5 reasons Paul Johnson isn’t going to Notre Dame
One difference: Paul Johnson proved he could win at Navy. Charlie Weis proved he can lose to Navy.
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
Jason
November 18th, 2009
12:28 am
First?
Dave
November 18th, 2009
12:30 am
First!
Dave
November 18th, 2009
12:31 am
Dammit Jason!
TechDan
November 18th, 2009
12:33 am
Fourth!
GTman
November 18th, 2009
12:34 am
6. He doesn’t need to go to ND to accomplish his goals. He has proven he can get it done at GT.
At least you did not tell him his offense will not work at a place like ND – seems to motivate him to prove people wrong!
Chan Gaily
November 18th, 2009
12:44 am
Well Mark… let’s just all hope you’re right. He is our football team. Could you imagine how bad it could get if he left? And on a different note… Could you imagine how much better Reggie Ball’s collegiate career would’ve been had PJ been here then??? Wow.
William Casey
November 18th, 2009
12:52 am
AMEN Mark Bradley. I’ll add a 6th reason: If COACH Johnson stays at Tech, the Jackets will win a national championship before the Irish do regardless of who the Notre Dame coach is. And I’ll always respect Coach Johnson for what he has done for GT football these past two years regardless of the future. It’s nothing short of a miracle. Finally, thanks and props go to Georgia Southern and Navy for giving him a chance!
kauai dawg
November 18th, 2009
12:54 am
I am a huge DAWG fan but will have to give PJ his due. He is a great football coach who knows how to take advantage of another teams weaknesses. His schemes are unstoppable on a weeks by week basis. LSU proved with a little time and hefty D. tackles some stoppage can take place but for the most part that is it.
If a program is interested in wins, then PJ is a good answer. I doubted at first but will have to give him his due. In all honesty. I hope he goes! Go DAWGS!
Drew
November 18th, 2009
1:12 am
I’m a Navy fan. I love PJ, but this sounds much like what we were saying before he left. He’ll be successful wherever he goes. I wouldn’t want to see him on a team we play every year, but I have a sneaky suspicion ND wants him more than they’ll ever publicly say unless they get him. That being said, I hope he stays long with your program and you all have great success.
macrotech
November 18th, 2009
1:13 am
kauai dawg, you are a noble Dawg! Well stated…. I’d like another shot at those lsu guys, though! Lookin’ forward to OUR game, however!!! Best of luck….AFTER you guys come to the ATL, of course! ;o)
Gravy Train
November 18th, 2009
1:16 am
Notre Dame could come up with say 10 million reasons for him to leave. I would rather he stay though. It will be fun watching the fall out when the honeymoon is over.
If this offense is the final solution, then how is it that creampuff teams can stop it?
If Johnson cares so little about recruiting rankings, then why does he waste his time trying to lure kids away from Athens?
There used to be this same swooning over CMR, but one sub-par season (by CMR’s standards) and the back-stabbers are out and about.
This team is fun for Tech fans to watch because they are starved for relevance and victories. Not to be bitter, but as a non-fan, Tech games are borderline dreadfully boring. They just can’t harness electricity or pagentry. Tech will suffer because of this inability to market to a national audience.
MauiJacket
November 18th, 2009
1:23 am
Kauai Dawg——Even if I move all the way to Hawaii—I can’t get away from you guys.:>)
I own TS on Kauai—how long you been there?
MauiJacket
November 18th, 2009
1:24 am
Kauai Dawg—I moved all the way to Hawaii and you guys are here too!!!:>)
GT Killa
November 18th, 2009
1:35 am
Hey crazy train: don’t confuse OUR guy with YOUR guy. yeah, an offense that scores 40+ points 80% of the time and goes for it on 4th down 90% of the time and has punted 9 times all year is a real bore. More 20+ yard big plays with this offense than any out there. a big run play is much more entertaining than a big pass play imho, but we’ve got that too! so go suck an egg and get back to reading your playgirl mags…
Willie Martinez
November 18th, 2009
1:44 am
We’re going to stop the nations second best rushing offense once and for all.
CPJ
November 18th, 2009
1:46 am
Willie, I thought you had left. You know we like you.
chris o bomb
November 18th, 2009
1:47 am
gravy train- you are a complete idiot. i will never remark on hatred or dumb bloggers’ responses, but the national audience is on him for the next three weeks.
read and learn before you type on how he recruits.(granted chan has given us some stellar jumiors!!!… ty)
creampuffs?! disregard last season and we played miami on our 3rd game in twelve days.
