Firing assistant after 11-3 season says a lot about Johnson
Paul Johnson knew long before walking off the field following the Orange Bowl that he needed to make a change. (AP photo)
Paul Johnson is not like most head coaches. Georgia Tech just won its first conference championship in 19 years and went to its biggest bowl game in 43. Most head coaches react to this by pushing for raises for his assistants. Johnson reacted by giving Dave Wommack a pink slip.
Nobody likes to see people lose jobs, especially nice guys like Wommack. He’s one of those old school coaches who show up for work at 4 a.m. and looks a lot older than his birth certificate suggests. He’s 53 but looks 63. He gets too little sleep and lives with too much stress for too few successes.
But Johnson’s decision to fire his defensive coordinator should make most Tech fans smile because it reaffirms what we already knew about the man: He’s not the settling type.
Johnson acknowledged he had made this decision a while ago — sometime during an 11-win season. Contrast that with Georgia’s Mark Richt, who seemed to be the last person in Athens to acknowledge that defensive coordinator Willie Martinez needed to go. Richt made that decision over five weeks ago. At least two of his top candidates have turned him down (Virginia Tech’s Bud Foster and LSU’s John Chavis). How will it go over if Johnson fills his staff opening before Richt does his — and does it with a long-time impressive defensive coach like Al Groh, a rumored candidate?
There is no guarantee Groh takes the job, either. He certainly doesn’t need the money (Virginia, which fired him as head coach, still owes him $4.33 million over the next two years). If he decides to work, he might prefer returning to the NFL. But Groh’s a competitive guy who is quite enamored of the Jackets’ offense and the job Johnson has done at the school. It probably wasn’t just a coincidence that he watched a Jackets’ pre-bowl practice two weeks ago. At 65, the defensive coordinator’s job at Tech could be a nice way for him to slide into retirement.
Dave Wommack's defenses allowed 30-plus points in eight of Georgia Tech's last 16 games. (AJC photo/Johnny Crawford)
Johnson denies that he already has offered Groh the job. When asked about his candidacy, he said: “I have no idea. There’s probably going to be a lot of candidates. … I would think he’s a guy who would be a great candidate if he’s interested. But I don’t know if he is. He’s collecting a lot of money up there [from Virginia].”
This much is certain: Whether Groh comes to Atlanta or not, Johnson sees an opportunity t0 do something special at Tech over the long term. He quickly grew weary of wins being so dependent on how many touchdowns his option offense produced. This was never intended to look like the Arena League (first team to not score loses.)
To some degree, Tech will go as the option goes. But weekly cataclysmic developments on the defensive side of the ball was getting old. The defense doesn’t need to allow 14 points or less to win games. It just can’t star in any more cartoons.
The Jackets scored 45 points at Georgia last season and won by a field goal. They scored 49 points at Florida State and won by five. Tech opponents this season scored 30 or more points six times. Including the final two games of last season (Georgia and the 38-3 loss to LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl), Wommack’s defense has allowed 30-plus points in eight of the last 16 games.
There’s only one statistic more stunning than that: Tech still went 5-3 in those games. But Johnson didn’t hide his displeasure with the defense, even after the wins.
Winning coaches often shift their program into auto pilot. But great coaches don’t rest. They don’t settle. The auto pilot button doesn’t exist on Johnson’s dashboard.
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554 comments Add your comment
college football
January 9th, 2010
12:05 am
They better get a coach after their asses were handed to them in the last two games, UGA and Iowa both could have put 45 on the board. You know, the thing about tech is they think and their ignorant fans think they are really good. They play in a very weak conference except for Virginia Tech who doesn’t belong there. Another thing, they can’t stand the fact they are being dominated by UGA. Coaches they play against have figured out the high school offense..control the pitchman and turn everything inside and you stop them cold just like Georgia and Iowa did. They are losers and will continue to be!
Jim Mora Jr.
