In just 54 days Paul Johnson will begin his third season as head football coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Since he first stepped onto campus, there has been a sense of confidence that has exhumed itself from Grant Field, a feeling that has long been missing from the corner of North Avenue and Techwood. Many on the outside believe it to be arrogance. Some may simply be annoyed with the way he says things. Most people call Johson the antithesis of Mark Richt. But what he really is is the antithesis of Chan Gailey and that is why he fits in so well with Georgia Tech and its fans.
↵You can't argue that Paul Johnson is confident. He knows he is. You can argue that he is cocky. Opponents have just forgotten what it's like to hear any type of talk coming from The Flats. Johnson knows how to work the sound bytes for his fan base and frankly he does not care what other teams think about him. Paul Johnson understands Tech's desire to beat Georgia and he plays that to his advantage. He'll drop a comment about "punching [Georgia fans] in the face" as an off-handed remark and it will be just enough to spark more life into the Tech fans.
↵While a great man, Chan Gailey was vanilla. He was mediocre and boring. He did not fit in as a coach of college football. With him, we looked forward to 7-6 and 7-5 seasons and we depended on a player or a chaplain to become the emotional leader of the locker room. Paul Johnson has brought back an attitude that has long been gone from Georgia Tech. And for that, for this coach from who holds grudges against teams who beat him greater than 10 years ago, is why I am excited for Georgia Tech football to get back into gear.