Thank you, Paul

[Milwaukee]

I still feel weird playing NCAA 14 using an offense other than the triple option.

Learn how to use it in a game and you can torch a buddy who doesn’t see it coming.


2008 FSU popped my college football cherry. I was hooked since then. Watching Dwyer bust huge TD runs was mind blowing (so was FSU awful splits on the D line). Thanks CPJ

The 09 game in Tallahassee was even better, although it lacked the miracle ending of the 08 game(shout out Cooper Taylor). In 09 he was putting an AB out in the slot as a WR and motioning him into each play to form the flexbone, it was something I'd never seen but he was giving Mickey Andrews (I think) fits with it. Something so subtle made our offense hum all night. Little nuances like that were what was really cool about Paul, he just flat out knows more about offensive football than any other coach in the country and I don't think it's up for debate tbh. At the end of the day I think most here are pro PJ with a few that were always going to want him out of here, but even those haters HAD to appreciate his offensive mind. I by no means wanted to re-hash pros and cons of Paul I was just browsing through some of my old videos and that fake fg got me excited. The announcers were saying it's not smart to kick the fg, just punt the ball away and put pressure on Clemson...and then Paul blows their mind. I don't think Paul is done coaching, and I'll be a big supporter for him wherever he ends up.

 

[GT_receivers]

You were always the smartest guy in the room. You were the master at your craft and I appreciate your genius. The spread (triple) option offense was always the great equalizer and I will always be in awe of how you could analyze plays from a field level and send plays in without a play sheet. The last 11 years I spent watching Tech football were amazing. You will be missed. HOF

He was an outstanding football coach.

 

[Techster]

I've always said this, and I'll go to my grave defending it: Give CPJ equal talent, and he beats anyone nine out of ten times. I think his scheme and ability to read the game is probably one of the best in the history of the game.

Unfortunately, the college game isn't a board game. Coaches don't equal talent out of the box. Coaches don't get equal resources.

That said. I have really good memories of GT football with CPJ, and that means something to me.

 

[iceeater1969]

I've always said this, and I'll go to my grave defending it: Give CPJ equal talent, and he beats anyone nine out of ten times. I think his scheme and ability to read the game is probably one of the best in the history of the game.

Unfortunately, the college game isn't a board game. Coaches don't equal talent out of the box. Coaches don't get equal resources.

That said. I have really good memories of GT football with CPJ, and that means something to me.

What if mbod did his job.
Hmm??? The guys before me borrowed 200,000,000 and we have the smallest recruiting & coaching staff in acc . Let's see we have a 5+% interest payment of 12,000,000. Guess we could find 2,000,000
for recruiting and another co oline coach to help sewak.
" No, rush as that debt thing will solve its self sovou am not to blame I ll write a strategic plan."

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Great thread.

 

[GTRambler]

This is not meant to be a put down of Collins or TStan or anybody else for that matter, but ..... Suppose Collins had stayed at MSU and we had still beat them as badly as we did (and that's a distinct possibility), would Collins be HC at Tech now? From what I have seen of Collins thus far at Tech, I would say he SEEMS to be a perfect fit. But what if ???

Yep. CPJ whupped CGC’s vaunted MSU defense in the 2014 Orange Bowl, and the fact that CGC was not there on the sidelines does not matter one bit. CGC built and coached that defense during all of that regular season before he left prior to the bowl game.

 

[ncjacket79]

Yep. CPJ whupped CGC’s vaunted MSU defense in the 2014 Orange Bowl, and the fact that CGC was not there on the sidelines does not matter one bit. CGC built and coached that defense during all of that regular season before he left prior to the bowl game.

I don’t know how you can make that assumption. Collins didn’t develop the game plan or have a chance to make adjustments during the game.
Maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference. Or maybe they would have handled us as most prognosticators expected. Or are you saying if Paul had gotten sick and one of our other coaches called plays the outcome would have been the same since he built and coached the offense?