January 9th, 2010
12:08 am
Hire me! I only got 15 million for being unemployed
DawgVoiceOfReason
January 9th, 2010
12:15 am
Just to clarify a point of discussion. Johnson’s decision in the Georgia game this season to throw 3 straight bombs with over a minute left was stupid in more ways than one. First, for the reason that many have pointed out, is that after it didn’t work on first down, it wasn’t likely to be a surprise and wasn’t going to succeed on second and third down. But, in something many have overlooked, even if one of those passes had succeeded in scoring a touchdown, Tech would have left UGA with too much time on the clock, only needing a field goal, with one of the best kickers in the country and able to win the game anyway. Paul Johnson flat out blew it, abandoning his own precious offense, when it could have won him the game.
Tide Alum 91
January 9th, 2010
12:23 am
Teddy KGB,
You are right on! A well-stated, lucid post. ( I read the good stuff and ignore THE ALL CAPS trash and silliness, especially from the little doggies)
Bottom line – the best talent wins more often than not. Good coaches can get some wins with lesser talent (Paul Johnson, Nick Saban), not so good coaches lose some with better talent, and then you have David Shula, who couldn’t win and couldn’t recruit. If you cannot get the talent, it eventually catches up with you.
Richt – outstanding character guy, but the last 2 years the consensus is his talent should have gotten more wins. Or perhaps the talent has not been what it was expected to be. I don’t believe it is a talent issue, as UGA has sent alot of guys to the NFL before Richt with Goff and Donnan, but they could not put it together in Athens.
So what is the reason UGA has only won the SEC once in the last 20 plus years with all that talent?
The little doggies were not happy with Goff and Donnan. Take Florida and UGA – no way the lopsided record the last 15 plus years is because of a big difference in talent. It is coaching.
Saban does both well and LSU folks know it. They desperately want him back but that is not going to happen.
No program is going to stay on top forever. FSU, MIAMI were anomalies, they have come back to the pack. I hate to have to say it – BAMA was mediocre for 15 years. Florida has had a good run, USC, same.
Coordinators do make a difference – see FSU’s drop off on offense after Richt left.
Again Teddy KGB, good post.
ROLL TIDE, BABY!
For you little doggie trashers, I AM HERE ALL YEAR LONG. (heh heh heh heh)…..WOOOOHH!
Supersize that order, mutt
January 9th, 2010
12:24 am
college football, if Iowa COULD have put 45 points on the boards against Tech, then why did they only have 17 points on the boards with less than 4 minutes left in the game? Were they being nice? Did they not care? Did they not want to score? You are full of it, bubba.
Jeff's Rabbi
January 9th, 2010
12:35 am
There you go again, Jeff. Plus unwrap your lips from around Paul’s Johnson.
Matt the Brave
January 9th, 2010
12:42 am
I heard Willie Martinez is looking for a job…;)
For real, pretty ballsy of Johnson to fire his D-Coord. after a BCS bowl. But the loss to Georgia and to Iowa more than showed what was happening. Sometimes its better to just make the change now before you’re sitting with four or five losses wondering what the heck happened.
surfrider
January 9th, 2010
12:44 am
It looks like musical chair time in college football after the bowls. Good luck to Womack. I do like the talent that is being recruited the last two years on the Defensive side of the ball. Wish we had one or two more run stoppers. As for the defense to me the attack style works better at Tech than the react style going back to the Defense in 1985. The Orange Bowl showed how the attack style kept us in the game when we were’nt playing great. The other area that may need some help is what use to be called possession receivers or role receivers, aka sure handed receivers that can catch anything even if they are not that quick. That would put a lot of pressure on the other defense, open up the option and also open up the other receivers. What’s incredible is we were in all three losses until near the end of the game. Great Job Jackets and again good luck Womack.
danny c
January 9th, 2010
1:29 am
herschel, which one of you is doing the talking?
