Alumni Magazine - Spring 2008 - (Page 41) “How long will it take to get to where we want to go? I don’t have any idea. But I know we’re going to work hard at it every minute of every day and we’re not going to accept less than the final goal, because if you do, you’re not going to get there.” ing that Johnson was Tech’s new football coach, Radakovich told the media Johnson “looks at his talent and maximizes it. He uses what it takes to win games,” and he will “energize our fans and fill our stadium every Saturday afternoon with fun and excitement.” Coaching football was Johnson’s boyhood ambition. Seated in a black leather chair in his new office, Johnson recalls growing up in the small town of Newland, N.C., where he played football, baseball and basketball. “I enjoyed being around the game. I like the competition aspect of it. When I figured out I wasn’t going to be good enough to play, coaching seemed to be the logical thing,” he says. Johnson says his father, also named Paul, had the greatest influence on his life. He worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority. “Just seeing how hard he worked and his work ethic — he got up every morning at 5 o’clock and went to work — I thought that’s what you were supposed to do. He tried to worry only about the things he could do something about — the other things, he just let go. I look back now and I guess we’d be classified as poor. At the time, I didn’t realize it.” How Long to Get It Fixed? nother person who Johnson says was a major influence on his life was the late Elmer Aldridge, his football coach at Avery County High School. “My goal was to go back and be the coach at my high school. That’s what I wanted to do,” he says. Johnson attended Western Carolina University, where he met his wife, Susan. They have been married for 28 years and have a daughter, Kaitlyn, 15. He earned his bachelor’s in physical education in 1979 and began his coaching career under Aldridge in 1979-80 as offensive coordinator and line coach at Avery County High. In 1981, he accepted the job as offensive coordinator at Lees-McRae Junior College. His offensive unit climbed to sixth place in the National Junior College Athletic Association. The next year, he earned his master’s in health and physical education from Appalachian State. Georgia Southern head football coach Irk Russell hired Johnson as defensive line coach in A 1983, but two years later, he was named offensive coordinator. He coached an Eagle offense that rewrote the school record books and claimed I-AA titles in 1985 and ’86. Johnson became the University of Hawaii’s offensive coordinator in 1987. He spent eight seasons with the Rainbows and directed an offense that helped win the Western Athletic Conference title and a bowl appearance. He returned to Georgia Southern as head coach and led the Eagles to the 1999 and 2000 national championships. Navy invited him to get its program shipshape. He exceeded everyone’s expectations, but it didn’t happen on a timescale. “How long? They asked me that at Navy when I came in and the program was in disarray. Do you have a plan for how long you think it will take to get it fixed? My answer was the first game. When it didn’t get fixed until after the first season, it was frustrating. We just kept our head down and kept working and felt like if we worked hard enough it would turn,” Johnson recalls. Does he have a five-year plan for Georgia Tech? “I don’t even have a five-minute plan,” Johnson says easily. “I try to do everything I can during the actual time to make sure that we’re getting better at whatever we’re doing. I don’t have this long laid-out plan. How long will it take to get to where we want to go? I don’t have any idea. But I know we’re going to work hard at it every minute of every day and we’re not going to accept less than the final goal, because if you do, you’re not going to get there.” He downplays his expectations for next season. “I don’t have any other than to be the best team that we can be and to get better every week. After the first two or three games, I can’t tell you who we play. I know the teams in the league. My focus now is not so much on who we play but on ourselves. I want to make sure that we get better. If we get better every day, then it won’t matter who we play. And if we don’t, it won’t matter who we play either.” When he wants to relax, Johnson plays golf and enjoys fishing. And he enjoys horse racing. “When we lived in Maryland, there was a track not far from the house. I was a fan.” Because of his career and schedule as >>> Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine • Spring 2008 41
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