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Paul Johnson
U.S. Naval Academy defensive end (DE) Jeremy Chase, left, Quarterback (QB) Lamar Owens, center, and head football coach Paul Johnson (right) receive the Poinsettia Bowl trophy after defeating Colorado State 51-30.
Title	Head coach
College	Georgia Tech
Sport	Football
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Team record	0-0
Born	August 20, 1957 (1957-08-20) (age 50)
Place of birth	Newland, N.C
Career highlights
Overall	105–39
Bowls	2–2
Coaching stats
College Football DataWarehouse
Championships
1999, 2000 NCAA I-AA National Champion
Awards
2004 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year 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
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1981–1982 1983–1984 1985–1986 1987–1994 1995–1996 1997–2001 2002–2007 2008-present	Lees-McRae (OC) Ga. Southern (DL) Ga. Southern (OC) Hawaiʻi (OC) Navy (OC) Georgia Southern Navy Georgia Tech

Paul Johnson (born August 20, 1957(1957-08-20) in Newland, North Carolina) is the head coach of football at the Georgia Institute of Technology.^[1] He was previously the head coach at the United States Naval Academy and Georgia Southern University.

Contents 1 Coaching 1.1 Georgia Southern 1.2 Navy 1.3 Georgia Tech 2 Head coaching record 3 Personal 4 References 5 External links

Johnson formerly served as the head coach at Georgia Southern University. During his time at Georgia Southern, the Eagles captured the NCAA Division I-AA national football championships in 1999 and 2000. He is also one of only four coaches to ever record 50 wins in their first four seasons as head coach at the Division I level.^[2]

In 2002, Johnson departed Georgia Southern for Navy. Johnson's initial season saw the Midshipmen win only two of twelve contests, although the season ended on a high note with his first victory over Army. Subsequently, Johnson's teams have 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 EV1.net Houston Bowl, Navy's first bowl game since 1996. However, the Midshipmen lost to the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 38-14. In 2004, Johnson's team posted Navy's best start in over 30 years,^{[citation needed]} finishing the regular season 9-2 and once again earning a bowl berth, this time in the Emerald Bowl. Johnson coached the Mids to a win over New Mexico 34-19, the fifth bowl win in the school's history. That gave Navy 10 wins on the season, tying the record for wins at Navy, which had stood since 1905. Coincidentally, this was the season that Johnson won the NCAA Coach of the Year honors. The 2005 squad recorded a final mark of 8-4, which was 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.

Coach Johnson has dominated the Commander in Chief's Trophy competition, going 9-1 (.900) in his five 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 2006-07 senior class was the first in Navy history to win the Commander in Chief's Trophy for all four years.

Much of Johnson's success has been predicated on his triple option flexbone offense, a run oriented attack that has led NCAA Division I-A/FBS football in rushing yards three of the last four years. Some have criticized the triple option as an antiquated, unbalanced system unfit for major college football, which may explain some BCS teams' reluctance to offer him a position despite his accomplishments at both Georgia Southern and Navy. Johnson has rebutted this argument in numerous press conferences and interviews, asserting that several top teams, including 2005-2006 national champion Texas and 2006-2007 national champion Florida, use various forms of the option. He has repeatedly stated that the superior athletes in power conferences could help the triple option flourish.^{[citation needed]}

However Johnson has also stated that if he had a good throwing quarterback he would use the pass more often.^{[citation needed]}

On December 7, 2007, Paul Johnson accepted the head coaching job at Georgia Tech.^[1][3]

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl	Coaches#	AP°
Georgia Southern Eagles (Southern Conference) (1997 – 2001)
1997	Georgia Southern	10–3	7–1	1st
1998	Georgia Southern	14–1	8–0	1st
1999	Georgia Southern	13–2	7–1	T-1st
2000	Georgia Southern	13–2	7–1	1st
2001	Georgia Southern	12–2	7–1	T-1st
Georgia Southern:		62–10	36–4
Navy Midshipmen (Independent) (2002 – 2007)
2002	Navy	2–10
2003	Navy	8–5			L EV1.net Houston Bowl
2004	Navy	10–2			W Emerald Bowl		24
2005	Navy	8–4			W Poinsettia Bowl
2006	Navy	9–4			L Meineke Car Care Bowl
2007	Navy	8–4**			L Poinsettia Bowl
Navy:		45–29		** as of December 1, 2007
Total:		107–39
National Championship         Conference Title         Conference Division Title
†Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches Poll of the season. °Rankings from final AP Poll of the season.

Johnson and his wife, Susan, have a daughter named Kaitlyn. He 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 also earned a Master of Science in health and physical education from Appalachian State University in 1982.

• Bio at Navy Athletics Website

v • d • e Current Head Football Coaches of the Atlantic Coast Conference
Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech) | Bobby Bowden (FSU) | Tommy Bowden (Clemson) | Butch Davis (UNC) | Paul Johnson (Georgia Tech) | Jim Grobe (Wake Forest) | Al Groh (Virginia) | Jeff Jagodzinski (Boston College) | Ralph Friedgen (Maryland) | Tom O'Brien (NC State) | David Cutcliffe (Duke) | Randy Shannon (Miami)

v • d • e Navy Midshipmen Head Football Coaches
Carter • Crosby • Hartwell • Wurtenburg • McClung • Poe • Armstrong • Cochran • Hillebrand • Chamberlain • Dashiell • Reeves • Berrien • Howard • Ingram • Dobie • Folwell • Owsley • Ingram • Miller • Hamilton • Hardwick • Larson • Whelchel • Hagberg • Hamilton • Sauer • Erdelatz • Hardin • Elias • Forzano • Welsh • Tranquill • Uzelac • Chaump • Weatherbie • Lantz • Johnson • Niumatalolo

v • d • e Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Head Football Coaches
West • Borleske • Finnegan • Wood • Nalley • Collier • Strickler • McKee • Heisman • Alexander • Dodd • Carson • Fulcher • Rodgers • Curry • Ross • Lewis • O'Leary • McWhorter • Gailey • Johnson