The UGALY Truth
January 9th, 2010
1:36 am
DawgVoiceOfReason,
Obviously you didn’t get the memo….Paul Johnson doesn’t coach at NAVY anymore. That article was written in 2005 about his NAVY offense. It also says, “the offense builds around one basic play – the triple option”…Get it yet? *The triple option is a PLAY*….A formation within the total offensive scheme which is the SPREAD OPTION offense at GT.
Furthermore, the article you cite also states: “At Navy, though, Johnson doesn’t have the luxury of getting premium athletes, a fact of life for all service academy football programs. So he’s tailored it around what he’s got: smaller but able-bodied players with good grades in the classroom. As a result, Navy runs the ball on 81.6 percent of its plays and has built a package of multiple plays around the triple option, including run-and-shoot passing and misdirection plays.”
If it was a “triple option offense”, as you still want to call it even after being corrected, then GT would run the triple option play 100% of the time, with every snap of the ball. According to PJ himself, the triple option play is run around 20% of the time at GT, some games more, some games less. So if a team says, “We can stop the triple option”, then they’ll stop approx 1 out of 5 offensive plays PJ calls at GT…..And there’s no guarantee they’ll even do that because of adjustments PJ makes on the sidelines after he sees how defenses are reacting.
If you require further proof, just reference the 2009 GT Football Media Guide which lists: Basic Offense……..Spread Option. But if you want to keep calling it a *triple option offense* and looking like a complete idiot…..Well, you ARE a UGAG Fan, right?
blackprix
January 9th, 2010
1:52 am
Coach Johnson,
One of the best DC’s is available who lead the defense for the for the 3 time Super Bowl Champs … ROMEO CRENNELL!!!
Please give him a look. It’s going to take some $$$ but you get what you pay for.
GT needs to open up their wallets, this coach wants to win a National Championship and we will never get there without top-notch coaches!
blackprix
January 9th, 2010
1:55 am
It’s good having a coach who doesn’t sit on his butt WAITING for something good to happen …
Coach Johnson, YOU’RE THE MAN! GT fans DO KNOW how much you want to win and be a national contender … THANK YOU FOR DOING YOUR JOB!
P. Bull Terrier
January 9th, 2010
2:19 am
There was once a day when I could look to the AJC for news with a fairly high degree of confidence that it was accurate. Anymore I can’t figure out what is accurate because the facts keep changing. I read right here in the AJC that John Chavis was never offered the DC position at Georgia, but Schultz claims that Chavis turned UGA down.
Personally, I have no idea which is true but it seems like the few people remaining in the AJC sports dept. could all agree on which set of facts they were going to pretend were real. People who get paid to write for alleged news organizations should be held to a higher standard than the rest of us morons who show up to talk trash just for a thrill.
As far as the rest of the story, it’ll be interesting to see how Johnson does over the next few years. He might crash and burn or he might turn Tech into a real football school, but either way he’s going to do it as fast as he can. I’m not sure I’d want to work for him, but watching him do his job is going to be entertaining.
KJ
January 9th, 2010
2:54 am
LOL, what an effing joke. Now Schultz is anointing Johnson as some kind of visionary genius because he fired his DC after an 11 win season. News flash: anyone who’s paid the least bit of attention knows that their defense was terrible, and they won games DESPITE the defense sucking. But hey, at least it gave you another chance to discredit Richt and appease gnat nation with your CPJ ballwashing.
Robert
January 9th, 2010
2:59 am
Teddy KGB,
FYI in the off season, coaches do NOT waste there time preparing for 1 opponent, even if that opponent is a very good one or one you really want to beat. Trust me, I have played football for many years. Coaches always work the basics until 1-2 weeks before the season, because basic fundamentals is where you win football games. Even if you know the other team and what they will do, sometimes it just comes down to who plants there feet, strikes under the pads of the opponent, and drives them into the ground. Teams will not end up breaking tech down more. And, like any offense, techs works when it is ran right. Against Iowa, just being honest, they were a much bigger and stronger team up front. No wonder we lost…the O line could not stop those great D linemen. There is no trick to stopping the option you just need to play disciplined football…but the same goes for any other offense.