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Look, the reality is this, even by those of us who think the option offense is the last thinking man's offense: it had its shot in P5 football, and along the way had some great success: Orange Bowls, COY, conference championship, division championships, huge rushing numbers and some startling big play moments. In the end though the results were mediocre, Johnson could not recruit a QB for the most demanding offense in football -- Marshall proved again in Detroit that he was no QB -- and his defense could never shore up the weaknesses. In short, you won't see it in a P5 program again. Neither Monken nor Johnson will take it there. Too bad because I love the offense but not enough people do. Monken, meanwhile, made more than $1 million this season and if it is not the multiples at major colleges, it is big for Army and probably about as much as he can reasonably expect. On top of that, lest we grow scaly-eyed, a million bucks is a lot of money in any league. Johnson can't stay away, but it will be back in a lower league. And that scandalous sendoff his team gave him in Detroit will be a big incentive. Georgia Tech became the USC of Kiffin and the Sun Bowl.

Didn't Uga get thumped in their bowl, too. I guess they can't recruit, either, and their offense is trash as well and will never be seen in P5 again. Fwiw, I think Nebraska might be willing to take the option gamble in the future. They won't have the academic restrictions that we do and there's plenty of talent in that area of the country with less teams vying for it.

 

[GTRambler]

I don’t know how you can make that assumption. Collins didn’t develop the game plan or have a chance to make adjustments during the game.
Maybe it wouldn’t have made a difference. Or maybe they would have handled us as most prognosticators expected. Or are you saying if Paul had gotten sick and one of our other coaches called plays the outcome would have been the same since he built and coached the offense?

To answer your last question, no, absolutely not. CPJ was his own on-field offensive coordinator during the games, and he was a master at his craft.

As to whether the same can be said of CGC if he had been on the Orange Bowl sideline coordinating and calling his defensive team’s defensive sets and substitutions, etc., I seriously doubt it would have made a difference because CPJ would have countered them with some effective offensive countermeasures. LOL just having fun here.

I would have loved to see that ... but no, I believe CGC, if he had been on the sideline, would not have been able to stop that GT offensive juggernaut that night in Miami.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I've always said this, and I'll go to my grave defending it: Give CPJ equal talent, and he beats anyone nine out of ten times. I think his scheme and ability to read the game is probably one of the best in the history of the game.

Unfortunately, the college game isn't a board game. Coaches don't equal talent out of the box. Coaches don't get equal resources.

That said. I have really good memories of GT football with CPJ, and that means something to me.

Great post Techster!

 

[BurdellJacket]

In my 46 years of being a Tech fan, I have seen some great players and some great games. The last 11 have been the pinnacle of these. So many exciting games. So much domination of other teams at times. There has been no other period like it in the modern era.

I will miss this offense. I will miss you coach. I will always be a Tech fan. I will always be a Paul Johnson fan.

My Dad is in his eighties and close to the end of his time of being able to follow Tech. I am thankful that his faithfulness to buy the season tickets, take my son and I to the games, see some great football that we could be proud of, and have the memories we have because of your tenure at Tech during these years. You wrote my Dad a lengthy letter once many years ago that is a prized possession. You sat down at the table with my son when he was about 12 at the coaches caravan and just talked to him like a guy. My Dad was so proud and cried a bit when he talked about it later In the annals of Ga Tech athletics or academics my family and I are not even a blip on the screen. But in your way in our few encounters you treated us like we were GT family.

My Dad became a fan at 8 years old when he first saw the Tech tower in 1946. He is a diehard. I am a diehard. And we respect you greatly because we know as a man you are you of high character and to whatever you set your mind, you are a diehard, too.

My most sincere thanks for all your hard work, sacrifice, and success we have enjoyed from it.

The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord shine his face upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His countenance, His favor, upon you and give you peace.

Ditto the above. I can’t say it any better. Thank you, Paul, for all you’ve done for Georgia Tech football. You did a marvelous job in leading our teams through very strong headwinds. I feel that Rules changes and the way refs made the calls which allowed all the players not carrying the ball on both sides O & D to hold were major challenges and affected your offense much more than others.

Thank you Paul for all you did, for many wonderful Georgia Tech victories. Thank you for being our third Hall of Fame coach at Georgia Tech.

 

[GT_receivers]

Thanks Paul for being the first coach since Coach Dodd to win three games in Athens.

 

[g0lftime]

As someone said earlier this is more like a divorce than a retirement. I think PJ came to the conclusion he had done all he could do in this relationship. He could not compete with UGA and Clemson consistently with who he was recruiting. The way the game is officiated has changed and I do believe teams we played regularly became better at defending it. I think PJ is perfect for an academy job due to the nature of the students there. They pretty much recruit themselves and I never felt like PJ enjoyed recruiting that much here.
I admired his coaching skills and play calling. He was a master at it. Did he evolve his offense over time? I'm not sure he did. Appeared that he just worked the same system that much harder. I actually will miss him and just wish him the best for the good years we had while he was here. I think he will coach again somewhere.

