Paul Johnson (American football coach)

Paul Johnson
Johnson on the sidelines facing Clemson in 2008
Sport(s)	Football
Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	Georgia Tech
Conference	ACC
Record	34–19
Biographical details
Born	August 20, 1957 (1957-08-20) Newland, North Carolina
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1981–1982 1983–1984 1985–1986 1987–1994 1995–1996 1997–2001 2002–2007 2008–present	Lees–McRae (OC) Georgia Southern (DL) Georgia Southern (OC) Hawaii (OC) Navy (OC) Georgia Southern Navy Georgia Tech
Head coaching record
Overall	141–58
Bowls	2–6
Tournaments	14–3 (I-AA playoffs)
Statistics College Football Data Warehouse
Accomplishments and honors
Championships 2 Division I-AA (1999–2000) 5 SoCon (1997–2001) 1 ACC (2009) 2 ACC Coastal Division (2008–2009)
Awards Eddie Robinson Award (1998) 2x AFCA Division I-AA Coach of the Year (1999–2000) Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award (2004) 2x SoCon Coach of the Year (1997–1998) 2x ACC Coach of the Year (2008–2009)

Paul Johnson (born August 20, 1957) is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a position he has held since the 2008 season.

Previously, Johnson served as the head coach at Georgia Southern University from 1997 to 2001 and at the United States Naval Academy from 2002 to 2007. Johnson's Georgia Southern Eagles won consecutive NCAA Division I-AA Football Championships in 1999 and 2000.

He is noted for his use of the triple option style of offense. Johnson has performed well against rivals, including a perfect 6–0 mark against rival Army while head coach at Navy and a 1–2 record against rival Georgia while head coach at Georgia Tech.

Early life and education

Johnson earned his Bachelor of Science in physical education from Western Carolina University in 1979, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order. He did not play college football. He also earned a Master of Science in health and physical education from Appalachian State University in 1982.

Johnson was initially an assistant football coach at Avery County High School in Newland, North Carolina, and then spent eight seasons as offensive coordinator at the University of Hawaii at Manoa from 1987 to 1994. There he helped lead the Rainbow Warriors to their first Western Athletic Conference title and their first major bowl victory in the 1992 Holiday Bowl. In 1995 and 1996, he served as the offensive coordinator at the United States Naval Academy and brought his option offense with him. In 1996, Navy recorded its first winning season in 14 years, going 9–3 with a victory in the Aloha Bowl.

After serving as an assistant from 1983 to 1986 at Georgia Southern University, where he was the offensive coordinator for consecutive NCAA Division I-AA National Football Championships teams in 1985 and 1986, Johnson returned as the head coach from 1997 through 2001. During his tenure, the Eagles captured the Division I-AA National Championship twice more in 1999 and 2000, and finished as runners-up in 1998. Johnson is one of only four coaches to record 50 wins in their first four seasons as head coach at the Division I level.

Navy

Paul Johnson at a Navy game against the Duke Blue Devils in 2004.

In 2002, Johnson departed Georgia Southern and returned to Navy as head coach. Johnson's initial season saw the Midshipmen win only 2 of 12 contests, though the season ended on a high note with his first victory over Army. Subsequently, Johnson's teams enjoyed a high degree of success. The 2003 team completed the regular season with an 8–4 mark, including wins over both Air Force and Army, and earned a berth in the Houston Bowl, Navy's first bowl game since 1996. However, the Midshipmen lost to Texas Tech, 38–14. In 2004, Johnson's team posted the program's best record since 1957, finishing the regular season at 9–2 and once again earning a bowl berth, this time in the Emerald Bowl. There Johnson coached the Midshipmen to a win over New Mexico, 34–19, the fifth bowl win in the school's history. The win gave Navy 10 wins on the season, tying a school record that had stood since 1905. For his efforts, Johnson received the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award. The 2005 Navy squad recorded a mark of 8–4, highlighted by victories over Army, Air Force, and Colorado State in the inaugural Poinsettia Bowl. In 2007, Johnson coached the Midshipmen to their first win over rival Notre Dame since 1963, winning 46–44 in triple-overtime.

Johnson dominated the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy competition, going 11–1 (.917) in his six years, with the only loss against another service academy coming at the hands of Air Force in his first season. He is the only coach in Navy's history to go 6–0 in his first six seasons against Army, and his 2006 senior class was the first in Navy history to win the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy all four of their years.

Much of Johnson's success was predicated on his triple option flexbone offense, a run-oriented attack that led NCAA Division I-A/FBS football in rushing yards three of his last four years at Navy. Some have criticized the triple option as an antiquated, unbalanced system unfit for major college football, which may have explained the reluctance of some top programs to offer him a position despite his accomplishments at both Georgia Southern and Navy. Johnson rebutted this argument in numerous press conferences and interviews, asserting that several top teams, including 2005 national champion Texas and 2006 national champion Florida, used various forms of the option. In 2008, Johnson told ESPN's Mark Schlabach, "If we can run it against Boston College at Navy, why can't we run it against Boston College at Georgia Tech? If we can beat Pitt with this system at Navy, why can't we beat Pitt at Georgia Tech? Are we going to get worse players at Georgia Tech?"