And, we have always been a winning team… just not an elite team like now.
reply back after our “national audience” games… pick one or both smart guy.
Sick of It
November 18th, 2009
1:56 am
17th and I’m an idiot!
GatorJacket
November 18th, 2009
1:56 am
Gravy train,
Keep hoping and wishing. Just like Urban Meyer, there will always be haters to keep backing out the yardstick.
Won’t work in BCS, too much speed, then
Wont work second time around, then
Won’t be able to recruit, then
Leaves for Notre Dame.
At least come up with a different template for Tech. I mean, this year UF was going down because Harvin left. Now not only is UF going to suck with Tebow, Urban is going to Notre Dame! How are both coaches going to the same school? Unoriginal twats.
matt r
November 18th, 2009
2:01 am
I think he definitely would have been second guessed if we miss on the Wake 4th and 1. That’s the kind of play a team will run when they don’t have much to lose, and we had a lot to lose that day. Namely, a division title.
chris o bomb
November 18th, 2009
2:03 am
18th and not the biggest…
thwg
Gravy Train
November 18th, 2009
2:21 am
Elite team? Come on man, this is what I’m talking about. How can Tech fans be so blind to the perceptions the rest of America has about Tech and the ACC? It hasn’t been just Miami that made Pj’s head explode. But I’ll give you the media argument for the next couple of weeks. It comes by default, not by networks fighting over the right to broadcast your games. You can thank UGA for the night game time slot in two weeks. Then we’ll check the attendance and ratings of the ACC champ game and whatever bowl you make it to. I’ll bet on low numbers in all cases.
Always been a winning team? Seems to me there were a couple of 10-11 loss seasons for y’all back in the 90’s. Plus, in my lifetime Tech has won 0 undisputed championships and they’ve beat Georgia 4 or 5 times out of more than 30. We’ll talk again when your ready to deal with reality.
Whopper Dawg
November 18th, 2009
3:09 am
Mark,
You are usually on the mark (no pun intended), however on this one, your only point with merit is 4. If he is successful there, and he would believe he would be and I do too, then the others take care of themselves and he may become even more beloved (but with shorter shelf life) than he is at Tech. Plus the enormous exposure that you mention as a deficit becomes a positive.
As a UGA fan, I hope he stays, it is good competition for our program and is good for the state.
I am assuming that next is the 5 reasons he goes, which will be overwhelming more convincing than the staying column.
indianman
November 18th, 2009
5:04 am
if they offer hom right money he be a fool to turn to turn down
Guess Who?
November 18th, 2009
5:27 am
Look here Tonto, you need to learn how to spell!
dcjacket61
November 18th, 2009
5:44 am
CPJ turned down bigger contracts to come to GT in the first place. He also supposedly has already been offer significant money to leave GT last year and he turned it down. It would have enabled him and provided greater flexibility in recruiting and some of the advantages some tout and reason why successful coaches would eventually leave GT. In addition, unlike Notre Dame it would have allowed him to stay in the south. One of the two reasons why he took the GT job in the first place.
Mark, I think besides CPJ being happy in Atlanta is the following:
a. CPJ is an environment at GT that while not perfect is starting to position itself for repetitive success on the national stage. After year two with a team that is very young outside a core of 5-6 outstanding players, they have accomplished a great deal in short order. Very good if not excellent players not only in the South but nationally are starting take notice which could and is leading to a steady pipeline of tremendous athletes to GT. Just take a look at the class for next year and the interest from 2011 prospects.
b. Dan Radakovich-CPJ has a tremendous relationship with DRad, which should not be discounted. CPJ knows the value of a great relationship with your AD, especially someone who does a great job like DRad. People forget that while a great deal of credit is due to CPJ for the football program’s success. IMO, much is due to DRad to help foster that success by creating the right environment and support to make it happen. Right now on the flats there exists the perfect storm – DRad & CPJ. It is never a guarantee that you will have the same type of situation at other places.
c. This can not be understated. CPJ came to GT to be back in the South and closer to home. Something very important to him and his family, especially being in Atlanta.
