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Duke Still In Mix
It appears Duke University is still very much in the mix to land the services of Naval Academy head coach Paul Johnson, The Capital has learned.
An extremely reliable source in the Raleigh-Durham area called this afternoon to report that Duke athletic officials have been told the school could remain a major player in the Johnson sweepstakes provided athletic director Joe Alleva stepped up to the plate in terms of certain financial considerations.
An individual representing Johnson, presumably his Atlanta-based agent Jack Reale, contacted Alleva today to provide certain parameters for a potential agreement. Alleva reportedly agreed to the provisions and suddenly Duke was again a significant player.
I must admit to writing off Duke after learning how much SMU was willing to pay Johnson then subsequently learning that Johnson was taking a second trip to Atlanta to visit with Georgia Tech athletic director Dan Radakovich.
A crucial elements of this situation that has not been fully addressed is the fact Johnson is not a lone wolf in shopping his services to the various schools with coaching vacancies. Johnson is a very loyal individual and most certainly would not hang his assistant coaches out to dry.
The Capital feels quite comfortable in stating that Johnson most definitely would have asked two important questions when negotiating with Duke, SMU and Georgia Tech:
1) Could Johnson bring his assistants along with him without restriction?
2) Would those assistants receive salaries comparable to what they currently have at Navy?
It's important to know that most of the full-time assistant coaches at Navy live in homes provided by the Naval Academy Athletic Association. That is a significant benefit, especially in an area such as Annapolis.
As a result, the cost of living in the location of each school in question becomes a crucial factor. Clearly, it would cost less for a Johnson assistant to live in the Raleigh-Durham area as opposed to Atlanta or Dallas. Of course, that is presuming that none of the aforementioned schools is willing to provide housing for all the assistants.
Neither Georgia Tech nor SMU provided a house for former head coaches Chan Gailey and Phil Bennett so we can safely assume the assistants didn't have homes either. However, it's unclear what level of housing allowance was provided for the previous coaching staffs at those two institutions.
There are a few other factors that might weigh in favor of Duke over Georgia Tech. First and foremost is the fact Johnson and his wife are North Carolina natives and still have several relatives living in the great Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill triangle region. Second, the expectation level at Duke is far lower than at Georgia Tech.
Johnson could become an instant hero by merely winning four or five games next season at Duke. If Johnson could author a winning season and bowl berth in year two or three he would probably be named ACC Coach of the Year.
Georgia Tech, on the other hand, just fired a coach who never suffered a losing season. Chan Gailey compiled a 44-32 record in six seasons at the helm and, by all accounts, was let go primarily for going 0-6 against in-state rival Georgia and not generating the type of excitement that sells tickets.
Simply put, Johnson would be expected to win at least seven games right out of the gate at Georgia Tech and to contend for the ACC championship by year two or three.
Needless to say, Johnson has delayed his decision until Friday at the earliest. Sources told The Capital that Johnson needs to consult further with his family along with some of his assistants before deciding whether to remain at Navy or bolt for either Duke, Georgia Tech or SMU.
