2002 Georgia Southern Offense – Paul Johnson

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Paul Johnson is a retired American football coach who is best known for his success running the option-based offense. He was born on August 20, 1957, in Newland, North Carolina.

Johnson began his coaching career in 1980 as an assistant coach at Georgia Southern University, where he eventually became the head coach in 1997. Under Johnson's leadership, Georgia Southern won two NCAA Division I-AA championships and made the playoffs six times.

In 2001, Johnson became the head coach at the United States Naval Academy, where he introduced his option-based offense. The offense was a huge success at Navy, leading the team to five bowl games and two 10-win seasons in Johnson's tenure.

After leaving Navy, Johnson became the head coach at Georgia Tech in 2008. There, he continued to use his option-based offense, which helped the team win the ACC Championship in 2009 and make appearances in the conference championship game in 2012 and 2014. Johnson retired from coaching after the 2018 season.

Overall, Paul Johnson is considered one of the most innovative and successful coaches in college football history, particularly when it comes to his mastery of the option offense.

Paul Johnson's tenure as head coach at Georgia Southern was incredibly successful. Johnson led the team to two NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS) national championships in 1999 and 2000 and six appearances in the playoffs.

Johnson's teams at Georgia Southern were known for their dominance on the ground, running a triple-option offense that was nearly unstoppable. In fact, in the 1999 championship game against the University of Montana, Georgia Southern did not attempt a single pass, instead relying entirely on the ground game to win the game 27-25.

Under Johnson's leadership, Georgia Southern had a number of standout players, including Adrian Peterson (not to be confused with the NFL running back of the same name), who set a Division I-AA record for career rushing yards with 6,559.

Overall, Johnson's success at Georgia Southern helped establish him as one of the most innovative and successful coaches in college football, particularly when it came to his use of the triple-option offense.

At Georgia Southern, Paul Johnson ran a triple-option offense, which is a type of option offense that relies heavily on the quarterback making quick decisions based on the defensive alignment.

In the triple-option offense, the quarterback has the option to hand the ball off to a running back, keep the ball himself and run, or pitch the ball to another running back. The offense is designed to create confusion for the defense, making it difficult for them to know who has the ball and where the play is going.

Johnson's implementation of the triple-option offense was incredibly successful at Georgia Southern, leading the team to two NCAA Division I-AA national championships in 1999 and 2000, and six appearances in the playoffs.

Johnson's success with the triple-option offense at Georgia Southern and later at Navy and Georgia Tech, where he continued to run variations of the offense, has cemented his legacy as one of the most innovative and successful coaches in college football history.

Paul Johnson's triple option offense is a type of option offense that is designed to put pressure on the defense by giving the quarterback multiple options on each play. The triple option relies heavily on the quarterback's ability to read the defense and make quick decisions about whether to hand the ball off to a running back, keep the ball and run, or pitch the ball to another running back.

In Johnson's version of the triple option offense, the quarterback lines up in the shotgun or under center, with a fullback lined up directly behind him and two slot backs (or wingbacks) lined up behind the tackles. The offense is designed to create confusion for the defense by making it difficult to know who has the ball and where the play is going.

The triple option offense is highly effective when executed properly, as it can keep the defense off-balance and open up running lanes for the offense. Johnson's success with the triple option offense was evident during his time as head coach at Georgia Southern, where he won two NCAA Division I-AA national championships and made six appearances in the playoffs. He also had success with the offense at Navy and Georgia Tech, where he continued to run variations of the triple option.

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