D. Notre Dame today is not the program it once was and hasn’t been since probably the Lou Holtz days. Yes, they have a loyal national following and deep pockets. However, in the past they could almost guarantee getting a player or coach that they were interested in. These days they can not guarantee to pluck players out of areas that were historically strongholds in Chicago, Philadelphia or even NJ.
falcon 71
November 18th, 2009
5:44 am
he is definitely not a fool so he wouldnt leave for ND. Tech can and has won national championships most noteably in the last 20 years. not many schools can say that inc big bad GA
J
November 18th, 2009
5:45 am
He can stay here and play Dukes and Weak Forrests each week.
willie martinez
November 18th, 2009
5:59 am
a scoop for you Mark. many, many tech people have asked me to consider taking over for PJ when he does leave for Notre Dame. keep that to yourself. best, willie
willie martinez
November 18th, 2009
6:03 am
again, this is very much OFF the record.
MR
November 18th, 2009
6:17 am
I did not know that ND had an opening for coach. Last I heard CW was still the HC. I guess Mark knows something the rest of the world doesn’t. Nothing like tabloid mentality for the AJC. Write an article where there is no story. The AJC sports team has become nothing but bloggers. Now that Mr. Bisher is gone there is not one journalist in the bunch.
Georgiadawg70
November 18th, 2009
6:18 am
He might not be going to South Bend, and I don’t blame him. I have been to the Big Bend and it’s a pest hole. But make no mistake about it, he is going somewhere. He is big time bound. Michigan? He is probably the best coach in the country to be ranked in the top ten with players none of the top tier schools would have. He ain’t staying a a school that can’t even sell out a 55,000 seat stadium. You can’t buy happyness, ask the AD at Florida who thought he could bribe Spurrier
secondguesser
November 18th, 2009
6:20 am
Please, somebody get a biscuit and mop up that gravy train and get him outta here! He’s removing all doubt about being a fool!
Jeff2u
November 18th, 2009
6:22 am
Come on man, show some love. Leave the Allman Brothers out of this!
GOOOO DAWGS Sic EM
HBTD
"Chef" Tim Dix
November 18th, 2009
6:23 am
John Gruden just re-signed with ESPN, so he probably is headed to South Bend.
Isn’t that the way business is done nowadays?
MR
November 18th, 2009
6:27 am
Georgiadawg70, you are just another clueless puppy. All you can talk about is the size of the stadium and the number of fans. Does this make you feel better about your program. I guess having greater number viewing your games makes you a better program. Give it up. How can he go to a big time program with his high school offense? This gimmick stuff will not work in the big time. Hell it is about to run its course at Tech. Surely by the 3rd year everyone will have it figured out and Tech will be back where they belong. You can’t have it both ways. You really make your school proud with idiotic blogs. Is 70 the year you graduated, flunked out, or your IQ.
Alabama Jack
November 18th, 2009
6:28 am
‘Tis more fun to beat Duke and Wake Forest and Clemson than to lose to Tennessee and Florida and Alabama and LSU and usually Auburn…
60 yards and a cloud of dust. Bore me some more with that high school offense. It is amazing how many plays we don’t score on.
Georgiadawg70
November 18th, 2009
6:33 am
MR. The Georgia program sucks. Offense, defense, special teams, and the cheerleaders. The food at the concession stands sucks also. Now that has nothing to do with what I said about PJ and the Tech program. What I said about both school is true.
jsmuga
November 18th, 2009
6:35 am
Main reason is ND does not want him…………..
waiting moderation
November 18th, 2009
6:36 am
Paul Johnson will leave because he will get tired of the Tech arrogance and Constant Bobby Dodd Crap. I betTech is an awful place to work. He is just waiting on the right SEC team to come and get him. Sorry Tech, the only answer for you, that I have, is that your a bunch of miserable out of work nerds who could not get laid even if you had money( Your just physicall ugly people)(check your add out). Tech is really only a trainning facility and a sleeper cell for an international fraternity of Terrorists. ( Where do you think Iran got the technology for there nuclear program, your right Tech)(Thats what paid for the band uniforms) Tech needs to be closed and given to the Atlanta Housing Authority for Storage or Turned into a Magic Johnson Movie theater, Just a Thought. Oh yeah, Tech sux!!! Nerds! Nerds! Nerds!
Darrell
November 18th, 2009
6:37 am
J- “He can stay here and play the Dukes and Weak Forrests each week”.