The jackets will continue to have success, because CPJ will be breaking down many types of defenses just as other coaches will attempt to break down his offense. It just comes down to who will do a better job. Johnson did NOT get shut down against Iowa. He made adjustments and moved the ball. Tech missed a field goal, and had way to many penalties. In a Flexbone offense, penalties will be drive killers every time because you are running an offense that depends on getting about 3 1/3 yards every play. Ole fasion, grinding it out football. I am just tired of people saying “o wait until someone figures tech out”. There is nothing to figure out. Great D coordinators like Bud Foster can tell you that. Because, if you are sold out too much on the run (Miss State) the passing lanes will be there. It was not against Iowa, because although they were sold on the run sometimes, they were bigger and stronger, and tech recievers/backs dropped passes, nesbitt miss fired, etc. So all of you who think Tech will oneday be shut down are so WRONG.
Tech will be stopped somtimes. Its the name of the game. But all that matters is how often they can be successful. Paul Johnson will get to recruiting bigger and stronger players. Imagine if you had an athlete as strong as Tim Tebow at QB, and some backs like percy harvin back there running techs offense, along with an Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, or even a South Carolina defense on the other side of the ball. UNSTOPPABLE. Although out scheming opponents can lead to victories, sometimes you just have to have athletes that match up to your opponents. And when tech reaches that level, they will win a national title. Next year they COULD have potential to get there, but I do not see them winning it until they beef up on the offensive line and get better on defense. But winning like CPJ is doing will bring in more and more recruits. That is how you start building. You win with what you have, and it leads to more and more and more great recruits. Then…well then you DOMINATE.
RamblinA
January 9th, 2010
3:14 am
I would love to see a George O’Leary. He’s a “take no crap” kind of coach and would fit in great with Johnson’s personality. It would be nice to see him back at the flats. John Tenuta would be great to have back too, but I think Johnson already ticked him off. Seems like Groh is a done deal though.
tpdaman
January 9th, 2010
3:51 am
I am thrilled that the coach is proactive. Womack always was a stretch. coach like CPJ demands excellence and was not getting it from one of his staff. The games we lost this year were purely on defense. Let’s see if we can upgrade. I would say bring tenuta back but I’ll let the best coach in Ga football make that decision. THWG!
tpdaman
January 9th, 2010
3:53 am
BTW I got the frickin plague while watching that 20 degree Orange Bowl, I haven’t recovered yet. Glad we were outnumbered 10 to 1 by classy fans. The Iowa folks were good people.
tpdaman
January 9th, 2010
3:57 am
Hey Robert, I like your thoughts but they still have to pass Calc I. Noone on UGA’s current roster could pass that class. Not one, I would bet Mark Richts slush fund on that!
Tokyo jacket
January 9th, 2010
5:07 am
KJ, if it were so easy to fire DCs after winning seasons, why didn’t Richt do it in 07 or 08 when you guys were all calling for his head on a platter? Why did you degrade from what, 12-1 to 10-3 to 8-5 before firing your coach?
Tokyo jacket
January 9th, 2010
5:15 am
I think it was a good move and the right move. On rivals, they post an interview that leads you to believe that Wommack may have actually quit and discussed it with Johnson prior to the bowl, maybe mid-year.
Either way, I think Groh would be a good pick up for us. He’s actually really good with X’s and O’s, just a really crappy administrator. If he doesn’t get picked up at Texas Tech, what about Tuberville? I also like the talk of O’Leary and of Tenuta, but I think both of those are pipe dreams.
Regardless of who we pick, I’m thinking it will be a good move. I also agree that it would be better if we had a more attacking style of defense to match with our attacking style of offense.
Truth A
January 9th, 2010
6:06 am
Coach Susan will soon be gone also!!!
Truth A
January 9th, 2010
6:06 am
Night everyone!
