Tech’s Paul Johnson: A coach who dares to be great
Josh Nesbitt after scoring the game-winner in overtime. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
The surprise wasn’t that Paul Johnson went for it on fourth-and-inches with Tampa on the line. The surprise was that, for half a minute, it seemed Paul Johnson wasn’t going for it on fourth-and-1 with Tampa on the line.
Down three points in overtime, ball nuzzling the 5: What else would PJ do? “If we can’t get half a yard,” he said, “we don’t deserve to win.”
First Georgia Tech faked everyone out. The Jackets lined up as if to run a play but did the ol’ draw-’em-offside bit to no avail. They called timeout and trotted to the sideline, and your first thought was, “PJ just chickened out.” But PJ doesn’t chicken out. He talks the talk and goes on fourth down.
“If you ask the kids to play to win,” he said, “you’ve got to play to win.”
He’d asked his quarterback what he thought, and Josh Nesbitt, who’s as bold as his coach, said: “I can make it.” And PJ said: “I know you can.” And then Nesbitt did, and one play later he was in the end zone and Tech had climbed a couple of rungs up the BCS standings and drawn within one win of the ACC title game. So you can’t say there was nothing at stake. But PJ’s way is to play to win no matter the consequences, no matter the history.
Four times Tech had gone on fourth down already, and four times it had failed. Nesbitt had fumbled the snap and slipped in the backfield and gotten stopped at the line and thrown a pass Anthony Allen dropped. One more slip and Tech would lose. But this time nobody slipped. This time Nesbitt ducked his head and got the yard.
Tech wobbled Saturday. It started nicely but began to commit penalties at a Georgia-esque rate, and a quick 10-point lead became a 17-10 halftime deficit. It could have been worse, but Dave Wommack’s underwhelming defenders stopped Wake Forest at the end of the first half and then limited the Deacs to one first down over the next 25 minutes.
And then, even after Wake tied it, the D made a stand near the end of regulation to force overtime, and once beyond 60 minutes, PJ and Nesbitt weren’t going to let the Jackets lose. “You just will your way to win,” Johnson would say, and that’s what happened here.
Derrick Morgan had three sacks, all essential. Jonathan Dwyer rushed for 189 yards, 59 coming on Tech’s first snap of the second half when he burst up the middle on a tweaked play for the tying touchdown. (”Something I saw,” said Johnson, the archduke of adjustments.) Wake being Wake, it would never simply slink away into the gathering dusk, but Tech matched the Deacs in heart and trumped them in skill and gall.
Into overtime. Tech held Wake to a field goal and the game was the Jackets’ to win or lose, which meant it was PJ’s and Nesbitt’s, and was there ever any doubt how it would end? Said Johnson: “I don’t think [his players] expected anything else [than going for it on fourth down]. Our defensive guys knew we were going for it.”
Said Dwyer: “Who wouldn’t want to play for a coach like that?”
Before the game, Johnson had given his men an impassioned speech. He told them “not to put the horse before the cart” and ponder what might be waiting down the road. This prompted someone to ask: Doesn’t the horse generally go before the cart?
“Horse before the cart, cart before the horse,” Johnson said. “Maybe that’s why we came out flat.”
No matter. It all worked out in the end. PJ dared and Nesbitt made it work and Tech’s cart and horse, in whichever order you prefer, drew another hundred miles closer to a title game in Tampa.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
552 comments Add your comment
Bootlegger
November 7th, 2009
9:41 pm
What coach in America is the head coach, calls the plays, all without a playsheet on the sideline? Oh yea, none, he makes play calls and adjustments to his offense on the fly, this is why nonone has him or his offense figured out yet !!!
willie martinez
November 7th, 2009
9:42 pm
i am a uga coach and georgia native. and i love it when tech wins. its my state. loran smith sucks
TechMD
November 7th, 2009
9:42 pm
The time out was a “psych”. I was on a blog where all the Miami fans were saying “kick the FG”. They knew, just like all of us, that we would get the first down and eventually score the TD.
Bootlegger
November 7th, 2009
9:43 pm
We all just saw the differrnce between really motivating your team with actions and confidence !! To all other D1 coaches, drop the “Out” gimicks and start actually coaching !!!!
Perspicacious
November 7th, 2009
9:44 pm
These blogs provide a wonderful forum for some dawg fans to make absolute fools of themselves. I’d bet some of them can’t even spell u-g-a.
Delbert D.
