ESPN: NC State’s search focused on Johnson

General NCS Football139

North Carolina State’s search for a new football coach has focused on Navy’s Paul Johnson, sources close to the situation said early Tuesday.

SFN will have a more detailed coaching update later in the afternoon. In the meantime you can click here for our latest.

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General NCS Football

139 Responses to ESPN: NC State’s search focused on Johnson

  1. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 12/05/2006 at 2:59 PM #

    One other point about Reed being a proven coach. He replaced Dick Crum who had four years at MU and had a record of 34-10-1 which included a 3-8 season which means only 2 loses in the other 3 years. Crum took MU to 2 bowls and 3 conference championships. Reed won with Crum’s players.

  2. partialqualifier 12/05/2006 at 3:01 PM #

    Hats off to TNCSU for the most rediculous comments of the day.

  3. packpigskinfan23 12/05/2006 at 3:03 PM #

    TNCSU makes a good point in the sad reality that the ACC and NCSU football was this year.

  4. skywalkerdt 12/05/2006 at 3:03 PM #

    larry coker- remember who handed out the penalties for the u’s brawl? wasn’t larry coker and wasn’t much. we don’t want to go there with a coach who can’t control and discipline his own players.

  5. 98st8 12/05/2006 at 3:05 PM #

    I agree skywalkerdt…don’t want him, just relaying what I have heard

  6. packbackr04 12/05/2006 at 3:05 PM #

    my only comment is. looking back at herb, if he was nothing else, he was a divisive force to wolfpack nation. from what i am hearing about paul johnson he appears to be the same. some people like him and some dont. If we cant get behind our new FB coach 110% then it might not be the best move. i know you cant make everyone happy but look at how sid has already brought the fan base together in a way that Herb never did or could have.
    just food for thought as we appear to be starting to make some headway in the search for Chucks replacement.

  7. TNCSU 12/05/2006 at 3:05 PM #

    It’s ridiculous no rediculous, and it’s the sad truth. BTW, what was “rediculous?”

  8. primacyone 12/05/2006 at 3:06 PM #

    I’m one of the top assistant head coaches in the country. What head coach do I want to work for – Jimbo Fisher or Paul Johnson?

    I know exactly what I’m getting with Paul Johnson and it’s not bad.

    Jimbo is a new head coach. He may be good, but he just getting started. I don’t know exactly what I’m getting and it might not be pretty. It could be down right ugly.

  9. skywalkerdt 12/05/2006 at 3:07 PM #

    to take nothing away from jim grobe because he is one hell of a coach but remember he was the hot coach a few years ago when wake won some 8 or 9 games and he’s the hot thing now, but what about in between? its hard to win CONSISTENTLY when you can’t bring in upper echelon athletes.

    that said hat’s off to wake for what they’ve done this year

  10. foz 12/05/2006 at 3:09 PM #

    We can always go with a really fresh face:

    “After successful coaching stints at several local schools including starting the program at Middle Creek, former NC State star Anthony Barbour has taken over the Spartan (Smithfield-Selma) program and hope to work his magic there too.”

    but seriously, how about RB coach

  11. TNCSU 12/05/2006 at 3:11 PM #

    ^^I concur, recruiting is VERY important, but COACHING these young men when they get to college is more important. You have to know what type of players you want/need and work from there. I do not think ANY of these candidates will have a hard time recruiting, but ask Chuck…the difference between winning and losing can sometimes be a very fine line, and that line is usually in the coaching, not how someone was rated by Rivals.com three years prior.

  12. packpigskinfan23 12/05/2006 at 3:11 PM #

    primacy- it could also turn out amazing!!!

    and we really DONT know what we would be getting with Johnson….
    -which offesne would he play?
    -what kind of recruiting could he do on this level?
    -how long is he going to stick around(which could be said for ANY canidate)?
    -is he going to be able to handle REAL college students that like to party and drink and fight? Can he dicipline non-service kids?

  13. partialqualifier 12/05/2006 at 3:13 PM #

    Well….Primacy….

    I would ask you to look at Navy’s assistant coaches before proclaiming Johnson as the winner in that argument.

    Sorry TNCSU for the spelling. I was only saying that recruitnig is extraordinarily important in the ACC. Yea, he beat ECU and Duke with those players, but I certainly hope we are shooting for more than that.

  14. newt 12/05/2006 at 3:14 PM #

    My only regret is that Johnson was not here to run all over UNC’s pathetic defensive lines under Buntcakes.

  15. DIXIE Wolf 12/05/2006 at 3:15 PM #

    PQ,

    Think about the way Fortune 500 co’s employ @ the executive level…

    Do they hire the candidates who knock on the door? Usually not.

    Are they more prone to employing the best candidates by seeking them out and then selling them on the opportunity? Almost 100% of the time.

    Did June knock on our door or did he get a phone call from Neinas? I’m asking because I’m not sure but I have a feeling that I know the answer.

