I wouldn't be so sure it wouldn't happen. Apparently he wanted to do it in 2012 and was not given the money for it. He wanted to hire an OC particularly for Vad. I could see him doing it this offseason. A new OC hire would probably fill the need for blood a lot of people have. Showing he's making a change, just like the woody hire did. Who he would go after i don't know.
Interesting. This is the first I've heard of it.
I've always heard CPJ say something to the effect "If they're going to hold you accountable for the results, I might as well be the one calling the plays."
He could still call the plays while hiring an offensive mind to build the offense. Johnsons is not stuck to his one stle of offense calling plays either and often will make up new plays in the passing gamw mid game
Here's something to think about: Calling plays is about knowing how each play attacks the defense, and the comfortability of know each play because you've ran it so many times. It's why CPJ can call plays without a sheet, and he can make adjustments in a snap second.
If an OC is brought in, obviously the OC will know the offense better than CPJ. Aren't you basically taking away BOTH CPJ's and the new OC's strengths by letting CPJ call an offense that's new to him?
NFL head coaches are often calling plays on the field but aren't the coordinator.
I don't think CPJ would EVER give up playcalling, period. And that's not the point of this thread. The point of the thread is to have fun exploring "what if he did give up playcalling".
Here is an argument for "it might actually work in that alternative reality where he would would do it":
Generally Johnson's tenure has been marked by a good to great offense in most years (with a few seasons as notable exceptions), and terrible special teams with mediocre to below average defenses. Due to this, at times he has had to become involved with defense and special teams. Generally when that's happened there was some improvement on those units. QB play this year has also seemed to improve when he stepped in and was more active coaching QBs. A case can be made that when he gets involved with stuff other than offense or otherwise functions as a consultant to tweak things then they get better.
So what if he (and again won't happen in reality) hired up an OC and freed himself up to have more time to coach special teams and consult on both sides of the ball (like most head coaches do)? A P5 HC has a lot of duties in addition to coaching already (admin, public speaking, etc.) so we've seen over the years it's hard to also be a coordinator as well as a HC.
I just thought it was an interesting question to ponder because he runs a clean program and graduates players. Perhaps the offense would remain just as potent but the other aspects of the program would improve and GT could finally see what this offense paired with better ST's and defense could do. What say you?
I wrote in another thread that keeping CPJ would be the equivalent of putting new paint on an old car. TStan is putting together a large capital drive to help with the Athletic Department. IMO, giving more money to CPJ doesn't really change anything. Whether right or wrong, as long as CPJ is here recruits are still going to associate GT with his system, and the eroding fan base will not be inspired...especially after every loss. CPJ has been here for 10 years. He's done some great things for GT, and for that we should be grateful. Unfortunately, because of how he is with the media, and his declining performance on the field, and inability to recruit a "franchise" level recruit that inspires the fanbase...I think it's better if CPJ and GT part ways soon.
I won't get into another argument about whether GT's academics dissuades elite recruits, but I will say this: The pool of recruits that's a fit for GT is small, CPJ's system makes that pool even smaller. CPJ's system does help level the playing field to an extent, but his inability to recruit well is also making it a zero sum game. There are other systems outside of CPJ's spread option that does what GT fans want: A system that helps the talent imbalance. Some of those other systems will also attract top level talent unlike CPJ's spread option which many recruits just would rather not play in, or practice against everyday.
With all the money TStan is raising, and all the improvements to the program on the horizon, now is actually a the PERFECT time for GT and CPJ to move on from each other. GT can use the new coach to inspire while using the war chest being put together as a way to entice a good coach to come to GT. By keeping CPJ, I think GT will hurt the momentum that TStan is building with the capital raise going on.
Depends. Guys like Andy Reid, Mike McCarthy, Sean McVey, Sean Payton are offensive guys, and the team runs their offense. They just have another coach coordinating the offense day to day. They know the offense because it's theirs, just like CPJ's offense.
Guys like Dan Quinn and Pete Carrol, defensive guys, talk it over with their OC, but the OC is ultimately calling the plays.
Now, if you we bring in another OC, I'd venture to guess it's because he's bring in something different from the spread option. Otherwise, why bring him in at all? The point of bringing in another OC would be to shake up the offense and create momentum. Like I said, if we bring in an OC, and CPJ is calling someone else's offense, it takes away from both of them and GT will not benefit.
The OP stipulated that his scenario was to free up Johnson to be able to focus on all aspects of the program and not so much on the offense during practices and preparations. Someone else mentioned bringing in someone like Ivin Jasper. My response was predicated on these things, not that he would bring in someone to change the offense.
If we change our offense, Johnson will not be here. If he brought in one of his past disciples to serve as OC (which would be hard to do since most have moved on to being head coaches), then he could be more active in other aspects of the team AND still call the plays.
The problem with bringing in a someone else to run his offense is it would be just more of the same. It's still CPJ's offense, and that is an issue with perception of this program. Now we're just paying another assistant to do what CPJ could be doing, and has been doing.
I don't see it happening and I don't see the value in it. CPJ has never excelled at recruiting or overall program management. The draw of having him here is that he is THE guy to run this specific offense. If that is no longer working, its time to change head coaches.
I agree with this. It's similar to the argument that Johnson needs more resources in order to recruit better. I'm not convinced that he can take those added resources and take advantage of them.