Realist
January 9th, 2010
6:12 am
As a UGA fan, I watched a few more Tech games this year because of UGA’s play but that’s not the point. I noticed that in CPJ 2 years with Tech thus far have been puzzling.
His offense had to score more points to win the games that they did. Everybody knows that. But, the games that they lost, including the Orange Bowl, the defense kept them close enough in the game for the offense to do something. The minute the game was lost, CPJ blames the defense for the lost.
Now, Maybe Wommack had to go. But you went 11-3 this year and 9-4 last year (correct me if I’m wrong) with this guy as DC. I’m not knocking the triple option or anything, but when it works, it’s hell to defend. But when it doesn’t work, you are asking your defense to play there tails off until it starts working.
So maybe all the blame should fall on the DC. Maybe CPJ has to broaden his spectrum a bit and add more to the triple option.
Realist
January 9th, 2010
6:15 am
“So maybe all the blame should fall on the DC. Maybe CPJ has to broaden his spectrum a bit and add more to the triple option.”
I meant “So maybe all the blame shouldn’t fall on the DC”
TheBiggestDawg
January 9th, 2010
7:20 am
After the Orange Bowl debacle, he should fire the loser that designed the offense… of wait, that was Paul Johnson himself. If I were him, I would punch myself right in the face.
Reality
January 9th, 2010
7:33 am
Great move for CPJ. Let’s get someone in there to shore up our defense. CPJ will also make the necessary changes in the offense to help our running game to be more consistent.
Some of these UGA fans posting on this blog are pretty obnoxious. I think they realize that CPJ has been as sucessful at GT as Richt was in 2 years at UGA. CPJ is the better coach and will ultimately dominate the Dawgs.
ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
January 9th, 2010
7:34 am
Really good article Jeff. I’d say you have a true understanding of what Johnson is all about. He’s not going to stick his head in the sand and pretend like a problem doesn’t exist when he knows (and everyone on God’s green earth knows) it does. A lot different mindset than the Sun Tan Man.
CPJ would be successful in whatever he did…running a company or whatever. Good people are proactive in addressing problems and maximizing their resources. Others like Sun Tan Man make a move but only after they are basically forced to and after much procrastination.
Charles
January 9th, 2010
7:54 am
The love affair between Schultz & PJ continues. PJ is 0-2 in bowl games and 1-1 against UGA. GT won the championship of a fourth rate ACC conference whose only real team is Va Tech. Wow such a genius PJ is!
Baba O'Riley
January 9th, 2010
8:07 am
Very funny to see UGA fans are whining because GT and CPJ are garnering attention from the local media. It’s the “Jan Brady Syndrome”: marsha, marsha, marsha
Reality
January 9th, 2010
8:13 am
Baba…UGA fans are obssessed with GT and afraid…..
pdawg
January 9th, 2010
8:27 am
You could work a shot in at UGA in an article about foreign policy or gardening. Why does it matter “when” UGA gets its DC? If Tech had fired Womack in early December and wanted Kirby they would still be waiting too. I see the Iowa beat down did nothing to slow the AJC’s worship of PJ. Maybe he needs to go hire a offensive coordinator for bowl games since its painfully obvious that you give a team time and that high school offense will get shut down.
Go back and look at all of PJ’s teams and tell me has he ever had a great defense? He would love Willie Martinez’s top 30 defense. The reason is very simple and it wont change. Just like other teams cant simulate during 4 days Techs offense, Tech cant simulate pro style offenses. This is the reason they will always suck on defense. The option offense is a huge detrement to the defense. But dont let that stop you from the PJ worship. 7 offensive points in the bowl. Be Be gone and other Gailey holdovers that never wouldve gone there had they known they would be running the option.
pdawg
January 9th, 2010
8:29 am
Yeah we are afraid. And if anyone is Jan Brady its Tech. Too bad you cant gather attention from fans that attend games. You had all the attention Tuesday night. Good job. Thanks for coming out. 30-24!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LMAO!
