5 reasons Paul Johnson isn’t going to Notre Dame
1. He’s a little too much like Charlie Weis. Meaning: He’s blunt, and he can’t be coached in the gentle art of public relations. That works in Atlanta, where there’s one daily newspaper, but might not in South Bend, where the college team is covered by the Chicago papers in addition to the South Bend folks. Notre Dame is going to want a charmer this time around, someone who can schmooze with Regis about the big game. PJ has never heard of Reege, let alone Kelly.
2. Notre Dame isn’t just a program; it’s a TV show. Meaning: Appearances matter. NBC might not be thrilled about the prospects of airing a team that runs the football 83 percent of the time. (Understand: I admire Johnson’s offense. But I’m not a network programmer.)
3. Notre Dame cares about recruiting rankings. Johnson famously does not. The subway alumni wouldn’t like it if their adopted team didn’t show up in Rivals’ top 10. (Understand: I’m with Johnson on this one, too. Recruiting rankings are overblown — ask Mark Richt — but I don’t contribute to anyone’s program.)
4. He’s happy at Georgia Tech. In two years Johnson has become not just a hero but something approaching a legend. If the final fourth-down gamble against Wake Forest had failed, he wouldn’t have been second-guessed one bit. Because Tech people love PJ, and Dan Radakovich is about to put yet another bumped-up dollar figure on that love. And Johnson doesn’t want to live in South Bend. He’s a Southern guy who has a nice spread in Vinings — “Inside the Perimeter,” he always takes pains to say — and doesn’t even have to take an Interstate to work.
5. Notre Dame once hired a coach from Tech. The perfect union, right? A feisty Irishman coaching the Fighting Irish. It lasted 3 1/2 days. Even Cher and Gregg Allman made it past a week.
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577 comments Add your comment
willie martinez
November 18th, 2009
12:18 pm
there once was a guy named bradley,
whose writing made me feel sadly.
i dont like his tog,
or sarcastic blog,
i thought he was in love with me madly.
which is it?
November 18th, 2009
12:19 pm
Once again, which is it dogdoo fans? Every week we hear how GT is no good and their opponent is goig to beat them and now we have CPJ going to Notre Dame why? I thought he was a crummy coach and cannot win anything? Gee, I better enroll in college myself than sit here and read this mindless dribble who have the authority of a gnat
which is it?
November 18th, 2009
12:19 pm
Once again, which is it dogdoo fans? Every week we hear how GT is no good and their opponent is goig to beat them and now we have CPJ going to Notre Dame why? I thought he was a crummy coach and cannot win anything? Gee, I better enroll in college myself than sit here and read this mindless dribble from those who have the authority of a gnat
UGAIsSoLastYear
November 18th, 2009
12:20 pm
I was at the Wake game and agree 110%. Had we not made the 1st down, I would have been bummed but would have gotten over it immediately. I beleive most GT fans feel the same way. Our coach’s brand of football is super exciting, he takes risks and is a winner. None of those 3 things were present while Gailey was here. PS: I want 60 pts or more vs UGA !!!!
Delbert D.
November 18th, 2009
12:21 pm
willie – by the way, I did not spell that Navy coach’s name backwards. It just looks that way.
willie martinez
November 18th, 2009
12:22 pm
del, if chan’s grandkid looks like a baseball player he could name him fanned gailey
The Grinch
November 18th, 2009
12:22 pm
To which is it?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Having to correct your own post? Yes, from the tone, grammer and structure of your post I’d say you DO need to enroll in a college. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
willie martinez
November 18th, 2009
12:23 pm
there once was a guy named del,
who didnt know how to spell,
i pointed that out,
he began to pout,
and said “willie go to hell”
Delbert D.
November 18th, 2009
12:24 pm
UGAIsSoLastYear – Tech getting 60 would mean Georgia is close behind. No reps for the 3rd teams on either side.
Tech is the Best
November 18th, 2009
12:25 pm
Why would he leave a place like Georgia Tech. There truly is no atmosphere like it in all of college football. There is nothing that gets blood flowing like getting up in the morning and getting on the marta train with all those Jacket fans (and homeless people) and making your way down to that college football mecca that is Bobby Dodd Stadium. As you make your way to the stadium fending off beggars there really is a rush of adrenaline as your not sure if you are going to see a Jacket victory or be mugged. Once inside the stadium, it is truly electric. If the budweiser song isn’t playing then all of those students (at least the one’s who aren’t in the computer lab or playing atari) are doing popcorn like a bunch of 12 year olds. Why in the world would he want to go to a place like Notre Dame or Michigan when he can be a part of that? You can keep the grove, the 12th man, the dotting of the i, or any other lame tradition. Give me the budweiser song. I have a feeling Paul Johnson feels the same.
willie martinez
November 18th, 2009
12:25 pm
there once was a man from nantucket,
hmm. better wait on that one till later.