November 7th, 2009
9:44 pm
“pro tech” is what you get in the machine in the mens room at the truck stop. Somebody told me that, of course.
Flowery Branch Yellow Jacket
November 7th, 2009
9:44 pm
I’ve read lots of comments about changes that need to be made in the defense during the off-season, and to some degree, I know it’s true. However, I’m less than convinced that the change is in the coaching staff. Rather, I think it’s simply in the ongoing maturity of a young defensive club … and in the ongoing recruiting of better and better players. We’ve made great progress this season, and there is more to come. Let’s focus on continuing improvement with the people that are already here, and talk less about what needs to happen before next year.
BS Patrol
November 7th, 2009
9:45 pm
The man has some avocados. One must wonder, what does Gailey have?
JacketFan
November 7th, 2009
9:46 pm
Mark, would you say that Wake is the best under-.500 team in the nation. I’m serious. That is a good football team that has just had some rotten luck.
Paddy
November 7th, 2009
9:46 pm
If you try and guess with CPJ you will end up in the Nervous Hospital! What a strange but great game for fans to experience. Football has a different look in Georgia. My head was about to spin off my neck. WOW
Bootlegger
November 7th, 2009
9:47 pm
I will be the first one to admit, I would have kicked the field goal !! But hey that is why we are all here and not celebrating in the locker room right now !!
Delbert D.
November 7th, 2009
9:47 pm
BS – those would be “raisins”
Give PJ a raise!
November 7th, 2009
9:47 pm
Roger Dawg have you lost your mind???? You need to call the “help-me my team is average this year” line that all the GA fans are calling. Or maybe the line is busy so you decided to bring some hate to this fine blog that this year’s winners are using. Either way you are misreading the win you had over that high school team in TN that propped you up for a week (weak!). I will give you credit that CMR is a great guy and has been a great coach for you, but you are just jealous that GT has a great one and you can’t stand it! Get used to it, because you can’t pencil in a W against us now!!!!!
Go Jackets!!
To Hell with GA!!
TechMD
November 7th, 2009
9:48 pm
I agree FB jacket. The defense is improving, lets see how they turn out before we start talking about changes.
By Dodd
November 7th, 2009
9:49 pm
Enough about the Defense. I have not seen this size cohones on any Offensive Coordinator since Spurrier in his early days.
Bootlegger
November 7th, 2009
9:49 pm
Someone tell CPJ, there is a great RB @ Grayson (Pembertaon – SR no offers)and a GB at South Gwinnett (Rollins – JR) that would be perfect for this offense !!!
jacketbacker
November 7th, 2009
9:50 pm
Goooooo Jackets!!!!!!!!!! This team is goinig to kill me but i love their fight and will to win!!!…..this is a game we always lose in years past……great job CPJ!!!
pilgrim
November 7th, 2009
9:50 pm
No playsheet? PJ has a switch in his brain. He mashes down and stops time. After he figures things out he mashes the button again.
TechMD
November 7th, 2009
9:51 pm
These dawg fans are just suffering from Johnson envy.
gtne80
November 7th, 2009
9:52 pm
I think CPJ could win the World Series of Poker if he chose to. The man knows when to go all in. Make the 4th down or not, going for it was the right call. It was a much better bet than reshuffling the deck and putting the ball back in Skinner’s hands against our gassed defense. He knew the odds and he knew what was in the pot. When you’ve got the top pair, you don’t muck your hand. You push your chips in and flip your cards over and see what turns up on the river. Great call COACH Johnson.
Give PJ a raise!
November 7th, 2009
9:52 pm
George you may be right about CPH….but with some bowl money and some passing of the hat after all these wins at BD stadium, we might come up with enough $$$ to keep him here and not answer his cell phone…..
And to answer Boot’s comments on which coach to take? Priceless!!!
KillerBee
November 7th, 2009
9:52 pm
Surely we could find SOMEBODY on campus that could kick off deeper than Blair …. maybe on the women’s soccer team ???
Gutty win — go Jackets — Puke on Duke !!
Not Disappointed!
November 7th, 2009
9:57 pm
How are you 45ACP?
Delbert D.
November 7th, 2009
9:58 pm
KillerBee – I used to could, and I’ve got some eligibility left, but it’s been 46 years…
gtne80
November 7th, 2009
10:01 pm
BEEEEEEET DOOOOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!
KillerBee
November 7th, 2009
10:01 pm
Delbert — we’ll take you! Come on home ….
sean
November 7th, 2009
10:01 pm
Isn’t Tech getting a RB from Collins Hill? What kind of season is that kid having?