January 9th, 2010
8:35 am
And still UGA kicks your azz. Some things never change. And never will.
Baba O'Riley
January 9th, 2010
8:38 am
LMAO! and you are on a Tech message board.
Baba O'Riley
January 9th, 2010
8:42 am
pdawg- Why is it “too bad we can’t gather attention from fans that attend games.”? Meeechagan has gotten lots of fans to games these past 2 years. What has it gotten them? Great attendance doesn’t yield victories, but sometimes leads to a large garbage dump on campus. Those kind of fans we would rather do without.
LMAO!
January 9th, 2010
8:42 am
And to the moron that actually was stupid enough to compare Saint Paul’s 2nd year with Mark Richts LMAO! In year 2 Richt won the SEC, finished 13-1, and WON a BCS bowl. There is no comparison. But we all know that FACTS are lost on techmites.
dap01
January 9th, 2010
8:44 am
Johnson firing an assistant does not say anything about him. It says that he recognizes that Tech can not compete outside of the ACC with his current system.
CPJ did not invent football. He was severely outcoach each of the last two games.
Jo
January 9th, 2010
8:45 am
A little odd that in the bowl game it was the GT offense that stalled and the defense that kept them in the game. I think that PJ needs to work on some “sneak” passing to augment their offense as it has been proven that when a team has more than a week to prepare, they can shut down GT.
Limelight
January 9th, 2010
8:46 am
Tech went 11-3 with that high school offense you Dawg fans like to make fun of. And you were sweating until the last drive that it was going to beat you again this year. Just think if Tech used a “grown up” offense how good they would be?
DDA
January 9th, 2010
8:47 am
pdawg, you’re right. PJ has never had a good defensive team. If he had a good D he might have to share the spotlight. He also wouldn’t have someone else to blame when his TO sputters and dies. Everyone ever associated with Paul Johnson knows one thing for sure. It’s all about Paul and he likes it that way.
Baba O'Riley
January 9th, 2010
8:47 am
CPJ never did something as stooopid as Richt did against Auburn in his first 2 years. Remember Reverend Richt calling a running play in the waning moments of the auburn game, came up short and time ran out with the ball on the 1 before UGA could run another play?
DDA
January 9th, 2010
8:50 am
From reading these post it seems that all these “smart” nats (ROFL) didn’t see the end of the last 2 seasons. PJ has been totally over matched and can’t compete when it’s time to leave that little girl conference known as the ACC. 2 bowls…Opponent 62…GT 17. That’s pitiful even by Tech standards.
DDA
January 9th, 2010
8:53 am
The hell he didn’t Baba! Heave and hope…heave and hope…heave and hope…heave and hope. Remember that one? PJ tends to panic when he knows he can’t man up.
DDA
January 9th, 2010
8:54 am
Limelight! It was in the ACC. Got your azzes whipped when you had to come out to play with better conferences.
Baba O'Riley
January 9th, 2010
8:54 am
DDA- Pick yourself up off the floor. The fact that you’re even her reading these posts proves that either your team is insignificant or your jealous of the attention Tech gets. You should be over on the Junkyard Blawg reading the drivel of Bill King, the love child of Jerry Garcia and Sally Jesse-Raphael
Baba O'Riley
January 9th, 2010
8:56 am
DDA- The 4th down pass was dropped. Sorry, Richt was at the 1 yard line and let time run out.
Dawghater
January 9th, 2010
9:07 am
It’s about time! Wommack’s scheme cost us games. This shows CPJ sees a program that still can improve from 11-3!
tomkat1
January 9th, 2010
9:07 am
This decision might come back and bite Johnson in the rear end. Sort of like his decision not to throw more against Iowa.
jesse james
January 9th, 2010
9:09 am
If I were Tech I would see if there are any former players that played for the late Bud Carson, the best defensive mind that Tech has ever had, out there coaching and bring them in. Man what a football coach, especially on the defensive side.