Good point J. Not to mention he can stay here and play the Georgia’s.
mowreck
November 18th, 2009
6:39 am
If CPJ were to go to ND, I would just go and get the Navy coach, who was tutored under CPJ. But, I don’t foresee him even considering the ND job. Hell, tell ND to get Lou Holtz, he talks like they are still undefeated this year. lol
Larry
November 18th, 2009
6:45 am
Mark,
Please find something interesting to write about! To speculate about this with your “reasons” is just short of “National Inquirer” reporting and unless Paul Johnson flat out says he is staying at Georgia Tech and will not take the Notre Dame or any other job no one has any idea what he will or will not do. We won’t here this from him because this would be the worst thing one could do to reduce the offer Georgia Tech will make…unless this were Nick Saban!
Frankly, if he does renege on a contract, betray the fans, and bolt for more money or prestige like Bill Curry and Tubby Smith did then I will not lose one moment of sleep and will look forward to the next coach that is excited to be Georgia Tech’s coach.
Why worry about anyone that abandons this city, the fans, and his players?
MR
November 18th, 2009
6:46 am
Georgiadawg70, I don’t know if what you are saying about UGA is true or not because I do not waist my time thinking about them. I do know that what you said about the Tech program is only true in your mind. CPJ will be at Tech long after CMR is gone.
Brad in Jasper
November 18th, 2009
6:49 am
I love PJ, and I’m a UGA alum. His style reminds me of Waylon Jennings – he doesn’t give a damn if you don’t like him or believe in his method(s). I hope he stays – good for the state and good for the rivalry. My only fear is given enough time Tech will only get better (and 10-1 ain’t bad). Mark could learn a little from Paul and let his inner a-hole light shine. Cheers to all. Go Dawgs!
Big Time?
November 18th, 2009
6:51 am
Hey Waiting – ever had an original thought? Or do you just type the same sh*# you and your little frat bros type every frickin day?
Now go finish your Sociology 101 paper, your can’t afford another F.
MR
November 18th, 2009
6:52 am
waiting moderation, sorry about your condition man. I am sure the nurse will be in with your medication shortly. I don’t think you will be getting out anytime soon.
MR
November 18th, 2009
6:54 am
ND has a HC. Unless he was fired last night and the AJC missed the scoop.
dd
November 18th, 2009
6:56 am
5 reasons he will $ $ $ $ $
Trembling chihuahua
November 18th, 2009
6:58 am
Gravy Train – so, your idea of an exciting offense is to watch your guy drop back and chunk it right into the hands of the defense, or have 4th & 6 and punt? Very Boring!
GT71
November 18th, 2009
6:59 am
Good thinking, Mark. Just one thing – it’s ‘CPJ’, not just ‘PJ’.
JustaThought
November 18th, 2009
6:59 am
I don’t have a dog (no pun intended) in this fight between Tech and UGA, but I bet there will be a lot of crow being served the Sunday after Thanksgiving………..and I wonder what “excuses” will be used then?
Flip
November 18th, 2009
6:59 am
Urban Meyer will be coach at Notre Dame.
Trembling chihuahua
November 18th, 2009
7:02 am
waiting – any place where work goes on is probably awful to you. You sound like a k2 student with that lttle tantrum. Get ready for a beatdown November 28th! IT’s COMING, trailer trash!
TheAntiMe
November 18th, 2009
7:04 am
Notre Dame football is so last millennium.
Georgiadawg70
November 18th, 2009
7:06 am
Mr. Every thing I said about the Tech program is objective and accurate. None of the players were recruited by top tier schools. Thomas was recruited by S.C. which I don’t consider a top tier school. The stadium holds 55,000. lt was not sold out for the VA Tech game which was the biggest home game at the time. Big stadiums and venues is what attracts top athelets. There is scientific evidence that confirms that. PJ is one of the best coaches in the country. Good coachs don’t stat at Tech very long. Bobby Ross, O’leary, even the guy at Ga. State. I can’t remember his name but he was a Tech alum. Big time coaches gravitate to big time programs. Tech hasn’t been one since Bobby Dodd and most likely never will untill all of the alums that were alive when Dodd was there is dead and a new group will make the necessary chages.
Trembling chihuahua
November 18th, 2009
7:09 am
Sanford Stadium – on Saturdays, the IQ of Clarke County plummets to retardation levels. And, I’ve never seen a more disgraceful massive amount of garbage piled everywhere. What you have here is no class, no upbringing and no intelligence.
Georgiadawg70
November 18th, 2009
7:09 am
I just remembered Bill Curry left Tech for Alabama.
Jacket!
November 18th, 2009
7:11 am
What about the shared NAT CHAMP in 1990. Ya’ll keep running down a program that beat you last year and will do it again this year.
