When Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk arrived in Annapolis in September 2001, his goal was to revive a downtrodden football team, which was coming off a 1-10 season.
Gladchuk?s biggest step toward that goal came on Dec. 9 of that year when he lured Georgia Southern?s Paul Johnson to become the Midshipmen?s head coach. It clearly was the right move, as Johnson has steered the Midshipmen to a record of 44-29, including 10-1 against fellow service academies Air Force andArmy.
Navy (7-4) goes for its 11th straight victory over a service academy when it faces Army (3-8) at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday at noon.
“I just think it?s a great situation for everyone at the Naval Academy and [Johnson?s] leadership has been instrumental in leading us where we are today,” Gladchuk said.
But with that success comes other schools looking to duplicate what Navy has accomplished. There is speculation by multiple media outlets that Johnson is a potential candidate to replace Chan Gailey at Georgia Tech. Johnson won two Division I-AA national titles at Georgia Southern from 1997-2001.
“My perspective is this is a great job,” Gladchuk said. “It?s a great place to be, you?re working the finest young men in the world, you?re dealing with an environment that?s totally committed to Division I football and that has put millions of dollars into the facilities and coaches.”
Johnson always claims he never looks too far ahead. He said his accomplishments at Navy, including guiding the Midshipmen to their first victory over Notre Dame since 1963, have yet to sink in ? and probably won?t until after the season.
“I?d like to finish out the season strong and certainly beating Army would be a good way to do that and then we have a bowl game after that,” he said. “Maybe I?ll reflect more on [my career] when the season is over, but right now I?m just concentrating on beating Army.”
Speculation of Johnson leaving Navy is nothing new. Last year, Johnson was mentioned as a candidate for openings at N.C. State, North Carolina and Alabama. Johnson denied his interest in leaving Annapolis culminating with a statement reaffirming his commitment to Navy.
“Despite media reports to the contrary, I never talked to officials at any school and I want to reiterate that my family and I are very happy at the Naval Academy and we are looking forward to continued success here at Navy,” Johnson said last December.
Navy slotback Reggie Campbell said Johnson remains the driving force for a team that deals with the annual challenges of overcoming high academic standards and a five-year, post-graduate military commitment to field a winning squad.
“Since I?ve been a part of this program I?ve learned so much from [Johnson] and all of the coaches here,” Campbell said. “They all work well together and pass on to us that it?s important to remember it?s about the team as a whole. If everybody does their job we?ll be successful.”
