How Good Was Coach Johnson at Tech?

[alagold]

There was nothing even close to this in recent (after WW2) Tech football history. We've lost critical people before, sure; we lost Benson this year in the second game and probably lost 2 - 3 games (USF, Pitt, Duke) as a result, but 2015 was a disaster for the team. If we don't have the injuries - or only have half of them - that team would have won 8 - 9 games. Shoot, as it was, even with severely depleted ranks, we lost 8 of those games by an average of 7 points. (I left out Clemson; they were going to win regardless.) This is a loooooong way from falling apart.

Btw, I forgot to mention losing Gotsis for the last 4 games and Gamble for the last 8. The epidemic hit both sides. Look at the sources, if you don't believe me.

So when we get all this "Johnson had lost his edge! Look at our seasons from 2015 - 2017! We couldn't beat decent teams!" remember that, while 2017 wasn't what we wanted (no Mills, remember?) there's a reason why our record looks bad for those years It stems directly from the 2015 injury list, not some kind of defensive secret sauce that our opponents had come up with.

To me the '15 season really came down to the loss of Dennis Andrews in the Aback position.He could block,catch and run..He would have been the bulwark Aback we needed badly.As I recall there No injury, he left school.Grades/discipline? but this seems like a guy that we let get away to some degree.

 

[AE 87]

My one reservation regarding injuries is "was the option game as played, leading to more injuries to QBs etc. Don't know if anyone has done any look at that. It just seems the QB especially gets beat up over time and drops in efficientcy.

Matthew Jordan and Lucas Johnson were non-contact injuries.

The injuries that JN and TM played with may have been system related, but JN was also affected by it preJohnson.

 

[Skeptic]

Matthew Jordan and Lucas Johnson were non-contact injuries.

The injuries that JN and TM played with may have been system related, but JN was also affected by it preJohnson.

Nesbitt's broken arm happened when he thew a pick and then tackled the VT player, I think it was. QB injury but on defense of all things. (I think Nesbitt hoped to play safety in the NFL.)

 

[Jacket in Dairyland]

IMO, CPJ was a VERY GOOD ( in hindsight maybe even GREAT) coach for several reasons:
1) He was an offensive genius, who most always gave a team with lesser talent a good chance to beat a superior team.
2) He graduated his players
3) He was a FIERCE competitor
4) No scandals - did it the right way
5) Had a winning record- despite low budget with recruiting, and many ACC teams taking byes or scheduling " ARMY" before playing Tech
6) Continued to be successful in a state with CONTINUAL negative comments about the TO in the "media"
In summary , he did a fantastic job , with the cards he was dealt.

 

[GTFLETCH]

IMO, CPJ was a VERY GOOD ( in hindsight maybe even GREAT) coach for several reasons:
1) He was an offensive genius, who most always gave a team with lesser talent a good chance to beat a superior team.
2) He graduated his players
3) He was a FIERCE competitor
4) No scandals - did it the right way
5) Had a winning record- despite low budget with recruiting, and many ACC teams taking byes or scheduling " ARMY" before playing Tech
6) Continued to be successful in a state with CONTINUAL negative comments about the TO in the "media"
In summary , he did a fantastic job , with the cards he was dealt.

Can't argue with that!

 

[knoxjacket]

IMO, CPJ was a VERY GOOD ( in hindsight maybe even GREAT) coach for several reasons:
1) He was an offensive genius, who most always gave a team with lesser talent a good chance to beat a superior team.
2) He graduated his players
3) He was a FIERCE competitor
4) No scandals - did it the right way
5) Had a winning record- despite low budget with recruiting, and many ACC teams taking byes or scheduling " ARMY" before playing Tech
6) Continued to be successful in a state with CONTINUAL negative comments about the TO in the "media"
In summary , he did a fantastic job , with the cards he was dealt.

No scandals? We had an ACC championship vacated. Was it for a stupid reason? Sure. Was it a scandal? Yes.