Mutt H8r
November 18th, 2009
7:15 am
Gravy Choo Choo
If that bitter drivel is all you can contribute to this conversation, please go back to the mutt boards and lick your …………………………….
Voice of Reason
November 18th, 2009
7:18 am
I really don’t think Notre Dame has that cache any longer. Most of the better football players are coming from the south these days, instead of the industrial towns of the northeast. These southern boys don’t want to go freeze there tails off and eat hoagies and fish on Friday. The pendulum is swinging. Look at Michigan. Ohio State. If I were a good player that was highly recruited, I would keep my choices right along the border, from California and right around the horm to the east.
B. Dodd
November 18th, 2009
7:18 am
I think Charlie Weis would be a good fit as Georgey’s defensive coordinator.
Georgiadawg70
November 18th, 2009
7:19 am
Dear Trembel The SAT scores for the top 1000 freshmen at both schools are the same. Georgias average is some lower but they amit 4000 and Tech admits 1000. When you compare apples to apples they are they same. When you talk about the fans it is the state school and attracts all kinds. Also the opposing teams brings thousands of fans. When the Auburn fans arrive the leave snuff cans, chitlin wrappers and Ripple wine bottles everywhere and the school cannot control that. The main problem with the trash in that the school has restriced tailgateing to such a small area it concentrates all the people in such a small space there is not enought facilities. 100,000 plus fans make alot of trash. There alot of fans who can’t get tickets who come and tailgate and watch the game on portable TV. This has nothing to do with the quality of the program.
SatchelBuzz
November 18th, 2009
7:21 am
CPJ isn’t going anywhere,….why would he? He is right where he wants to be and can accomplish his goals at Tech. Great fit in a great setting. People like Mike Bell and John Kincade are complete morons–suggesting that he’s likely to leave for “greener” pastures. He’s going to make their pitiful lives even more miserable as he guides our program to national forefront. It’s truly a great day to be a ‘Jacket.
THWG!!!
Georgiadawg70
November 18th, 2009
7:21 am
B. Dodd, Georgia needs a new one but I don’t think Charlie is cut out for the colloge game. He would be better off in the NFL.
B. Dodd
November 18th, 2009
7:23 am
Georgiadawg70: Why do you hate me? You’re too young to remember the a$$ whippings I use to administer to my bitch Wally Butts. Give me some slack!
Georgiadawg70
November 18th, 2009
7:24 am
Satchel, Techs record of retainin good coaches indicates otherwise Bobby Ross won a National Title, somewhat, and the next year he was gone. Is anything different now?
need2fish
November 18th, 2009
7:24 am
“Tech hasn’t been one since Bobby Dodd and most likely never will untill all of the alums that were alive when Dodd was there is dead and a new group will make the necessary chages”.
Hey Georgiadawg70……stay tuned T-day weekend – I think you’ll see the first necessary change.
LET THE BIG DAWG EAT!
November 18th, 2009
7:25 am
Reason #6 They do not want to run a high school offense.
WTH
November 18th, 2009
7:30 am
Georgiadawg70,
Keep worrying about those recruiting rankings, it helped UGA a lot this year. By the way, UGA did recruit Dwyer and Stephen Hill so I guess that your statement about none of GT’s players being recruited by a top tier program is false. Wait, maybe I am wrong, maybe you don’t consider UGA a top tier program.
Another thing, so what I here you saying about the trash is that if there is no trash can available, you can just throw your trash anywhere. The civilized thing to do would be to take it somewhere and throw it away. You are right, the trash says nothing about the quality of the program, but it does say something about the quality of the fan.
Quality has nothing to do with quantity.
Tom
November 18th, 2009
7:31 am
Oh please – I actually read someone say “Notre Dame still has a coach?”
Jabba the Weis is history at South Bend and everybody knows it. Before the season, the ND AD basically came out and said it was BCS bowl or bust. Now that ND is 6-4 with a good shot at going 6-6, it’s all over but the crying.
Give me a break. That said, I don’t think Paul Johnson is going to ND either. Don’t underestimate the importance of #5 on Bradley’s list. It may seem a bit like a gag, but perception at ND is huge and they don’t want the “they went back to Georgia Tech AGAIN” chatter.
Bank Walker, Texas Ranger
November 18th, 2009
7:32 am
67th
Paddy
November 18th, 2009
7:33 am
Gravy Train… Tech is boder-line boing. You must not watch much football. They can and do score from anywhere on the field. They can also mount a 10 min drive that all coaches dream about. They are fun to watch! Go Dawgs Hope CPJ goes to ND or anywhere else we don’t have to play them.
