Friends, let's talk about our Football Coach

[B Lifsey]

No idea about Ok State, but I bet Oregon didn't have financial constraints GT had(has).

Your points sound valid @daBuzz but the problem I see is DRad's approach left Johnson holding the bag on the recruiting front in the eyes of the fans.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

What you're failing to account for Super is the difference in how recruiting budgets are funded vs. infrastructure improvements. It's one thing to be able to go to the alumni and generate one-time donations for big infrastructure projects like McCamish Pavilion or the indoor practice facility. Adding staff requires income that can be counted on on a yearly basis. As we shed the contracts of Hewitt and Gailey, that income will better allow for more staffing of recruiting and/or better pay for assistant coaches.

DRad was an excellent AD when it came to generating the donations to rebuild infrastructure, and our campus, and recruiting because of it, has been improved.

Plus, he hired CPJ.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

I don't disagree with that at all, but I would be willing to bet you that Oregon and Ok State both already had sizable recruiting staffs to begin with.

Oregon: Nike Co-Founder Phil Knight is an alumnus and major donor.
OK State: Billionaire T Boone Pickens, whom the stadium is named after, is a major donor.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I don't disagree with that at all, but I would be willing to bet you that Oregon and Ok State both already had sizable recruiting staffs to begin with.

Yes. There is some nuance of this issue that I am not sure about as well as the chicken and egg argument. uga seems to always have top recruiting classes regardless of facilities and upgrades. Of course they are finally catching up on all of that from what I understand but they seem to have done alright before just by having a large recruiting budget. I know that we are comparing apples and oranges between these programs.

 

[techdad]

I have always thought the CPJ is a good head coach. I just want him to bring in an OC that can work with our offense to open it up a little more. We can still run the TO but vary it with more formations.

 

[daBuzz]

Yes. There is some nuance of this issue that I am not sure about as well as the chicken and egg argument. uga seems to always have top recruiting classes regardless of facilities and upgrades. Of course they are finally catching up on all of that from what I understand but they seem to have done alright before just by having a large recruiting budget. I know that we are comparing apples and oranges between these programs.

Yeah. The ability to recruit anyone with a pulse and then keep them eligible by enrolling them in "Family and Consumer Sciences" majors (aka Home Ec Lite) is a major reason for their success. Plus, if you've ever been to Athens, the one thing I will give them credit for is the plethora of beautiful young women. That's not usually a negative either.

 

[daBuzz]

No idea about Ok State, but I bet Oregon didn't have financial constraints GT had(has).

Your points sound valid @daBuzz but the problem I see is DRad's approach left Johnson holding the bag on the recruiting front in the eyes of the fans.

Fans are often misinformed.
LOL, just kidding.

 

[Pj4prez01]

My statement may be a little biased, but I never doubted PJ as a coach on the field. As far as offense goes, this guy is as smart as they come.

I am happy to see him having success this year in games and on the recruiting trail. With JT and if he can get Matthew Jordan to stay he will be successful for years to come. It was tough watching this offense post Nesbit until this year, but his offense will not work without a great athlete that can run the option.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Drad mishandled the whole NCAA investigation in '09. He did the exact opposite of what actually works, as distasteful as it is. We lost our ACC trophy as a result.

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

I have always wanted him to succeed. As I have all our coaches. Definitely see something a little different this year. Who knows, it just may be the difference of having JT this year. I try not base decisions off one or two games but I feel like this program finally has some upside under CPJ. I have been skeptical of that at times. Again I am rooting for him to succeed and coach here for a long time. (Partly for selfish reasons - I would like to see if coaching stability can do for GT what it did for VT. Beamer, after a very sluggish start, put that program on the map despite what is going on there this year.)

I don't think Paul Johnson is going to coach for 15 more years.

 

[daBuzz]

Drad mishandled the whole NCAA investigation in '09. He did the exact opposite of what actually works, as distasteful as it is. We lost our ACC trophy as a result.

In hindsight, that's probably true. But our situation was unusual, to say the least. As far as I'm aware, the NCAA has never told an administrator that they weren't allowed to tell their employee that they're being investigated. So it isn't really an apples-to-apples comparison.

Looking at it from the perspective of being a boss, I'm probably also going to err on the side of my employee if I want to maintain a good working relationship with that person.

Again, I didn't say DRad was perfect as an AD and in hindsight, it appears he mishandled that situation. But I can certainly understand why he made the decision he did.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

In hindsight, that's probably true. But our situation was unusual, to say the least. As far as I'm aware, the NCAA has never told an administrator that they weren't allowed to tell their employee that they're being investigated. So it isn't really an apples-to-apples comparison.

