Paul Johnson to retire

MWBATL

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Boomergump said:
I have taken some time to write, just so I could digest this thing. I am happy for Paul Johnson and his family, but I am sad for myself and I am sad for his players. 11 Years ago, I was not in favor of Gailey getting fired. I had felt for several seasons he was a QB away from having great great success. However when DRad selected CPJ, I was ecstatic because he picked my very first choice for the gig. I wanted CPJ because if he could take NAVY, who was a mess at the time, and turn them around, then he could help us. NAVY, who also happens to have many future Marines on the field, is not an easy place to coach. Neither is GT. It wasn't about scheme for me (at the time), but rather about character and leadership. At this point, I can honestly say, Paul Johnson has fulfilled all of my expectations in those areas, and then some. Having been a TECH student athlete, in that order, I greatly appreciate the Homer Rice model. CPJ forces kids to do the right thing and buy into the GT system. Don't think for a minute that our grad rates would be where they are without his influence on, and support of, our kids.

In a selfish way, I am really going to miss this spread option stuff from under center. I became way more interested in the XX and OO of CFB after CPJ came here. I don't know why, but that scheme, combined with his brilliant play calls and adjustments during the flow of a game really drew me in. I began watching hours and hours of replays analyzing the responsibilities of every player. I learned more and understood more about the game, mostly because of that darned scheme that many of us seem sooo anxious to get rid of. I guess I am the polar opposite of those of you who feel that way.

As much of a fan as I am of Paul Johnson, I am even more a fan of my Alma Mater. I will be firmly behind the next coach, but I am not sure I will ever have the same depth of interest. Most likely, I will just simply return to watching and cheering while following the football. It won't be the end of the world for me, but it will certainly be the end of a special era.

GOOD LUCK COACH! I feel pretty sure you will return to coaching some day before too long. When you do, your team will be my third most favorite, behind TECH and whoever plays U(sic)GA that week.
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Extremely well said, I will always love CPJ, even if I felt a change might be needed.

The critics of his system, imho and as expressed by CPJ in today’s press conference, generally don’t know what they are talking about. GT’s decline on the field May have MUCH more to do with little support from MBob and The Hill, and FAR less than the TO offense. In which case, a coaching change will be very unlikely to change our current trajectory.

I agree I will support the new coach, but I do find myself resenting some posters who simplistically attribute all our troubles to the triple option offense.
 
ibeattetris

ibeattetris

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MWBATL said:
GT’s decline on the field May have MUCH more to do with little support from MBob and The Hill, and FAR less than the TO offense. In which case, a coaching change will be very unlikely to change our current trajectory.
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Which is why it is important that TStan hires a good coach and continues to invest in the program. Coach clearly stated multiple times he believes TStan understand what we need, and he only stayed around as long as he did because he believed in TStan. CPJ shoots pretty straight, so if he said the last guy wasn't helping but TStan is, I am going to take his word for it.
 
Techster

Techster

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So now that CPJ has stepped down, it's seeming more and more that everyone knew this was coming sooner rather than later...everyone except a lot of GT folks:

 
Boomergump

Boomergump

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Boomergump said:
I have taken some time to write, just so I could digest this thing. I am happy for Paul Johnson and his family, but I am sad for myself and I am sad for his players. 11 Years ago, I was not in favor of Gailey getting fired. I had felt for several seasons he was a QB away from having great great success. However when DRad selected CPJ, I was ecstatic because he picked my very first choice for the gig. I wanted CPJ because if he could take NAVY, who was a mess at the time, and turn them around, then he could help us. NAVY, who also happens to have many future Marines on the field, is not an easy place to coach. Neither is GT. It wasn't about scheme for me (at the time), but rather about character and leadership. At this point, I can honestly say, Paul Johnson has fulfilled all of my expectations in those areas, and then some. Having been a TECH student athlete, in that order, I greatly appreciate the Homer Rice model. CPJ forces kids to do the right thing and buy into the GT system. Don't think for a minute that our grad rates would be where they are without his influence on, and support of, our kids.

In a selfish way, I am really going to miss this spread option stuff from under center. I became way more interested in the XX and OO of CFB after CPJ came here. I don't know why, but that scheme, combined with his brilliant play calls and adjustments during the flow of a game really drew me in. I began watching hours and hours of replays analyzing the responsibilities of every player. I learned more and understood more about the game, mostly because of that darned scheme that many of us seem sooo anxious to get rid of. I guess I am the polar opposite of those of you who feel that way.

As much of a fan as I am of Paul Johnson, I am even more a fan of my Alma Mater. I will be firmly behind the next coach, but I am not sure I will ever have the same depth of interest. Most likely, I will just simply return to watching and cheering while following the football. It won't be the end of the world for me, but it will certainly be the end of a special era.