 

[kyle.smith828]

I'd much rather go through the CPJ years again than the Chan years. Losing to UGA 7 straight years was freakin rough.

 

[GT_receivers]

I'd much rather go through the CPJ years again than the Chan years. Losing to UGA 7 straight years was freakin rough.

Agreed

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

I've always said this, and I'll go to my grave defending it: Give CPJ equal talent, and he beats anyone nine out of ten times. I think his scheme and ability to read the game is probably one of the best in the history of the game.

Unfortunately, the college game isn't a board game. Coaches don't equal talent out of the box. Coaches don't get equal resources.

That said. I have really good memories of GT football with CPJ, and that means something to me.

I would take that even a little further. I believe if CPJ had 80% of the talent level of most teams he played, he would probably win at an 85-90% clip. I will always look back fondly on Paul's time on the flats. I do believe he was the guy you needed when you were always going to fight the uphill battle with lower recruiting. Again, I am hoping (I don't have much confidence though) that CGC is the man that can tear down the Institute paradigms related to being a STEM school and not being able to recruit at a very high level.

Thank you, Coach Johnson, for the enjoyment and anticipation and hope your teams provided me since 2008. It was a fun ride.

 

[GTRX7]

...More importantly, the idea that the option was a great equalizer is just straight out false.
Over his last 5 seasons- which includes the Orange Bowl GT was 14-16 against Coastal competition, 20-21 against ACC teams. Forget about it being some great equalizer, GT wasn't even winning 50% of its games against pretty similar competition...

For me, these numbers largely go back to the idea that "Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable." Yes, we were 14-16 against Coastal competition and 20-21 against ACC teams over the last 5 years. That is one way to say it. That also somewhat ignores that this is really based on one really bad season.

Another way to say it would be that CPJ had only 1 losing ACC record in 11 years. He had a winning ACC record 7 of 11 years and finished first or second in the Coastal 7 times in 11 years. His ACC record ended at 51-37.

I think CPJ absolutely, undoubtedly proved that the triple option could be an equalizer. What he failed to prove was that he was an above average recruiter. Instead, CPJ recruited about the same if not slightly worse than Gailey, but had significantly higher highs. If Monken is an above average recruiter, I have no doubt in my mind that he could improve the record of the bottom third teams in each and every power 5 league within a couple of years.

 

[Animal02]

For me, these numbers largely go back to the idea that "Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable." Yes, we were 14-16 against Coastal competition and 20-21 against ACC teams over the last 5 years. That is one way to say it. That also somewhat ignores that this is really based on one really bad season.

Another way to say it would be that CPJ had only 1 losing ACC record in 11 years. He had a winning ACC record 7 of 11 years and finished first or second in the Coastal 7 times in 11 years. His ACC record ended at 51-37.

I think CPJ absolutely, undoubtedly proved that the triple option could be an equalizer. What he failed to prove was that he was an above average recruiter. Instead, CPJ recruited about the same if not slightly worse than Gailey, but had significantly higher highs. If Monken is an above average recruiter, I have no doubt in my mind that he could improve the record of the bottom third teams in each and every power 5 league within a couple of years.

Disagree with you a bit.....actually based on $$$$ CPJ was a above average recruiter......over the course of his tenure......the spending on the program, compared to the rest of the ACC dropped significantly. Tech went from above the average to 2nd to last......yet CPJ still remained competitive. One can only imagine what he might have accomplished had he had the resources (like more than 2 recruiting staff)

 

[swampsting]

PJ also put into words what we thought -
“He must have just got off from his job at Walmart”
“Punch him in the face”

It’s getting dusty in here just thinking about that. Anybody who thinks PJ didn’t care when it came to Georgia just wasn’t paying attention

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Yep. CPJ whupped CGC’s vaunted MSU defense in the 2014 Orange Bowl, and the fact that CGC was not there on the sidelines does not matter one bit. CGC built and coached that defense during all of that regular season before he left prior to the bowl game.

I think CGC would have had his hands full that night as our men were firing on all cylinders. Our front kicked their D front’s ***!!

But.....it’s not a definite as he very well may have tweaked his scheme for the 3O and almost certainly would have called a better game than the interim DC did.