 

[OldJacketFan]

No scandals? We had an ACC championship vacated. Was it for a stupid reason? Sure. Was it a scandal? Yes.

Is there ANYTHING you won't try and belittle PJ about? SMDH Why do you hate him so much?

 

[DCSS]

He was never as good or as bad as he seemed.

Sorry. I couldn’t resist.

 

[Skeptic]

No scandals? We had an ACC championship vacated. Was it for a stupid reason? Sure. Was it a scandal? Yes.

Hardly. About 300 bucks of clothing. A violation but hardly to the level of scandal. And the title was vacated, by my recollection, not because Thomas took the clothes, but because Radakovich told Johnson about the inquiry, to me an entirely reasonable and ethical action. Not to the NCAA. It was supposed to be hush-hush, a program investigated secretly and presumably a finding to be made without appeal at the end. Johnson then asked Thomas, and the NCAA, unwilling to deal with the pig sty in Chapel Hill, a septic tank in Tallahassee, and the House of Hookers (for 18-year-olds no less) in Louisville, scraped some gum off its shoe by lowering the boom on Georgia Tech. The penalty was not for taking the gift. It was for not following the strictures and rules of the all-powerful NCAA. I may be wrong because it was a long time ago and if anyone recalls differently, chip in. Wrong, yes. A violation, yes. Forfeit a title? Are you serious? In a world where famous quarterbacks assault women, steal laptops, take cars, hookers and parties ... the NCAA drops the hammer because a coach was told he was being investigated? And that violated "procedures".

The scandal is the NCAA.

 

[Jacket in Dairyland]

No scandals? We had an ACC championship vacated. Was it for a stupid reason? Sure. Was it a scandal? Yes.

I guess it is a matter of degree, but yes THAT was a scandal. I had forgotten. I am old.

 

[Jacket in Dairyland]

Hardly. About 300 bucks of clothing. A violation but hardly to the level of scandal. And the title was vacated, by my recollection, not because Thomas took the clothes, but because Radakovich told Johnson about the inquiry, to me an entirely reasonable and ethical action. Not to the NCAA. It was supposed to be hush-hush, a program investigated secretly and presumably a finding to be made without appeal at the end. Johnson then asked Thomas, and the NCAA, unwilling to deal with the pig sty in Chapel Hill, a septic tank in Tallahassee, and the House of Hookers (for 18-year-olds no less) in Louisville, scraped some gum off its shoe by lowering the boom on Georgia Tech. The penalty was not for taking the gift. It was for not following the strictures and rules of the all-powerful NCAA. I may be wrong because it was a long time ago and if anyone recalls differently, chip in. Wrong, yes. A violation, yes. Forfeit a title? Are you serious? In a world where famous quarterbacks assault women, steal laptops, take cars, hookers and parties ... the NCAA drops the hammer because a coach was told he was being investigated? And that violated "procedures".

The scandal is the NCAA.

AMEN BRUTHA !

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Butterfly effect. How different would records and results have been if a few small things had happened or hadn’t happened?

Off the top of my head. Bebe dropping the ball in 2009 uga game. Not placing blame on Bebe. Injuries pre-game led to our inability to stop uga run game. Regardless, we were driving late and I truly believe we beat the mutts if we convert that 4th down.

How would narratives have changed? Beat the mutts 2 years in a row. Finally do so in Atl. Win a big come from behind in a 2 minute offense situation with..... PASSING!

So many false narratives might have been overcome with that one game. Recruiting challenges might have been reduced. Chances are we still go on to beat Clemson and lose to Iowa. But I really think that game could have changed perceptions early in the CPJ era. Maybe to a significant and long lasting degree.

Oh well,

 

[stech81]

No scandals? We had an ACC championship vacated. Was it for a stupid reason? Sure. Was it a scandal? Yes.

I have a hard time you blame every thing on CPJ The AD something he was not supposed to do.

