Georgia Tech Football: Paul Johnson's grace period is over

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Paul Johnson's grace period might just be over.

Bill Connelly of SB Nation wrote about coaches that are on the hot seat, and he lumped Johnson and Auburn head coach Gene Chizik in the same group:

Paul Johnson rode his Flexbone attack to an unexpected conference title in 2009. Gene Chizik rode one of the best quarterbacks in SEC history to an unexpected national title in 2010. And both are fielding rather below-average teams in 2012, having spent whatever grace periods their successes had earned.

Georgia Tech lost to Middle Tennessee by 21 and can't stop anybody (Johnson just fired defensive coordinator Al Groh to fend off the vultures), and Auburn can't move the ball.

Johnson led Georgia Tech to an ACC title in 2009, when the team finished 11-3 overall, including 7-1 in ACC play. The Yellow Jackets defeated the Clemson Tigers in the ACC title game that year – the school's first outright title in the ACC since 1990.

Unfortunately for Johnson, that was three years ago. Since the 2009 season ended, Johnson's Yellow Jackets have gone 16-16.

Georgia Tech will look to improve to 3-4 and get the season back on track on Saturday, Oct. 20, when the Yellow Jackets host the Boston College Eagles.