Proud Cracker
November 18th, 2009
7:35 am
Eating Dawg – that high school offense dropped 400+ yards rushing on your pups last year and will probably go over 500 on the 28th. You losers kill me!
Sautee Dawg
November 18th, 2009
7:38 am
Mark
Why do you continue to take jabs at Mark Richt? Every artictle you’ve wrote lately has had some kind of jab at UGA either CMR or CWM. Your line about recruiting— “Ask Mark Richt”
What does CPJ and Notre Dame’s interest in him have to do with CMR? Getting kinda old Mark.
Coach Mark Richt is currently the Dean of the SEC coaching. He’s kept his job longer in the toughest conference in the country, not only that his winning percentage is above 80% during his 9 years in Athens. Not but 3 or 4 coaches in the country with a better record.
Go back Mark and read your atricles the week after the Miami vs Tech game, want to really get a laugh go back and read some of the blogs that week.
You and all the writers at the AJC have already punched Ga Tech’s ticket to the Orange Bowl and havent won the ACC title yet. Remember the last time that happened Wake Forest won the ACC.
Go ahead and get your Ticket to the Orange Bowl Mark, you may be watching Clemson vs Cinncinatti.
DawgInDC
November 18th, 2009
7:39 am
a legend mark? LOL..the guy is in his second season and all of a sudden he is Bobby Bowden…gimme a break..lets see what excuses you’ll have for him when he loses to the Dawgs this year
Trembling Chihuahua
November 18th, 2009
7:39 am
Dawg 70 – I’ve never said a disparaging remark about the program. Georgia has a fine football program. It’s those 10’s of thousands of retards that Walmarted their way into fandom.
gojackets
November 18th, 2009
7:39 am
I don’t think money is a huge deal with CPJ. Auburn offered him a LOT of money (almost TWICE what we were paying him at the time) at the end of last year and he turned them down.
GA Tech Insider
November 18th, 2009
7:40 am
Mark. here are a few more “bullet points” for your list:
Paul Johnson promised his wife and daughter when he took the GA Tech job that he wouldn’t even consider moving until his daughter graduated, and that will be several years from now. If the Notre Dame job does come available, I highly doubt the University would be willing to wait that long to field a football program.
Paul Johnson doesn’t like politics, he’s a football coach. Paul Johnson is no dummy – he can see that Notre Dame has turned into a black hole for football coaching careers. You go there with high expectations and demands and you have no home life year round because Notre Dame football is a year long commitment because of the location of the University and the fact that they consider themselves to be “America’s College Football Team”. Coach Johnson would be expected to travel across country year-round, being away from his family, making speeches, etc., being the face of Notre Dame football. While Paul lives and breathes football, he also realizes his need for family balance at the end of the season as he’s a dedicated family man.
Someone else touched on this earlier, but I’ll make another point of it; Paul Johnson has roots in the south. He, and his wife, are from the south (obviously, as is his daughter), so virtually all of their family is from the south so they get to visit easily during holidays, or when they want to come to town (believe it or not, Atlanta is a nice destination for their relatives).
Also, because Coach Johnson has extensive familiarity with the area, he already has an extensive, and well respected, network of high school school coaches in the southeast, particularly right here in the state of Georgia. They are already familiar with his style of offense, and there is already a “pipeline” of players poised for him to recruit right here. As GA Tech’s program is going well, and Paul, and his coaching staff sit down in a recruit’s living room with his parents, talking about the program, he knows he’ll have a player that fits his mold right in front of him, and a player who is well aware of his program because of the massive amount of the press generated in the press here in the state of Georgia.
Paul Johnson, also knew that he has the legacy of the former GA Tech coaches that he could build on; John Heisman, who has an award named after him given to the most Outstanding Player in College Football every season, Bobby Dodd, who has an award named after him given to the National Coach of the year every season, and even Frank Broyles, former Head Coach of Arkansas, who has was an assistant coach at GA Tech under Bobby Dodd, and who has an award named after him given to the National Assistant Coach of the Year every season. Quick, name a few PROMINENT Notre Dame Coaches (should we consider Lou Holtz “prominent”?). Knute Rockne is probably the only one that people can think of in the collegiate ranks as really prominent.