Ezekiel
November 18th, 2009
12:26 pm
Paul Johnson has a great situation at Georgia Tech with good caliber individual as players and an excellent Athletic Director and administrative staff supporting him and his efforts. You never say never but hard to believe that he would give up a great situation to go elsewhere when he’s got everything he wants at Tech. Talk more Tech football at: http://www.bbuzzoff.com
Navigator
November 18th, 2009
12:26 pm
1. Why did he come to Tech in the first place, there were no ties? 2. Why would he stay at Tech if ND offered him 3 times as much to leave? 3. How long do you think it would take for PJohnson to turn ND around and put them on the BCS path? I don’t think you need me to answer these questions, as the question themselves leads you to why PJohnson would leave.
HELP!!! I'M LOCKED IN THE FRAT HOUSE BASEMENT!
November 18th, 2009
12:27 pm
ONLY THING IS MY PROCTOLOGIST HAS PROPER GRAMMAR AND THIS BOY SURE COULDN’T TALK WORTH A DAMN, HE JUST KEPT BARKING. I DON’T THINK HE COULD WRITE EITHER, EVEN WITH THAT PENCIL D^&*.
No more haiku
November 18th, 2009
12:28 pm
there once was a guy named willie,
whose posts were becoming quite silly,
he refused to stop,
’cause he was the spelling cop,
but his uniform is really quite frilly
Tim TBlow
November 18th, 2009
12:28 pm
Hey Gator Forever,
Why don’t you go away like you stated above? You haven’t stated any facts in your posts, only worthless drivel. I’m a DAWG fan and I hate the arrogant posts by reptiles like you as much as I do the bugs. You might want to worry about Urban Cryer going to ND before the nerds new messiah. Your an idiot and so is your self righteous QB and pansy coach. And before you blow back with this years score just remember that we dont care in DAWG NATION what you think. We despise the Gators and all gator fans. So, see ya — you slimy lizard.
JimboDawg
November 18th, 2009
12:28 pm
UGA is TERRIBLE…FIRE THEM ALL
GET REAL
November 18th, 2009
12:29 pm
ITS NOTRE DAME… IF THEY WANT PJ THEY WILL GET PJ
Delbert D.
November 18th, 2009
12:29 pm
willie – be chillie. CMR will not abandon you. He will get you a HC job or take you with him to FSU. Would you prefer Indiana State or San Jose State?
Delbert D.
November 18th, 2009
12:31 pm
What, haiku is japanese limericks now?
George Costanza
November 18th, 2009
12:32 pm
Delbert D.
November 18th, 2009
12:29 pm
How about him becoming a marine biologist? I heard it’s quite a nice profession.
No more haiku
November 18th, 2009
12:33 pm
Delbert D. – shhhh…..I’m wanting to see if willie is paying attention.
Delbert D.
November 18th, 2009
12:33 pm
My cousin’s brother in in law’s son has Notre Dame PJs
bigstack19
November 18th, 2009
12:34 pm
Whoooo! 320th! Call me crazy, but with Jesus H. Tebow graduating I think Urban Meyer will be the next coach at Notre Dame. They will throw an ass load of money at him and he will jump on it.
Delbert D.
November 18th, 2009
12:34 pm
George – Take it from me, the Marines don’t think much of biologists.
Delbert D.
November 18th, 2009
12:36 pm
bigstack19 – That’s where they messed up. They threw an ass load of money and got an ass.
gatiger2
November 18th, 2009
12:38 pm
Because Nick Saban is !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pi$$onaJacket
November 18th, 2009
12:38 pm
Tech’s program will always be equal to a Wake Forest, Duke, William & Mary or Gardner-Webb. PJ would be a fool not to leave. Tech has become so irrevelant in football, that, who cares?
The Grinch
November 18th, 2009
12:39 pm
To Delbert D.
Then I guess ND got what they paid for. Big money for a big….
BWAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
cantondawg
November 18th, 2009
12:39 pm
Haiku Man,
CMR has a 79% winning percentage. Has won 2 SEC Championships and 6 top 10 finishes with a #2 and #3 final ranking. How stupid can you be to say this man can’t coach. Sure, we are all disappointed with this season but it doesn’t give you an excuse to act like a total idiot.
Mike
November 18th, 2009
12:39 pm
Hate to break it to you Mark, but Paul Johnson IS winning with top recruits and NFL talent. Nesbitt, Dwyer, Jones…these guys were part of a top 15 recruiting class by Gailey that was rated higher than Richt’s class in at least one of the big 3 (rivals, scout, espn). The defensive side of the ball was stacked with NFL talent by Tenuta. So far his top playmakers on both sides of the ball have been carryovers from Gailey.
