Please Hire Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson-the next head coach at Nebraska

There would not be a better choice for the next head coach at the University of Nebraska than Paul Johnson of Navy. His coaching resume literally speaks for itself. So who is Paul Johnson and why should we hire him? How about we start with the fact that NOBODY in the country does more with less talent than Paul Johnson. His Navy teams are filled with players that probably are on par talent wise with UNO. Check out this

Championships
1999, 2000 NCAA I-AA National Champion

Awards
2004 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year
2002 finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award and the Associated Press Coach of the Year Award.
2000 AFCA NCAA I-AA Coach of the Year
1999 AFCA NCAA I-AA Coach of the Year
1998 Sports Network I-AA Coach of the Year
1998 Eddie Robinson Award
1997, 1998 Southern Conference Coach of the Year

While at Hawai'i, Johnson developed a successful offensive unit which earned top-20 I-A statistical rankings in scoring offense, total offense and rushing offense during six of his eight seasons. He earned Top Offensive Coach honors in the WAC and was named one of the top-10 assistant coaches in the country by The Sporting News.

Check out this video for some idea of the offense he runs:


After sitting through 4 years of NFL-mentality bullcrap, I'm ready for a true college coach. Johnson fills that role better than anyone else in the country. He was nearly hired by Alabama a year ago and was also courted by NC State and North Carolina. Here's why I believe that this certified offensive genius could bring us back:

-He will adapt his offense to the type of players on his roster. If he feels he has a QB that can throw, the offense might look more like Florida's.

-He may or may not run a triple option if he's hired at Nebraska. He has compared his own offensive schemes to those of Rich Rodriguez of West Virginia and Urban Meyer of Florida. He has even derived some offensive schemes from Nebraska.

-Wake Forest Coach Jim Grobe says Johnson may be the best coach to ever run the triple-option.

-He is 50 years old and could be the coach here for the next 20 years. Unlike Bo Pelini, he's not an NFL guy and we'd never have to worry about him wanting something bigger and better.

-In one championship game for Georgia Southern his team anniahlated now Ohio State coach Jim Tressel's Youngstown State team by 30 points. He also beat highly respected Montana coach Joe Glenn, now the head coach at upstart Wyoming.

-Under Johnson, Nebraska could go back to recruiting linemen from Nebraska and the surrounding region, not having to find and compete for the NFL type that every other school in the country is fighting for. We also wouldn't have to find the elite skill WRs that are primarily found in Florida, Texas and California-and that everyone in the country is after.

-While offensive coordinator at Hawaii, his 1991 team scored 42 points on a 10 win Notre Dame team. One of his Georgia Southern teams nearly beat a 7 win Oregon State team as well.

-Rutgers coach Greg Schiano had the following to say about Navy before the two teams played this year:

On the defensive linemen's play against the Navy offensive line:

"It's such a hard job on the inside, people are just nipping at you, and they're always at your feet. It's a nasty game and that's the way Navy likes it. They really try to get you distracted. They cut-block tremendously, probably the best that I've ever seen. You really have to work hard at this stuff."

On the challenge of playing Navy:

"This is going to be a very tough challenge for our football team. I'd like to say that hopefully we can score some points and get them on that mode, but they've played us very, very tough. They just hang on you and don't let you get that big play. You're not going to get those big pass plays like you saw [against Buffalo]. If you do, you're going to throw interceptions."

"If you get them down three scores, that's something. One or two scores, they stay in their offense. Again, they're incredible. Fourth down and one or less, past the negative 35 yard line and they're going for it. You're in fourth down territory once they past their 35 yard line, so you have to change your thinking. They are 36-10 over the last 46 games with four straight bowl games. They are doing what they said in this modern day, couldn't be done."

On playing against the triple option:

"I'm thankful that there aren't more [teams] on our schedule that do it. I love the challenge and it is a special week for a defensive coach because it's something different and you get your juices going, but I'd just as soon rather not have to deal with it."