Not Disappointed!
November 7th, 2009
10:01 pm
Bless your heart Delbert D. Ramblin Wreck!
NoleRick
November 7th, 2009
10:02 pm
Good win today Jackets. Dont sleep on Dook!
madtbone
November 7th, 2009
10:04 pm
@KillerBee I think CPJ Is going to get Elizabeth Lambert from New Mexico to transfer and be GT’s new place kicker.
KillerBee
November 7th, 2009
10:05 pm
or … maybe the AFLAC duck could do the kick-offs. He looks pretty good on that soccer mom commercial ….
Bootlegger
November 7th, 2009
10:05 pm
Sean not sure about the Collins Hill kid, but Pemberton is the real deal, his height (5′3, but runs a 4.4) is what is keeping him from getting the looks and offers. The QB from South, Rollins is a stud and would be a great run/throw option guy.
Go DOGS
November 7th, 2009
10:05 pm
Give PJ a raise!: We should set up a Texas Cage Fight between Tech’s “Old School” and UGA’s “Roger Dawg”. A rumble at the V?
Anyway, Dogs are sucking this year, Jackets are rocking. Go for it, GT!
A Bulldog pulling for the Buzz Nation
Bootlegger
November 7th, 2009
10:06 pm
To ALL : How much fun is it to be a Yellow Jacket fan right now ?!!!!
KillerBee
November 7th, 2009
10:07 pm
Just Googled Elizabeth Lambert — let’s sign her up as a DB !!!
Billboy
November 7th, 2009
10:08 pm
Go Big or Go Home
Tech Tony
November 7th, 2009
10:08 pm
Was Roger Thomas here flapping his gums again? One day, he’ll know a little something about the sport of football but that day isn’t today.
Tech is 9-1, Roger Thomas, while Georgia is a scant 5-4. That makes the Jackets 38.2% better than the Frawgs.
Delbert D.
November 7th, 2009
10:08 pm
Boot – I’ve heard of Pemberton. Tough runner, too. Imagine him running behind Drummond in a couple of years. He’d be invisible to the defense.
Pi$$onaDawg
November 7th, 2009
10:08 pm
RUN that ball FSU.
If we don’t get it then CPJ is hated and the season is lost, but thankfully we don’t have to think about that.
jacket_bearcat
November 7th, 2009
10:08 pm
I twitted on: beat the jackets by using the option. The option is powerful…their defense – not so much. Cool game. This UC grad says: GO JACKETS! THWG!
Not Disappointed!
November 7th, 2009
10:09 pm
nice to know brewdawg…… So what else is going on in Jacket World? Ramblin Wreck!
Bootlegger
November 7th, 2009
10:11 pm
Delbert, my thoughts exactly !!
GT Fan
November 7th, 2009
10:11 pm
It sure would be nice if we had a Basketball Coach like PJ….Hewitt is a damn joke. BB team is loaded this year and I bet Hewitt blows it.
Great job Coach Johnson and TEAM. Keep up it up.
Limelight
November 7th, 2009
10:13 pm
I realize it’s only Wake, but there’s no way that Gailey wins that game, or several others this year.
Alabama Jack
November 7th, 2009
10:15 pm
The most important game of the year is next Saturday. Beat Duke !!!!!!!
Delbert D.
November 7th, 2009
10:15 pm
Got 12 commits this year, and that may be it. Assuming Kiffin doesn’t fly in with a Huey Cobra and steals somebody.
Joe Schmoe
November 7th, 2009
10:16 pm
Alright tech fans, what a game. We had to beat two opponents tonight, which were the deacons and the zebras officiating the game, but what do you expect from ACC officiating. This is what good teams do, beat the teams they are supposed to beat. The deac fans were good for the most part, except when they tried to mock us about “All the way turnt up.”
GT Fan
November 7th, 2009
10:17 pm
FSU just scored 24 Clemson 21 in 3rd
Bootlegger
November 7th, 2009
10:17 pm
I can’t see CPJ letting this team look past Duke. He has his guys so focused on what is in front of them, he won’t let these guys enjoy this big win very long and he sure won’t be talking about GA or a trip to tampa !!
M Richt
November 7th, 2009
10:20 pm
If you boys would have worn your pretty uniforms, you would have beaten Wake by 20. Next time, consult me before you take the field. Its better to play as “lookers” than to play as “winners”. Take my advice, me and “Slick Willie” know what we’re talking about.