Whether people want to admit it or not, GA Tech has a rich heritage of college football; it rivals anyone else out there, including boasting the oldest on-campus stadium of any BCS program in the country. People don’t look at Fenway Park, in Boston, as a disadvantage to the Red Sox, but as something everyone should embrace. Has anyone taken the time to think that maybe, just maybe, Paul Johnson has also embraced the fact that HE likes playing in the venue that IS Bobby Dodd Stadium at historic Grant Field?
As long as Coach Johnson is being compensated fairly, being treated with dignity and respect, and being allowed to run his program without having someone trying to dictate to him what he must (or needs/should) do, then I suspect we will be seeing Paul Johnson roaming the sidelines on the GA Tech side of the field for many years to come.
Atl Resident
November 18th, 2009
7:40 am
If I was Johnson, there is no way and all the money wouldnt make me leave Tech and get caught up in the B.S. with the Irish. The issue is trying to get recruits due to academic rules, until that gets fixed, Irish is washed up and will always be no matter who coaches. Its crazy they hire coaches demanding them to win without fixing the main issue first. Why dont these damn georgia fans sucked up to their not so good season and stop crying, blaming and making excuses. Everyone knew before season it was going to be tough. Can’t win them all.
Damon Amateur Hour Evams
November 18th, 2009
7:41 am
Richt is a better fit for what Notre Dame needs.
#1 GT fan
November 18th, 2009
7:42 am
I love coach PJ. I dont want him to leave. I think he will have alot of success here. ( considering the fact GT athletics team needs to have one good team )
Besides ND? who would want to go there?
GO JACKETS!!!!!!!!!
Georgiadawg70
November 18th, 2009
7:46 am
WTH, Georgia is ranked number 32 in the Sagarin ratings. You are right, it is not a top tier school anymore. Tech class rating last year was 22 in the nation so that confirms what I said. People that throw trash are trash and there is no excuse for it. The University will have to deal with it. If I were coach Adams I would make all university closed to tailgating until it stopped.
Yep
November 18th, 2009
7:46 am
#6 They don’t want him…..
m
November 18th, 2009
7:49 am
Paul Johnson is not going anywhere. He is going to kick arse and not even bother to take names right here in Atlanta. He also loves the annual stomping of the dawgs coming up next week.
Notre Dame would have been a helle of a lot better off with George O’leary that either of these bozos that they have had. O’leary would have put Notre Dame back on the map.
Thanks to God and Greyhound, chan gomer gailey is gone forever. Any Tech fan that ever supported gomer in any way sucks as bad as he does.
F-105 Thunderchief
November 18th, 2009
7:51 am
Oh, I think every heterosexual man has heard of Kelly. But, you’re right, he’s not going to South Bend. I don’t think he’s going anywhere for awhile. But think of the programs that could have pulled the trigger earlier that didn’t and probably now wish they had – Nebraska, Michigan, who else? DRad was the smart one. It’s not the offense, it’s the coach. He’s a darn fine coach. A throwback in the mold of the old time greats.
KG
November 18th, 2009
7:53 am
Georgiadawg 70, give it up. You rednecks haven’t filled your stadium the entire year. Lie as much as you would like but it’s true. What’s worse? A stadium that holds 55k and is missing 5k?, or sanford which holds 96k and is missing 20k? Apples to apples? Sounds like morons to morons!
proffish
November 18th, 2009
7:54 am
Kelly Ripa
Kelly Ripa
A mommy with the body of a strippa
Could it be PF isn’t a fan of Cowboy Mouth’s great song?
Blaster
November 18th, 2009
7:54 am
Latest stats from AJC websites: Rushing Yards: GT (aka Highschool Offense) 3511 yards of which Dwyer has 1203; UGA (big bad SEC team) 1384 yards. Receiving yards: Greene (aka:best wide receiver in the country) 751; Thomas (no recognition from media) 950.
jimbob
November 18th, 2009
7:55 am
Money is very important, but CPJ is doing pretty well at Tech. Like others have said: Atlanta>South Bend any day. GT doesn’t require anywhere near the ‘politics’ and schmoozing that ND job would have, GT has a rich football legacy (it’s not like it’s Iowa State or some similar program where people go ‘who?’). Tech fans are not insane like the fans of ND. We expect greatness–but his job won’t be in jeopardy if he loses to UGA.
Now if he loses it year after year, failing to reach potential while winning only 7 games per year, that would be downer.
Overall, GT is a great gig, working for fans (and an institute) that know how to keep things in perspective.
