After six straight seasons of losing at least five games and the rivalry match-up against Georgia, former Georgia Tech football coach Chan Gailey was finally given his walking papers by athletic director Dan Radakovich to the delight of the Yellow Jacket faithful.
His successor is Paul Johnson, who has compiled a career coaching record of 107-39 in five seasons at I-AA Georgia Southern (winning two I-AA championships in the process) and six years at the Naval Academy.
Johnson is known for his triple-option offense, which led Navy to the number-one rushing offense in the country for four of his six seasons. The Midshipmen averaged over 310 yards per game on the ground under his leadership.
Johnson will be working with an inexperienced offense. The Jackets lost first-team All-ACC running back Tashard Choice to the NFL draft, starting quarterback Taylor Bennett transferred to Louisiana Tech, and starting wide receiver James Johnson—who would have been a senior—simply left the team. Johnson will also have to replace three starting offensive lineman and workhorse fullback Mike Cox.
Jonathan Dwyer can expect to receive the majority of the handoffs, while Josh Nesbitt will be the man behind center. Nesbitt showed last year that he is more of a running threat than a passer, and would most likely have started in Paul Johnson's offense even if Bennett had stayed.
Dwyer averaged over five yards a carry and scored nine touchdowns in limited action last year, though only two of those endzone trips came during ACC play. Tackle Andrew Gardner, who made first-team All-ACC in 2007, will need to play a huge role towards the stability of the offensive line if Tech is to have as much success in the running game as Navy had in the past couple seasons.
The defensive unit will not be without new faces either. Expect to see a brand new linebacking corps try to fill the shoes of Philip Wheeler and Gary Guyton, both of whom are currently on NFL rosters after draft weekend.
The strength of the defense will be in the front four. Defensive tackle Vance Walker returns after making first-team All-ACC last season and will be paired with fellow senior Darryl Richard.
The electrifying defensive end Michael Johnson, projected as a high- to mid-first-round pick in next year's NFL draft, will be expected to deliver the pass rush and cause problems in opponents' backfields.
Blitzing guru Jon Tenuta, widely regarded as one of the top defensive minds in college football, left his defensive coordinator post to take the same position at Notre Dame. I don't expect the overall intensity of the Southern Swarm to drop, and fewer blitzes should help out the cornerbacks who were often left in man coverage with no help due to the safeties pushing forward to take the position of blitzing linebackers.
Very rarely does a new coach have great success in his first year with a team, especially one with a system as unique as Paul Johnson's. One recruiting class does not fill every need, and the fans this year should understand that. I think a record around .500 is in the cards for this season, with a possible lower-tier bowl bid.
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4 months ago
I don't put much stock in the opinion of someone who has two huge mistakes in the article.
Mr. Tenuta went to be a defensive coach with ND not Michigan. Also, one of Mr. Johnson's pet peeves is that it is not a triple option offense. It is a spread offense with the triple option as one of the plays.
4 months ago
Youre right, Jon Tenuta was a candidate for the Michigan head coach job and once he didn't get that became the ND defensive coordinator. Got the two confused.
4 months ago
Also he can call it a pet peeve or whatever he wants, but the offense definitely operates through the triple option and it is referred to as the triple option throughout the media.
4 months ago
a record of .500 will not make GT bowl eligible with their current schedule
4 months ago
Was this "PREVIEW" written after the author just hurriedly skimmed a few other blurbs on the internet??
Sad, sad effort.
4 months ago
strong criticism from someone who hasnt written anything themselves
And I know .500 isnt bowl eligible since they play 2 1-AA teams, hence a record "around .500" with a "possible" bowl bid.
4 months ago
Just for the record, Jon Tenuta did not become ND's defensive coordinator. He is their assistant head coach for defense (whatever that means), replacing (ironically) former GT head coach Bill Lewis. Corwin Brown remains ND's DC.
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