GOOD LUCK COACH! I feel pretty sure you will return to coaching some day before too long. When you do, your team will be my third most favorite, behind TECH and whoever plays U(sic)GA that week.
Click to expand...
Oh sorry, one other thing. Part of what I love about CPJ's offensive philosophy is that it is "all hands on deck" in terms of blocking. All 10 offensive players are responsible for blocking their butts off. QBs don't block but they must carry out fakes and take shots after giving up the rock. By its very nature, it is easily the most unselfish offense in CFB today. In my mind, this is important for many reasons well beyond just football. Don't think our players won't reap the rewards of that mindset long into their (other than football) careers. When you watch most other teams play, it looks like everybody believes the front 5, or maybe 6 with a TE, are the ones who are responsible for blocking. It looks lazy and silly. There is absolutely no reason every offensive player, regardless of system, should not become a great blocker. Sorry for the double negative.
 
Old South Stands

Old South Stands

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244
Boomergump said:
I have taken some time to write, just so I could digest this thing. I am happy for Paul Johnson and his family, but I am sad for myself and I am sad for his players. 11 Years ago, I was not in favor of Gailey getting fired. I had felt for several seasons he was a QB away from having great great success. However when DRad selected CPJ, I was ecstatic because he picked my very first choice for the gig. I wanted CPJ because if he could take NAVY, who was a mess at the time, and turn them around, then he could help us. NAVY, who also happens to have many future Marines on the field, is not an easy place to coach. Neither is GT. It wasn't about scheme for me (at the time), but rather about character and leadership. At this point, I can honestly say, Paul Johnson has fulfilled all of my expectations in those areas, and then some. Having been a TECH student athlete, in that order, I greatly appreciate the Homer Rice model. CPJ forces kids to do the right thing and buy into the GT system. Don't think for a minute that our grad rates would be where they are without his influence on, and support of, our kids.

In a selfish way, I am really going to miss this spread option stuff from under center. I became way more interested in the XX and OO of CFB after CPJ came here. I don't know why, but that scheme, combined with his brilliant play calls and adjustments during the flow of a game really drew me in. I began watching hours and hours of replays analyzing the responsibilities of every player. I learned more and understood more about the game, mostly because of that darned scheme that many of us seem sooo anxious to get rid of. I guess I am the polar opposite of those of you who feel that way.

As much of a fan as I am of Paul Johnson, I am even more a fan of my Alma Mater. I will be firmly behind the next coach, but I am not sure I will ever have the same depth of interest. Most likely, I will just simply return to watching and cheering while following the football. It won't be the end of the world for me, but it will certainly be the end of a special era.

GOOD LUCK COACH! I feel pretty sure you will return to coaching some day before too long. When you do, your team will be my third most favorite, behind TECH and whoever plays U(sic)GA that week.
Click to expand...
Ditto on the X's and O's part. Prior to CPJ coming to Tech, I could identify maybe a play-action pass or a draw play, a dive or a screen pass. But over the years I've become much more schooled in how an offense works, listening to announcers analyze his playcalling, not to mention reading some of the well-informed posts here. I already miss CPJ a lot, and he hasn't even left yet. One thing I'll really miss are the camera close-ups of him sending the plays in from the sidelines each down. In recent years, that image of him on the sidelines has become almost a trademark of Tech football.
 
COJacket

COJacket

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CuseJacket said:
Sugiura: Wes Durham on Paul Johnson’s career, Georgia Tech’s decision
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Interesting Wes understands the academic issue and so many of our “fans” say it is just an “excuse” that some of us lean on. The academic issue is reality but we cannot raise the issue without taking a beat down. And dont even begin to talk about the low number of majors and the difficulty of these majors. So for all of you that dont believe this a real constraint any coach has to face I would ask you to listen to Wes.
 
COJacket

COJacket

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Supersizethatorder-mutt said:
Don't know if this has already been posted, but this is a very good article from FromTheRumbleSeat ---
https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2...ul-johnson-yellow-jackets-retire-gift-parting
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. Great article, so much truth. I hope everyone fully understands the statement “The future of Georgia Tech football is brighter because of Paul Johnson, period” What a high integrity move to retire now and leave $2M on the table. And I also believe IMHO he has left us w a solid team to build on.
 
GTBatGirl96

GTBatGirl96

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397
Old South Stands said:
One thing I'll really miss are the camera close-ups of him sending the plays in from the sidelines each down. In recent years, that image of him on the sidelines has become almost a trademark of Tech football.
Click to expand...

Agree. The camera shows him thinking for a moment, then pulling a play out of his vast knowledge bank in his head. The images of the other coaches (Dabo) with their waffle house menu play cards are silly.
 
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