The NCAA said Georgia Tech should have declared receiver Demaryius Thomas ineligible after he accepted $312 worth of clothing in '09 from former Yellow Jackets quarterback Calvin Booker, who was working for a sports agent at the time. But the investigation took a harder turn against the school when athletic director Dan Radakovich broke NCAA rules by alerting Johnson that Thomas and safety Morgan Burnett would soon be interviewed.
It seemed obvious to the NCAA that Thomas and Burnett were told to prepare answers to questions they would be asked during the interviews. In its 26-page report, the NCAA wrote that it decided not to make a finding of its interview with Burnett after he "consistently denied" accepting free clothing. The NCAA committee on infractions wrote, however, that a violation occurred in regard to Thomas.

"The staff members provided, before the NCAA could conduct their interview, information about what would be discussed in the interview," NCAA committee on infractions chairman Dennis Thomas said. "These actions impeded the enforcement staff investigations and hindered the committee in getting to the truth in this case. Otherwise, this case, as it pertains to the football program, would have been limited to impermissible benefits and preferential treatment violations."

Radakovich defended his decision to tell Johnson that Demaryius Thomas and Burnett would be interviewed, and added that he didn't agree with the findings.

"I think that's where they feel (the investigation) started," Radakovich said. "I've been working with coaches for 25 years, and I think it's important that you have a relationship with coaches. And while in this particular circumstance I should've picked up the telephone and made a call -- and I probably could've convinced the (NCAA) individual that this was important for me to do. I've worked with other investigators who wouldn't have had a problem with that, so I think that's part of the other growth and understanding process you go through when you have these issues at hand."

 

[AE 87]

Is there ANYTHING you won't try and belittle PJ about? SMDH Why do you hate him so much?

Well, when given the slightest opening he chimed in to say something nice about the demon spawn dooley. Is there any doubt where his true allegiance lies?

 

[Eli]

This will slow my hype train down just enough to jump off if it happens. Maybe I’ll post a “It was a good 4 + decades thread” and I’ll go stalk @ilovetheoption on some other forum.

I loved Paul Johnson and the option offense just as much as anyone but Paul also publicly called Tech a mediocre program. We did not fire him on the spot for that remark just like we shouldn't not hire someone based off negative recruiting

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

I loved Paul Johnson and the option offense just as much as anyone but Paul also publicly called Tech a mediocre program. We did not fire him on the spot for that remark just like we shouldn't not hire someone based off negative recruiting

Post link. He never said those words.

 

[Eli]

Post link. He never said those words.

Can't find the link because it was a press conference and I don't remember if it was preseason or after a game. Paul said. " When you look back at it historically Tech has been 6-6. "

 

[bravejason]

Can't find the link because it was a press conference and I don't remember if it was preseason or after a game. Paul said. " When you look back at it historically Tech has been 6-6. "

Yeah, he said something along those lines. What is missing, as usual, is the context. As I recall, the context was about CPJ's record and accomplishments while the head coach of GT. He wasn't calling the program mediocre. He was saying that relative to GT's football history he felt that he had done well. When you look at the football program's history since the mid-60's, it's about a .500 program overall. Sad, but true. There are great seasons backed by awful seasons and a lot of seasons around .500 mark. It would not be too far off the mark to say that CPJ's tenure was a repeat of the past 50 years of GT football history.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Can't find the link because it was a press conference and I don't remember if it was preseason or after a game. Paul said. " When you look back at it historically Tech has been 6-6. "

So....different words. You just chose to interpret them as aiming for mediocrity. Got it.

 

[tech_wreck47]

So....different words. You just chose to interpret them as aiming for mediocrity. Got it.

I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure he never mentioned anything about “aiming”

The poster is basically saying CPJ called GT mediocre with that comment, without actually saying mediocre. I think we can all agree 6-6 is mediocre. However, I won’t say CPJ was trying to say the program is mediocre, don’t think we can 100 percent say that was his intention.