Georgia Tech

On December 7, 2007, Johnson accepted the head coaching job at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Johnson, who came to Georgia Tech in December after a six-year tenure at Navy, inherited a young roster with reduced numbers because of an NCAA probation. Only 76 players were on scholarship, below the maximum of 85, including three senior walk-ons who were awarded scholarships prior to the start of the season. The roster included 75 freshmen and sophomores; 16 of 22 starters were underclassmen. Sports Illustrated predicted Johnson's first Yellow Jacket team would win three games and finish fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division.

In 2008, Johnson led the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to a 9–4 record. Georgia Tech was 6–1 at home in games played at Bobby Dodd Stadium and 4–2 against ranked opponents, including three wins in November against Florida State, Miami, and Georgia. Georgia Tech, ranked 14th in the BCS standings and 15th in the AP Poll, finished the regular season with a 9–3 record. Though they tied for first place in their division with a 5–3 conference record, the Yellow Jackets failed to advance to the ACC Championship Game by virtue of an early-season loss to eventual ACC champion, Virginia Tech. Georgia Tech accepted a bid to the Chick-Fil-A Bowl, where they were defeated by LSU, 38–3.

Johnson's 2008 Georgia Tech team featured one first-team All-American (Michael Johnson), the ACC Player of the Year (Jonathan Dwyer), and eight first team, second team, and honorable mention All-ACC selections. On December 2, 2008, Johnson was tabbed as ACC Coach of the Year by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA). He said, "This is an honor for the football program at Georgia Tech, the coaching staff and the players. There are a lot of great coaches in the ACC, so it's humbling to win such a prestigious honor." Johnson was also named 2008 National Coach of the year by CBSSports.com on the same day.

In 2009, Johnson led the Yellow Jackets to an 11–3 record, including the school's first win at Florida State in school history, and a victory over #4 Virginia Tech in Atlanta, which broke a 17-game home losing streak to top five opponents, and the program's first win over Virginia in Charlottesville since 1990. After a defeat at the hands of Miami in the third week of the season, Georgia Tech won its next eight games, rising as high as #7 in the AP Poll, before losing to unranked rival Georgia in Atlanta to end the regular season. Georgia Tech finished a league-best 7–1 in ACC play and defeated Clemson in the ACC Championship Game for the school's first outright conference championship since 1990. This current title has been vacated by the NCAA for rules violations, but Georgia Tech has filed an appeal, which is still on-going.

Following the end of the regular season, Johnson received ACC Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive year, becoming the only Georgia Tech head coach in history to win the award in his first two seasons. The Yellow Jackets were paired in the Orange Bowl with the 10th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa beat Georgia Tech 24–14, sending Johnson to 0–2 in bowls at Georgia Tech.

In 2010, Georgia Tech started the season ranked 16th in the AP Poll. However, the team suffered a number of high profile injuries including to starting quarterback Joshua Nesbitt. The team finished the regular season 6–6 and lost in the Independence Bowl to Air Force 14–7.

In 2011, Johnson has led to the team to its first 6–0 start since 1966 and set a number of school offensive records in the team's 66–24 blowout of Kansas. Johnson proceeded to lose two consecutive games to Virginia and Miami before defeating then #5 Clemson 31–17. The team finished the regular season with an 8–4 record; and they are set to play Utah in the Sun Bowl on December 31, 2011.

Head coaching record

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs	Coaches#	AP°
Georgia Southern Eagles (Southern Conference) (1997–2001)
1997	Georgia Southern	10–3	7–1	1st	NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal
1998	Georgia Southern	14–1	8–0	1st	NCAA Division I-AA Runner Up
1999	Georgia Southern	13–2	7–1	T–1st	NCAA Division I-AA Champions
2000	Georgia Southern	13–2	7–1	1st	NCAA Division I-AA Champions
2001	Georgia Southern	12–2	7–1	T–1st	NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal
Georgia Southern:		62–10	36–4
Navy Midshipmen (Independent) (2002–2007)
2002	Navy	2–10
2003	Navy	8–5			L Houston
2004	Navy	10–2			W Emerald	24	24
2005	Navy	8–4			W Poinsettia
2006	Navy	9–4			L Meineke Car Care
2007	Navy	8–4*			Poinsettia*
Navy:		45–29		*Poinsettia Bowl coached by Ken Niumatalolo
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2008–present)
2008	Georgia Tech	9–4	5–3	T–1st (Coastal)	L Chick-Fil-A	22	22
2009	Georgia Tech	11–3	7–1	1st (Coastal)	L Orange†	13	13
2010	Georgia Tech	6–7	4–4	T–3rd (Coastal)	L Independence
2011	Georgia Tech	8–5	5–3	T–2nd (Coastal)	L Sun Bowl
Georgia Tech:		34–19	21–11
Total:		141–58
National championship         Conference title         Conference division title
†Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches' Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll.

External links

• Georgia Tech profile
• Paul Johnson at the College Football Data Warehouse