years 3-6, his record was worse than Gailey's 3-6. I needed to see if he could get back to his early years. I think the signs are very favorable. His recruiting on paper has been at its best the last couple of years and other areas seem to be improving. I think he understands and gets GT now and is an excellent fit.
A valid question and excellent response. As much as his defense suffered for six years -- we were better in 2014 but it was relative, and mainly was better at turnovers and red zone defense, but 600 yards or so by MSU is sobering and says a lot of the dominance of the GT offense -- his QB and B back recruiting forced real adjustments to his scheme. I have no idea what he could have done about the D, He fired one who wound up being very successful at Mississippi, I think, which indicates to me recruiting. The second from all indications conducted classes in PhD level that even pros with unlimited practice time couldn't master, much less a 20-hour a week student. He fired him, too. I have no idea what else he could have done, since his assistants until this year were not going to get money they could get elsewhere.
Now with Thomas as a second choice thanks to Saban, and a lights out November, those QB recruits are starting to pay attention and come in, and apparently there is a good B back on the field in August. (That is not to put down Days or Laskey. They had a great 2014 but I mean the type of back who can bust it from anywhere on the field as well as gouge it out.) But his lines are bigger and stronger and the good news is that four starting O lineman are back. Goodness. I think the difficulty of recruiting surprised him, specifically finding that "Georgia Tech" are not necessarily magic words and that the curriculum is a tough sell. (It is one thing, for instance, to say the "average" Tech graduate starts at $60,000, another to explain that must mean a lot of people start at $30,000 or so and some at $90,000 or so. Players may not consider it. Parents ought to.) Even Navy has a big range of majors. Getting the admin to allow him some leeway on admission standards is, I think, a much bigger deal than anybody realized and contributes to better recruiting.
Now with what we hope is a breakthrough season, he has to win with a target on his back. I think he likes that.
