Hi, folks! What did we learn today? Not a whole heck of a lot. Things we know today that we did not know before:
1) Paul Johnson had a meeting with Georgia Tech.
That really is about it. Take solace in the fact that the Georgia Tech and Navy fans know just as much as you.
How much money is on the table? Nothing concrete as far as offers go or offers being on the table. There is some speculation that SMU is capable and willing to outbid the field for Paul Johnson's services. Some rumors out there that SMU is already north of 2 million per year for Johnson, which is approximately 1/2 million more than Georgia Tech. If the money is close, most think Johnson goes to Georgia Tech, but that is mostly conjecture (but pretty good conjecture IMO). I am not sure where Duke is in this picture. My final thought on money is this: When Orsini had his press conference he said the money to hire a coach would be decided first and then he would go raise it from donors; this, to me, says Orsini and Turner can add money to whatever they have raised if they so choose.
So where is Paul Johnson now? I have no idea. He could be in Dallas, Annapolis, Durham, NC, Atlanta or anyplace in between. He wasn't at the TCU-SMU basketball game and neither was Orsini; Turner, however, was. The infamous plane belonging to Gerald Ford is allegedly in Miami. I say "allegedly" because we now know it is possible for a plane's owner to have it removed from flightaware.com and that it could be done in a day, meaning that the plane could technically be anywhere. However, my friend and SMU grad that is a pilot has looked at other similar services and believes the plane is, in fact, in Miami. He is not 100% certain about this but would be willing to put money on the plane being there. Why is it there? Well, it is Gerald Ford's plane and he can do what he wants, though I will note the plane hasn't been to Miami in the past six months.
Paul Johnson might be out celebrating his nomination for Coach of the Year.But, then again, maybe he isn't. He already won it once.
One thing I don't really understand is Georgia Tech's interest. I believe Paul Johnson can coach, but he doesn't strike me as the kind of coach an established program that has gone to nine bowls in eleven years would want. And that is part of the reason I think Georgia Tech may eventually go in another direction.
I have been told that the SMU powers that be really believe Paul Johnson can win at SMU immediately. That is one of the reasons they want him so bad.
Well, I am done for the night. Maybe I can get some work done tomorrow. Or maybe it will be more of the same (watching this thing unfold).
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4 comments:
The Daily Campus had an article that indicated that the idea was to introduce the new coach by Thursday (today) since the Board of Trustees is meeting on Thursday and Friday. And gosh, with so much money about to change hands they wanted him to meet the people responsible for his financial jackpot.
Well, as they say, on to Plan B. Do you think Gary Barnett is still around, and what about Bowden? Come on, the Colorado lawsuit got settled. Can we show the guy a little love?
Paul Johnson? What a mistake if you want to start winning quickly. Why? Well, let's see... PJ is an option man. Only passes about 5 to 10% of the time. That may be great where he is now but not in Conf USA which is all spread offense. Why should that matter? Well, when you practice the option in practices, your defense practices against the option; not the spread. Get to the game, defense has little to no experience against the spread offense they are playing against. Second reason, current offense is statistically one of the best in college football. It was the defense that gave up the points at the end of the games and couldn't hold. PJ arrives and we rebuild the offense? Third, current offensive players were recruited for spread. How soon before your wide outs and quarterbacks transfer. Also, committed incoming players may decide not to come to SMU because they don't want to run the option and never get used except to block. And what about recruiting? Do you really think PJ can recruit Texas schools? The Naval Academy recruiting was completely different. Talk about a $2 million mistake. Orsini and Vaught are scrambling and falling back on old ties with PJ, not doing what's best for SMU.
I pray Paul Johnson gets hired by SMU. It makes complete sense. For one, the man wins wherever he goes. That he took over a team that was 1-20 over 2 seasons before he got there and took the to 5 straight bowl games (including a 10-win season) is beyond impressive. The coach has a ton of respect and national championships at the I-AA level. They even beat Notre Dam; who cares if Notre Dame only won 3 games this year? they still have blue-chip 300 pound offensive lineman going against 230 or less pound d-lineman. They had a man whose strategy pushed them over the top.
Coaches like Gary Barnett, and even Neuheisal are coaches to avoid. SMU still hasn't shaken off the effects of the Death penalty, and hiring a coach with a bad rap may or may not lead to potential trouble.
My favorite comment has to be from the jackass who wrote about the spread offense. COLLEGE TEAMS PRACTICE AGAINST SCOUT TEAMS WHO COPY THE OTHER TEAMS OFFENSE OR DEFENSE. Like any team, it'll never replicate another team's offense/defense but it's WHAT ALL TEAMS PRACTICE AGAINST REGARDLESS OF PLAYBOOK. In Paul Johnson's 5 years at Navy, they have beaten 7 teams with C-USA affiliation. Consider that they only play against 2 C-USA schools at MOST per year. Now consider that SMU beat ZERO this year with all that preparation they supposedly had against the spread.
Sure, the offense up points. But it was horribly inconsistent and failed in clutch moments. The defense was constantly on the field, a problem solved by a ball-control offense such as the triple option offense uses. By the way, PJ IS ALLOWED TO ADJUST HIS OFFENSE ANYWAY HE WANTS TO. He is not tied to a pure triple-option offense by a ball and chain. Please.
Bottomline is, Paul Johnson can coach. He's won more with less against similar if not more difficult competition. SMU probably will never send players to the NFL like they used to; we continually get 2 star recruits annually, it's not as though recruiting can get any worse. I only hope a mobile Justin Willis can adjust to a mobile offense. Orsini, please get PJ by any means necessary!
AND one of the "statistically best" offense had flat-out ugly running game, to which Willis responded by throwing 18 INT's this year. Yea, who wouldn't want a 2-time D-IA coach to come in and tamper with this piece of art offense? Cause players don't want to run the option and just block? I think they'd take WINNING WITH BLOCKING over LOSING WITH AVERAGE STATS.
These commenters' analysis is weak, shows a lack of football knowledge, and portrays SMU football players as prima donnas with NFL 1st Round potential. If PJ's teams' ceilings are bowl games, it'll be a helluva lot better than the last 20 years.
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