    Thanks god I’m self employed cause I’m wasting so much time with all of this but it’s damn fun.

  16. buttPACKer 12/05/2006 at 3:15 PM #

    I found this on a Notre Dame blog (Her Loyal Sons) regarding PJ: “NC State is reportedly looking to hire Navy’s head coach of football, Paul Johnson. The rest of the ACC should be terrified, and with this news, I’m not sure the Miami job will ever be filled. Who wants to go up against that?

    Paul Johnson is an excellent, excellent coach who is so excellent he managed to lead Navy to respectability WAY after World War 2 ended. The Midshipmen went 9-3 this season despite losing their starting QB mid-way thru the season. They’ve also scared the bejeezus out of Notre Dame a few times before Weis showed up. If Johnson does decide to move on to NC State, he’d have actual D1 talent and what is considered some of the best facilities in the country with which to ply his craft. The rest of the ACC wont have a prayer. “

  17. tvp 12/05/2006 at 3:15 PM #

    In response to your “June Jones Challenge” – I think Jones has a great resume. In my mind, if he’s truly interested, he’d be a top candidate. He is putting up a very similar record to Paul Johnson at a school with somewhat similar (though certainly not as dire) impediments to success. I like Johnson a little better but June Jones could potentially be a very, very good choic.

    Signed,

    A PJ supporter.

    PS – this comment: “if he gets the same players to come to NC State that he got at Ga. Southern or Navy….I dont care if he is Vince Lombardi….we will get killed!” is…just…wow.

    Really? No Way!

    Well, if I may be so bold, might I suggest that PJ will have a little better luck recruiting at a school with 60000 fans and state of the art facilities than either 1) a D-1AA school or 2) a school where you have to be really smart to get in, get treated like crap for a year, then get shipped off the the Persian Gulf when you are done.

  18. partialqualifier 12/05/2006 at 3:19 PM #

    packbacer04….

    Great point. I am afraid that whoever gets the job is gonna find a great deal of skeptics waiting for him in Raleigh. We have seen the divisiveness over Johnson and Fisher. Those that dont like Johnson are going to be sitting there waiting for the first time we lose a close game and only throw it 8 or 9 times. Those that like Johnson are going to be waiting for Fisher to make a bonehead move to cost us a game so that they can say…”see, I told ya so.”

    Maybe we should see what’s behind Door # 3.

  19. primacyone 12/05/2006 at 3:23 PM #

    Agreed. Can we get a new list?

  20. packpigskinfan23 12/05/2006 at 3:24 PM #

    door # 3 sounds GREAT to me…

    I still want to know who the supposed big names we heard have been in talks with NCSU are!!!

    Johnson and Fisher MAY have been contacted… but that in no way means its one or the other. Neither one of them is a GREAT lock in my book.

  21. skywalkerdt 12/05/2006 at 3:24 PM #

    the only way your going to get a consensus among the fans is to change bill cowher’s mind. the key is to shut up when the new coach is signed and give the man a chance. give them your support until they prove not to deserve it. and one bad game does not count for proof but a pattern or messing up and not correcting it.

    an assistant is going to have a learning curve of managing practices, games, etc. a paul johnson is going to have a learning curve in recruiting and in what the athletes and teams are like at this level

  22. choppack1 12/05/2006 at 3:26 PM #

    “Hearing a lot about Larry Coker today from some very influential people.”

    Dear God no, I think I can speak for the vast majority of this board when I say we shouldn’t be wasting our time w/ him as any thing but a coordinator.

  23. partialqualifier 12/05/2006 at 3:27 PM #

    tvp….

    It is great to see someone with an open mind. You have looked closely at the facts and made up your own mind. That is all I want people to do. Dont just run out and proclaim Johnson as the next Saviour without comparing him with the other coaches who have shown some interest. Johnson is a candidate…and a good one. But so is Fisher, June Jones, and others.

    As for my ridiculous comment about recruiting….

    it was made knowing full well how silly it sounded. Someone had commented earlier that recruiting was over-rated. I just made an obviously silly statement in an effort to say that recruiting was indeed very important.

  24. primacyone 12/05/2006 at 3:31 PM #

    I can hardly wait to see the basketball team play again.

  25. partialqualifier 12/05/2006 at 3:33 PM #

    I will agree that Coker should not be a candidate.

    But who should? I was glad to see some interest in Door # 3.

    I think June Jones is a strong candidate….assuming he is interested and not pulling our leg. And I still like Skip Holtz. Why he isnt being mentioned is beyond me. Look at UConn and ECU. Kragthorpe at Tulsa is a terrific coach…altho he may not be a candidate this far east (but I heard he at least considered the UNC job but backed off when he heard Davis was their #1 guy).

    My Door # 3

    1-June Jones
    2-Skip Holtz
    3-Steve Kragthorpe

    All of these guys have experienced varied levels of success, and to make all my Johnson supporters out there happy I have included only guys who are current head coaches. LOL!

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