Johnson To Smu

[cdawgrun]

Paul Johnson of Navy will b SMu's head coach--its official

Edited November 29, 2007 by cdawgrun

[MeanGreen61]

SMU Appears to Have Its New Football Coach

Posted on November 29th, 2007 3:54pm by Scott Farrell

Filed under Local News, Sports

We’re still trying to confirm this like everybody else around the country, but all sources point to Paul Johnson as SMU’s choice to become its next head football coach. Johnson, currently the head coach at Navy, will be introduced on Monday.

Here’s the skinny on Johnson.

Johnson has a national reputation as being one of the top coaches in the country. He has improvised his offense around whatever talent he has had at Georgia Southern and now at Navy. His resume includes back-to-back Division I-AA national titles at Georgia Southern and a 14-1 runner-up finish in 1998. His playoff record at Georgia Southern, when the games mattered most, is 11-1. He was 62-10 at that school.

At Navy, Johnson took over a moribund program that was 1-20 in the two seasons before he arrived and has totally revived the Midshipmen. His first Navy team was 2-10 (including a 38-7 win at SMU in Phil Bennett’s first game), but his is now 38-16 over the past four seasons and the Midshipmen will play in their fifth consecutive bowl game next month. He has a 102-35 career record.

The SMU connection? SMU athletic director Steve Orsini was part of the Naval Academy administration during Johnson’s tenure as offensive coordinator there. He is also a coaching colleague with SMU associate athletic director Mike Vaught.

The guy can flat out coach. And SMU is going to pay plenty of cash to pry him from his $1 million-a-year job in Annapolis. SMU is reported to be paying $1.5 million a year for Johnson, which almost triples the highest amount SMU has ever paid a head coach.

“Pony Up” indeed.

[emmitt01]

We had better start to put together some wins and fast. Recruiting just got a lot more difficult and I predict Johnson will have a winning season at SMU within 2 years.

[GoMeanGreen1999]

Good hire, but wonder what happened to Fran?

[JesseMartin]

SMU, a fairly well-off private school, never paid much more than half a mil a year?

[dodgefan]

WOW! Johnson is a great coach, just look at what he has had to work with at Navy. SMU just made a great hire. I'm telling you guy's, that Steve Orsini is not fooling around.

[GreenAlums]

I can't wait to hear what Johnson's "reasons" were for making the move. Money certainly, but what else will he say?? Why would he make a move from Navy to SMU? Interesting IMO.

[UNTflyer]

Do not doubt me.

http://www.gomeangreen.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=37409

[EagleMBA]

I have to give SMU my congratulations on an impressive hire. Johnson will generate some excitement in SMUtland for at least a couple of years. If he can recruit the players to run that triple option of his, he will be moderately successful. He will take a lot of the spotlight back from us unless we have a big turnaround next year in the win/loss column; he could make things uncomfortable for us in this sports market.

Ultimately, he will go the way of the rest of the coaches who have touched the third rail that is SMU in the last few years. That is strictly my opinion.

[LongJim]

Is there an echo in here?

[NT80]

Is there an echo in here?

I'll give you credit for posting a thread about it first. It will be interesting to see what type offense he tries to install at SMut. He will have trouble attracting some athletes to SMut's country club Highland Park culture. It's a safe hire, but not the big-bang hire and splash a Neuheisel or Fran would have made.

[Cooley]

He should mop up on great running backs as most schools have abandoned the traditional running game for the spread offense. I was impressed that SMU raised close to 10 million over a very short period of time to make the offer attractive.

I think the entire metroplex wins when all the locals are doing well.

[emmitt01]

Navy thoughts.

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?S=240#s=240&a...4&t=1533307

[Harry]

Impressive hire! SMU will be tough under Johnson.

[MCMLXXX]

We could have hired Johnson instead of Parker about 17 years ago. One of our bigger mistakes.

[stebo]

I am really not impressed. Yes, he won at Navy and winning at Navy is tough to do... but if you take a good look at who those wins are against, he really isn't worth $1.5 million a year.

Ok - so it looks "ok" on paper:

This year he was:

2-1 against the MAC

1-1 against the Big East

1-1 against the ACC

1-0 against MWC

1-0 against Belt

1-0 against a 2 win Independent

0-1 against IAA

7 wins and only 4 losses. LOOKS good - until you look at who those wins were against...

Aug 31 - W at Temple, 30-19 - win against a 4-8 MAC team... Temple sucks, we could probably beat Temple

Sep 7 - L at Rutgers, 24-41 - Loss by 17 points to a good Rutgers team

Sep 15 - L vs. Ball State, 31-34 OT - Loss to MAC team

Sep 22 - W vs. Duke, 46-43 - Beat a terrible (1-11) DUKE team by only 3 points

Sep 29 - W vs. Air Force, 31-20 - Beat a good Air Force team at home by 9 - probably the best win of the year

Oct 6 - Open

Oct 10 - W at Pittsburgh, 48-45 2OT - Beat a 4-7 Big East team

Oct 20 - L vs. Wake Forest, 24-44 - Lost to WAKE by 20 at home

Oct 27 - L vs. Delaware, 52-59 - Loss to a IAA team at home

Nov 3 - W at Notre Dame, 46-44 3OT - Ok, so he beat the worst Notre Dame team in the last 100 years in triple OT... Notre Dame lost 6 at home this year and only 2 wins for the whole year.

Nov 10 - W at North Texas, 74-62 - Ok, he beat us - but so did everyone else and if we had any type of IA DC then they would have lost.

Nov 17 - W vs. Northern Ill, 35-24 - win against a down (2-10) MAC team at home

Next Up:

Nov 24 - Open

Dec 1 - at Army, 12:00 PM ET

Dec 20 - (maybe that new bowl in San Diego? - has 7 wins but one is against a IAA) at TBA, 9:00 PM ET

Wins over teams with winning records: 1

Does this get you $1.5 million a year?

I am not impressed, not based on this year's schedule...

[Varsity]

It's a good hire.

Will the ponies go to the option?

[MCMLXXX]

It's a good hire.

Will the ponies go to the option?

It if the only offense that Johnson has run as a head coach. It seems that they have no other option.

[hickoryhouse]

It if the only offense that Johnson has run as a head coach. It seems that they have no other option.

tee hee.... pun

[Mean Green 93-98]

Will the ponies go to the option?

That's a good point. If SMU does go to the option, it means we will not usually be competing against them in recruiting offensive players.

[Poneez]

While I think Johnson would be a good hire, it is not official. Yesterday, it was Fran and before that, it was Krag. So who knows? Hopefully, we will find out on Monday.

Btw, I believe Johnson ran the spread in his former life as an OC.

[H-towngreen]

Not impressed. Although Justin Willis would be good in the triple option

[UNTLifer]

While I think Johnson would be a good hire, it is not official. Yesterday, it was Fran and before that, it was Krag. So who knows? Hopefully, we will find out on Monday.

Btw, I believe Johnson ran the spread in his former life as an OC.

Johnson was a D1AA head coach in Georgia, can't remember the school, and ran the option to a couple of national championships. He will run the option at SMUt and won't compete for the athletes were are after. The kids at Lewisville High are jumping for joy!

[H-towngreen]

Another good thing about the hire is that we shouldn't be in the running for to many offensive players. I wonder if they have any recruits that we might be able to take away.

[ADLER]

I think this is an outstanding hire for the ponies.

My little cousin who was a member of Johnson's first Navy signing class and graduated in May has had nothing but good things to say about Coach Johnson.