Dont get me wrong, he has done a much better job than I thought. Dwyer and Nesbitt in particular seem to be perfect fits for the offense. My point is, this is the most talented team he will have. Do you really expect this offense to keep up the pace without players of the caliber of Dwyer and Nesbitt? If you do, then I feel really bad for you. Johnson has yet to recruit a single offensive player of their caliber. In a couple of years you will get your chance to see if average players can still win in this offense.
Good recruiting is how you sustain a program’s success once your players are in and the previous coach’s players are out. Ask Mark Richt about that one too…82 wins in his first eight seasons, 2 conference titles, 3 BCS bowl games while in a conference surrounded by National Title winners and even more legitimate contenders. The ACC has won ONE BCS bowl game…period and has been getting owned in the Peach Bowl.
GT
November 18th, 2009
12:39 pm
Mark is on the money. A few other things, ND is not the school our dad’s use to talk about. Indiana or Chicago can not feed recruits the size of the ones PJ gets in the state of Georgia. It is the graveyard of many coaches who thought just the name of ND would get the job done. I am not sure JP would want to put up with having to coach what shows up at place like ND. People who think because they were born of third base they have hit a triple, so to speak in football talent and are not willing to work for it. There is a grinding atmosphere at Tech, nobody looks up from what they are doing to notice the bright lights. They seem happy accomplishing things, not too much trash talking or showboating, unlike under Gailey or over at Athens, just hard working goal orientated people, what if not college kids could be called professional, but certainly can be called mature. This whole country could use a dose of that but for the time being what little we have is well spent at the flats and would be wasted in South Bends.
HELP!!! I'M LOCKED IN THE FRAT HOUSE BASEMENT!
November 18th, 2009
12:42 pm
IT SMELLS LIKE ALPO AND WINTERGREEN SKOAL DOWN HERE. I SURE AM THIRSTY, MAYBE ONE OF THEM FRATBOYS LEFT A CAN OF NATTY LITE. BETWEEN THAT PISSWATER AND ALL THEM BARTLES AND JAMES WINECOOLERS THEY WAS DRINKING, I EXPECTED TO SEE VAJAYJAY’S WHEN THEY PULLED DOWN THEM SEARS JEANS THEY WAS WEARING. ONCE I SAW THEIR D***S, I WASN’T SURE IT WASN’T JUST A BIG CLI*ORIS. I WENT OUT WITH A GIRL FROM WINDER ONCE THAT HAD ONE LIKE THAT AND HER DADDY WAS A BULLDOG FAN TOO.
LCDawg
November 18th, 2009
12:42 pm
He’s a perfect match for ND. Of course I still think urban takes the job if offered. Tebow’s gone next year and he may have won 3 NC by then. Nothing left to prove @ FL or in the SEC and he has stated repeatedly that being the HC at ND is his “dream job”. PLus now he has established all the recruiting ties he needs in FL to lure them up to South Bend. If not now I don’t know when…
cantondawg
November 18th, 2009
12:43 pm
Update
I occasionally browse the comments looking for the dumbest ones.
So far here are the leaders in the dumbest comment categories
1) Bugkiller – always a favorite
2) Godawgs – his comments give me a headache
3) Herschel Talker – Dumbness only a mother could love
4) Haiku Man – Newcomer but a real contender.
If you guys have any other nominations, let me know. I’m sure i missed alot.
Delbert D.
November 18th, 2009
12:43 pm
cantondawg – “it doesn’t give you an excuse to act like a total idiot.”
Nothing is an excuse to act like a total idiot. Unless one is acting in a Shakespearean play.
But, a large percentage of posters apparently disagree.
Atl Resident
November 18th, 2009
12:44 pm
Dawg Fan 74
November 18th, 2009
8:00 am
After Georgia steam rolls GT 49-7, he may consider ND.
The hell? Now here’s a real UGA fan that live and die for them. They need hope they can still get into a bowl game. But damn that didn’t even sound right but its so true.
UGAIsSoLastYear
November 18th, 2009
12:47 pm
Herschel DID sign his name with an ‘X’ when he was in college!!!
UGAIsSoLastYear
November 18th, 2009
12:47 pm
If you can’t go to college . . . go to UGA!
Charlie Strong
November 18th, 2009
12:48 pm
Great season Tech, Congrats. Sorry to say but the #1 reason Paul Johnson is not going to Notre Dame is because the people in South Bend wouldn’t put up with his vacant personality, his attitude of campus. The guy is kind of a jerk. Good coach though.
