Paul Johnson and retirement

swampsting

Now with incredulous facial expression
Joined
Dec 8, 2007
Messages
8,352
I found interesting he watches all the Tech games. Would love to hear his comments but understand why he won't do that.
He very well may have said something to Ken - but completely off the record.
Don’t know that to be so, just postulating
 

The Jacket

The Coat
Joined
Jun 17, 2002
Messages
32,006
Yes, it's an interesting thought experiment that I know none of us want to engage in... but if CGC fails to recruit at a high level, and as a result fails to win at a high level, are we convinced that it just can't be done? and return to a guru/scheme coach the next time around?

Let's not talk about that, because that's not going to happen. In a few years everyone will say, "GT has so many built in advantages... all the best academics, in fields that dominate the 21st century, with all the cultural and career attractions of Atlanta, and a packed, intimate stadium unlike anything else in P5 football."
Somehow I ended up in a thread from last year and found this post of yours:
Actually, I may be on to something there: "GMFL" the Grudge Match Football League. Let five years pass then recruit all the players from close rivalry games to play again. I'd pay to watch that.
I didn't necrobump it and I dont know how else to go about telling you this is a brilliant idea. PMs are for perverts.
 

GBurdell

One for each tiddy
Joined
Nov 9, 2006
Messages
20,276
With a top 25 class Johnson would have won the acc every year. Collins is proving that possible. I’ve never said a bad word about Johnson but now I’ll say that it was all just a bunch of excuses.
Collins hasn't proved anything yet except how to call a timeout before we've even run 1 play. lets wait and see how many "commits" fax their paperwork in on NSD.
 

18in32

Petard Hoister
Joined
May 23, 2010
Messages
27,979
Somehow I ended up in a thread from last year and found this post of yours:

I didn't necrobump it and I dont know how else to go about telling you this is a brilliant idea. PMs are for perverts.
The thing is, I’d be really pissed if the 2014 team lost to UGA the second time around. But maybe that investment is exactly why this makes commercial sense. We’d have a tough time getting Shaq back from the Pats though.
 

Skydog

Eat a Peach
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Dec 6, 2018
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The one comment I would have against is that it was a much tougher thing to sell by anyone because it got such a bad reputation before we ever played a game with it. With better marketing the recruiting prolly would of been better sure, but I don't know how much more so in the end. Along what savband said, probably the only way to save that offense from a marketing standpoint was to change it in some way. Then the question is, would that changed Paul Johnson offense of been as successful still, even if he was willing to change it?
i've said before CPJ has Air Raid in his roots/blood. if he had been willing to change or adapt offense to throw the ball more.. could have been different story. i always thought he could turn us in to Oregon of the East if he went that way.
 

BuzzFeitenSystem

It’s Raining BigCrys
Joined
Jan 11, 2010
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2,992
i've said before CPJ has Air Raid in his roots/blood. if he had been willing to change or adapt offense to throw the ball more.. could have been different story. i always thought he could turn us in to Oregon of the East if he went that way.
I think he came in and saw the personnel available and it fit the TO so he stuck with it..

but same, I wondered why he didn’t switch it up to the run and shoot concepts he ran in Hawaii etc

TO was effective but bad for recruiting and overall long term roster talent. At least throwing teams have to recruit talented pass blocking o-line and QBs instead of athletes.

that would’ve left us with somewhat decent of a roster nevertheless his recruiting woes while here due to restrictions, AD, what have you
 

ibeeballin

Dodd-Like
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Jan 10, 2010
Messages
10,843
I would believe that except for it costs zero resources to go visit 404 high schools, which is recruiting 101. By all accounts we were not really even visiting high schools regularly.
This is my issue with the excuses. Yeah, we were not adequately funded like our ACC peers, but we were way too lazy with our approach in the things that didn’t cost much money on our end.

Having an atmosphere in the football facilities that didn’t resemble a morgue as recruits described it.

Having a presence at ALL metro Atlanta HS. No reason for some schools to say they haven’t seen us in 11yrs

Marketing your 7on7 to the top schools in the area and to your current commits team to participate. You kill 2 birds with that stuff

How about having more than 2 FB camps and solely basing your OL scholarship off that one camp!

CPJ definitely had one hand tied behind his back but he sure did supply the rope for it to happen
 

johncu

Dodd-Like
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Mar 17, 2011
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9,557
I think he came in and saw the personnel available and it fit the TO so he stuck with it..

but same, I wondered why he didn’t switch it up to the run and shoot concepts he ran in Hawaii etc

TO was effective but bad for recruiting and overall long term roster talent. At least throwing teams have to recruit talented pass blocking o-line and QBs instead of athletes.

that would’ve left us with somewhat decent of a roster nevertheless his recruiting woes while here due to restrictions, AD, what have you
I think it's as simple as who was playing QB. When we had a decent passing QB and NFL WR's, we had a pretty good passing attack in 2009 and 2014. Other than that we mostly had running backs trying to pass the ball to guys who couldn't get separation.

It all comes down to recruiting. I don't blame CPJ at all for being stubborn about his offensive system, because it was easily among the best in the country. But we should have done a lot more to try to attract top talent to play in it.
 

johncu

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I don't know that many people had to badmouth it at all. The truth is that the NFL has become a passing league and, despite what many might think, high school players are at least intelligent enough to realize as much. When your offense is predicated on running the ball 80 - 90% of the time, I don't care how much marketing and spin you do, it's a pretty hard sell to convince an elite player that a running offense is going to set up him for an NFL future.