Long live the reign of CPJ at GT!
No "grits" in South Bend
November 18th, 2009
7:57 am
Charlie Weis is an x and o genius in his own mind.
Coach Paul Johnson is a real one
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waiting moderation
November 18th, 2009
7:58 am
Tech is having another flash in the pan moment. CPJ will leave because Tech Girls are so UGLY.
THE WHOLE TECH FAMILY IS AN UGLY PICTURE OF THE MOST TOXIC CITY and worst technical school IN AMERICA, The Georgia Institute of Insurgency and ugly women. and WHERE in the hell ARE ALL THOSE SMART ENGINEERS AND WHY ARE THEY NOT COMING UP WITH SOLUTIONS TO THE AIR QUALITY OF ATLANTA, BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL FROM 3rd world countries AND WANT TO KILL THE AMERICANS. CLOSE TECH NOW! before another is mind is wasted on another attempt of upgrading GALAGA. Which could never be improved. bottom line Larry the Looser, Tech Sux, and you really do not give a damn about your school, if you did you would show up at the games during a loosing season. wow! a jam packed 42k in the stands in Atlanta. Tech Sux. My frat boy status is why I am rich and have nothing to do but blog and hang out with killer hott women. Frat boys get laid Larry. That is the mark of a man. Thats what men talk about at deer camp and the bowling alley. Larry the looser. Tech sux!!! Nerd! Nerd! Nerd! Hey Larry internet porn is a close as your going to get to killer hott women who are in the SEC. CPJ is on his way out. This is only another Cinderella year. Larry the limp looser.
Vick=Dog killing thug
November 18th, 2009
7:58 am
Wow GA tech insider. Well written post with a lot of good information. I won’t even joke that it must of been written by a UGA grad. You should consider going to work for the AJC if you would have them?
that said THWGT
Dawg Fan 74
November 18th, 2009
8:00 am
After Georgia steam rolls GT 49-7, he may consider ND.
cbgb
November 18th, 2009
8:03 am
I agree except for the Notre Dame PR slant. I think every ND fan/supporter is looking for a winner and could pretty much care less about the image/Hollywood factor. Regis and Kelly? Nah, I don’t think that’s a part of it at all..
Big Tech Fan for the first time since graduating in 1989.
November 18th, 2009
8:03 am
You know…after our blowout victory over UGA last year, it is a wonder anybody even had college football this season. We should have been crowned greatest football team of all time, ever…removing the need for any other teams to ever take the field again.
Since we were slighted at the very presence of college football this year, our team will play the rest of the season with a chip on their shoulder. We will beat UGA 704 to 6 and engrave the score on rings again. These will be Magic rings that allow our players to see through an animal’s eyes, like the Beastmaster. Things are going so great for us that our fans will post this score on UGA blogs so often the week after the game that UGA football blogs cease to exist entirely…our fans also stop playing Magic the Gathering and World of Warcraft because we become so much better than anyone else that our competitors spontaneously combust.
We’ll take the field in the ACC Championship game wearing the UGA team’s skin for uniforms and beat Clemson so badly that the stadium needs a new scoreboard to put up all the extra digits. Right after the ACC Championship Game, all colleges ranked in the top 75, abruptly shut down their operations; so that they do not have to face us in the National Championship Game.
Why would Johnson want to leave after this kind of success?
F-105 Thunderchief
November 18th, 2009
8:03 am
Actually, last time I was at Tech a couple of years ago, the female hotness factor had really advanced in the 15 years since I’d been there last.
Blaster
November 18th, 2009
8:04 am
waiting moderation: That lobotomy you had apparently didn’t do any good. Maybe you can attack the problem with medications. You do realize you have a problem, don’t you?
Nesbitt for Heisman
November 18th, 2009
8:05 am
UGA better worry about Kentucky instead of putting the
cart before the horse
or
the willy before the bobo.
UGAX
November 18th, 2009
8:05 am
Hate to say it but CPJ is going nowhere. He has a good thing going here in Atlanta, loves the south, and has promised not to leave for a while. Scary thing is that he is winning with Chan’s players right now; can’t imagine how good they will be when he gets his players. Great coaches make adjustments as needed and I’ve never seen anyone make as many good adjustments as Johnson does during the course of a game- especially at halftime. This explains why they completely dominate the second half of games. Our coaches, especially our DC have yet to make any adjustments- either during the game or at halftime. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long day on the Flats in a couple of weeks.