Looking at it from the perspective of being a boss, I'm probably also going to err on the side of my employee if I want to maintain a good working relationship with that person.

Again, I didn't say DRad was perfect as an AD and in hindsight, it appears he mishandled that situation. But I can certainly understand why he made the decision he did.

I agree he did some good things as well, his tenure was a mixed bag.

As far as the '09 investigation goes, Drad should have suspended Thomas during the investigation and not played him in the Georgia game. (if I'm remembering the time line correctly, did it all come to light before or after Ugag?) He probably would have been reinstated before the ACCCG. We were punished for bucking the system and thumbing our noses at the NCAA and we suffered for it. You're gonna suffer one way or another. Punish yourselves and the NCAA is less likely to bring the hammer. Fight the investigation and you're asking for trouble and trouble is exactly what we got.

 

[iceeater1969]

Don't forg

I have always thought the CPJ is a good head coach. I just want him to bring in an OC that can work with our offense to open it up a little more. We can still run the TO but vary it with more formations.

agree with the idea of an OC but would like to be sure the TO is run like coach wants. Perhaps we could get a younger OC that would learn from the master.
With coach having more time to get involved in recruiting, player Devlopment and fund raising he could put his stamp on those areas. I remain very impressed on the no hesitation of " despite his injury " j Ratliffe committed to us and we committed to him = jrat is a yellow jacket" by coach and AD.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

I have always thought the CPJ is a good head coach. I just want him to bring in an OC that can work with our offense to open it up a little more. We can still run the TO but vary it with more formations.

That will never happen, and it doesn't need to happen. How much more "open" can the offense be than what we have seen this year? The offense is fine; it's the defense that needs help.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

That will never happen, and it doesn't need to happen. How much more "open" can the offense be than what we have seen this year? The offense is fine; it's the defense that needs help.

Exactly. Why would you want to bring in a coach to be the second best OC on the staff? Yes, finding a defensive coach at bargain basement prices has been the challenge. Maybe the GTAA is finally opening up the purse strings so that CPJ is not always trying to fix things with duct tape and bailing wire.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

The td catch to Days is a perfect example of what this offense can do in 3rd and long situations. You really need a qb who can read the play and find the right guy. JT gets big props from me on this play. Smelter beat his man running a post, but the safety had the deep middle covered. He may have been able to lazer one in but it was risky. The other receivers looked covered too, but nobody picked up Days on the wheel. Maybe Days was the primary target all the way and I'm giving JT too much credit, I dunno.

 

[techdad]

Exactly. Why would you want to bring in a coach to be the second best OC on the staff? Yes, finding a defensive coach at bargain basement prices has been the challenge. Maybe the GTAA is finally opening up the purse strings so that CPJ is not always trying to fix things with duct tape and bailing wire.

My point is that it is much harder for an opponent to prepare for GT's offense when they have to defend more than a triple option. I am not saying overhaul the offense, but put in some formations that include a 3 or 4 receiver set. UGA had to call a timeout last year when we came out in a 3 receiver bunch set last year and after the timeout, we still completed the pass. Very seldom do we have a receiver that goes over the middle.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

My point is that it is much harder for an opponent to prepare for GT's offense when they have to defend more than a triple option. I am not saying overhaul the offense, but put in some formations that include a 3 or 4 receiver set. UGA had to call a timeout last year when we came out in a 3 receiver bunch set last year and after the timeout, we still completed the pass. Very seldom do we have a receiver that goes over the middle.

We very seldom ran the triple option last year, so that tells me that Johnson has plenty of plays in that brain of his that he can pretty much use at will. We are far more diverse in what we do on offense this year than we have been any other year, but it's not because Johnson has changed; it's because he finally has a QB who has an eye for the field and can make them work. And just think, he's only a sophomore; he could end up being the greatest QB Tech has ever had if he is able to keep this up.

 

[DCSS]

Drad mishandled the whole NCAA investigation in '09. He did the exact opposite of what actually works, as distasteful as it is. We lost our ACC trophy as a result.

I'm hoping DRad works some of his magic at Clemson so the NCAA can punish them, too.

 

[ATL1]

Not gonna drink that Kool Aid.
Please provide consistent 10 win seasons and I'll concede. I like CPJ enough he's not without questioning, and I still have some issues I'd like to see adjusted.
I predicted 8-4. With this schedule 8-4 seemed reasonable. I'm still disappointed with the losses to Duke & UNC.
Anything less than 8-4 and would have liked to see him removed. We on track for 8-4 with one more win so I'm cool with him being extended. A win over UGA and/or Clemson and I'd personally drive to his house with the contract.