Jack
November 18th, 2009
12:50 pm
Johnson is gone, enjoy your year nerds!
Delbert D.
November 18th, 2009
12:52 pm
Charlie – You’ve got me there, with some odd definition of “campus.” It must be the latin definition and not the one used in rock climbing.
cantondawg
November 18th, 2009
12:54 pm
Delbert D,
You are so right. People forget that we are talking about young kids who play a sport for fun. They have to go thru grueling practices and weight lifting sessions. I know because i went thru it myself. These player have feelings and it’s a shame some of the comments that are made about them. I can guarantee you that most of these pathetic critical people never played football and don’t have a life.
dcjacket
November 18th, 2009
12:54 pm
I always find these comments interesting, in chronological order:
a. ” This high school offense will never work at Div 1 level”;
b. ” GT and the TO will not work beyond one year because people will figure it out”;
c. ” The TO will not work against elite competition including teams fromt he SEC”;
d. “Once Nesbitt, Dwyer, etc leave, you will never be able to bring in the players to be successful and run this offense”;
e. “CPJ will jump to another school (ie, Auburn, ND, etc.)given the first opportunity”
While there are no guarantees in life, all of the above have not come true which scares many of you. So now your resorting to banter about the stadium, etc. If that allows you to cope or sleep better for now, I guess its better then prozac or any sleeping pill.
The reality is that in two years the GT football program has completely turned around and is on a path to become a force in college football at the highest level. One of the things that many of you fail to notice is that the combination of Dan Radakovich/AD and CPJ has created the perfect storm on the flats to realize this outcome.
So as we approach the end of year two with a very young team, GT is ranked #7 in the nation and their strength of schedule is #14 in the nation. It was said that the best recruits would spurn GT, but truth be told, they are very interested in the program and come not only from the state of Georgia but nationaly. Remember the guys like Dwyer, Burnett, Morgan, Thomas and even the younger ones like Hill, Akers, Perkins, etc.. It was said that the elite teams did not want them including UGA. Oh yea, you did want them and recruited them very hard and they still came to GT. Yes, the future looks very bright on the flats. CPJ says, that all the pre-game banter is meaningless and all that matter is what happens on the field. That is why they play the game. See you on November 28th!!!!
murfdawg
November 18th, 2009
12:55 pm
When GT gets a new coach, they usually win the first two games against UGA. Then everything settles down and the Dawgs get back to winning 5,6 or 7 in a row. Johnson is a good coach and is having a great year(with Gailey’s players) and he will make Georgia better in the next five years.
If Johnson is as smart and good as all the GT fans think, he will beat UGA 17-16. If that happens, CMR will keep WM, and GT can beat the Dawgs every year until WM leaves. If GT hangs 50 on the Dawgs, WM will be gone and PJ will make Georgia a better team next year.
roan st
November 18th, 2009
12:56 pm
If Tech runs the table CPJ is going to have some big time programs looking his way. And just because he won’t end up at ND does not mean he isn’t going to leave. How about Nebraska? That would be the absolute perfect fit. Hell they haven’t been a top program since they quit running the option. When Osborne left they felt the need to transition to a more “modern” offense. And now I would imagine they are looking at what CPJ is doing at Tech and saying hmmmn. Now that looks like cornhusker football!! Hire this man!!!
Delbert D.
November 18th, 2009
12:58 pm
Jack – I guess Stoops wanted too much, and Ferentz must have said he was still fascinated with the miracles that are occurring regularly at Iowa. Iowa may be the new Notre Dame. Did the Vatican recently buy U Iowa?
Mike
November 18th, 2009
12:58 pm
Update on those “non top recruits” Johnson is winning with. 4 star DE Derrick Morgan was also in that recruiting class with Nesbitt, Dwyer, and Jones…top 15 recruiting class people. The only WR that gets thrown to…Thomas is also a holdover from Gailey. NO ONE making plays on this team has been recruited by Johnson.
I would be very interested in seeing this conversation in a couple of years when all these guys are gone. A college coach has to recruit as well as coach. We know Johnson can coach if you give him the talent. The question that will be answered is, will he be a Terry Bowden or Charlie Weis, or will he be a Mark Richt…yes Mark Richt. Richt has been a consistent winner long after Donnan’s recruits moved on. He won is second SEC title and played in two of his three BCS games all with his own players.
Congratulate the man, but he IS winning with a stocked shelf of very good recruits from Gailey.
willie martinez
November 18th, 2009
12:58 pm
got a nomination for you canton dog: canton dog. best, willie
Dawg Fan 74
November 18th, 2009
1:01 pm
Of course he will leave GT. Why would anyone want to remain at a school that UGA dominates year after year.
Georgia 49 – GT 7
Go DAWGS!