I actually think the biggest downfall in recruiting for CPJ was the insistence on the B-back starting with his hand on the ground like an NFL fullback would do. Had we just simply let our B-backs start from a standing position, we MAY have been able to convince more running backs that this offense would indeed benefit them. But when that B-back starts with his hand on the ground and the television announcer who isn't familiar with the A-back/B-back terminology calls him a fullback....that's not the message you want to send.
Hard to disagree with this - especially your second part. IMO people clamoring for him to change the offense were wasting their time. He had an elite offensive system, and that was 100% of the reason we hired him. But that doesn't mean we can't be strategic about how we portray ourselves to recruits.

As far as the passing league part, I'm not sure if I buy that. UGA is recruiting like gangbusters, and their offense is boring and pedestrian. LSU was rolling in the 5* players for years while having one of the worst passing attacks in all of FBS. Even Alabama wasn't much for passing before Tua came in and they revamped the offense. But those were cool programs, so players flocked there. Our offense from 2017-2018 was not gonna blow people's doors off, but when we had a good QB I think we passed enough (and passed well) that we should have been able to do better in recruiting.
 

daBuzz

Dodd-Like
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Feb 16, 2009
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35,005
Hard to disagree with this - especially your second part. IMO people clamoring for him to change the offense were wasting their time. He had an elite offensive system, and that was 100% of the reason we hired him. But that doesn't mean we can't be strategic about how we portray ourselves to recruits.

As far as the passing league part, I'm not sure if I buy that. UGA is recruiting like gangbusters, and their offense is boring and pedestrian. LSU was rolling in the 5* players for years while having one of the worst passing attacks in all of FBS. Even Alabama wasn't much for passing before Tua came in and they revamped the offense. But those were cool programs, so players flocked there. Our offense from 2017-2018 was not gonna blow people's doors off, but when we had a good QB I think we passed enough (and passed well) that we should have been able to do better in recruiting.
What I mean by that is this:
- linemen want to pass block because they're going to be graded at the combines and in their scouting reports by the ability to do such.
- receivers want to have more on tape than primarily running verticals or 9-routes
- quarterbacks need tape of them throwing and reading defenses...this, to me, was the biggest downfall in our recruiting because we had to recruit for running ability first and even ones like JT who were decently proficient at passing never had to stand at the line and read a defense and change his protection scheme...something that means that you're not getting QBs who are going to have NFL aspirations, even if they are very good at running your system
- running backs are the ones that befuddle me. I would think RB's would want to play in that system more than any...but I'm just guessing when I say the hand-on-the-ground issue might be part of it. Probably some of it is the B-back was primarily running between the tackles most of the time and RB's who want to play in the NFL want to show what they can do from coming 7-yards deep.

But the NFL has definitely become a passing league...evidenced by the sheer rarity of running backs going in the first rounds anymore. I distinctly remember hearing one of the guys on the draft show last year saying that he would almost never draft a running back in the first round because you can find guys who can run the ball in the 3rd or 4th round. And only the Ravens, 49ers and Vikings have run the ball more than they passed this year...and those were all close to 50%.
upload_2019-12-12_9-2-3.png

https://fftoday.com/stats/19_run_pass_ratios.html
 
Joined
Dec 4, 2001
Messages
2,537
Since there's no way in hell I'm paying for a sub to The Athletic to read Jeff Schultz, is there anybody who can shed light into this chatter of PJ retiring "when it's not fun anymore"? Is it realistic he'll retire after the bowl? Or is it going to take another season of Gailey-esk ball and multiple low attendance records to force Stansbury's hand?
Your boos mean nothing, I've seen what makes you cheer! :)

This makes me two-for-two with unpopular posts right before a coaching change. In a thread on The Hive titled "Who would you suggest we get?" that implied there were no better options than Gailey available I listed like 20 people and got banned. Chan got fired same day.

My timing wasn't as spot on this time, but turns out Schultz was right.



But I actually enjoyed the AJC read. PJ is one of the all time great CFB coaches, and the highest highs were worth the lowest lows of his tenure. And if it weren't for rule changes, a bad AD hamstringing him, and a sometimes nasty inability to field a good defense and special teams he'd likely still be here. Also Sewak.
 

GT7378

Varsity Lurker
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
252
While Homer Rice is worthy of the accolades he receives, Dr. Crecine's support for athletics is not well recognized. Crecine was not just a supporter of GTAA but also of physical education/activity of the student body.
Wow, reading over this post - that was pretty creative in how you put that together...
 

texstinger

Dodd-Like
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Jul 12, 2002
Messages
8,816
No offense, but did you think this through? We were already struggling in recruiting, and you want the coach to come out publicly and say his offense is antiquated and drives away recruits?

What we should have done is the exact opposite - sell, sell, sell our offense to recruits and the media. Our offense this past season was horrifically bad, yet players are excited to play in it. Why? Marketing. It seemed like CPJ's mindset was that winning would silence the haters, but it didn't happen that way. Despite the fact that our offense was 2nd only to Clemson in the ACC for most of his tenure, people still didn't see that. We really missed an opportunity, in hindsight.
Marketing?

I listened to Dabo the other night and he spoke of his philosophy.

It is about Fun. His kids know each season is a restart - not an extenson of the year before.

Kids did not, in a total program environment, want to play in our old system.

We Never built a good D, etc. All old news now.

We hurt GT by not embracing greater goals going forward. Past us gone.
 
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