Bobby Johnson
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Bobby Johnson (b. Columbia, South Carolina) is the head football coach at Vanderbilt University. He became the Commodores' coach in December 2001 after leading Furman University to the Division I-AA national championship game. Johnson's first head coaching job was at Furman, which hired him in 1994. Previously, he had been defensive coordinator at Clemson University. On September 4, 2008 he led Vanderbilt to their first victory at home in over 15 years with a 24-17 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks. It was their second victory in as many years over a ranked Gamecock team.
Student-athlete
As a player at Clemson, Johnson was a three-year letterman and led the team in interceptions playing cornerback in 1971 and 1972. Johnson is a 1973 graduate of Clemson University with a bachelor's degree in management and received his master’s degree in education from Furman in 1979.
Transition to Vanderbilt
After a successful stint at Furman, Bobby Johnson was hired on at Vanderbilt University to take the helm of an SEC squad. Many questioned the administration's loyalty to Coach Johnson after three consecutive 2-9 seasons, but Vanderbilt's loyalty paid off. [neutrality is disputed] Coach Johnson, along with Vanderbilt's Chancellor Gee and Vice Chancellor Williams, had been an instrumental part of a new culture at Vanderbilt. The Athletic Department was abolished—a first among universities in a Division I athletic conference.[citation needed] Bobby Johnson publicly committed himself to a vision of the "student-athlete"—not just an athlete.
Recent success
[neutrality is disputed]
2005 Campaign
In Johnson's fourth season, the Commodores finished 5-6 and defeated in-state rival Tennessee in Knoxville for the first time since 1975. Jay Cutler, the team's offensive captain that season, was drafted #11 overall by the Denver Broncos and named as starting quarterback during his rookie season.
2006 Campaign
In the 2006 season, Vanderbilt fell to 4-8 after the loss of Cutler, but did beat Georgia at Sanford Stadium. In addition, Vanderbilt lost games to Ole Miss, Alabama, SEC West champion Arkansas, and eventual national champion Florida by a touchdown or less—an impressive feat for a team normally considered a "gimme win" by SEC teams. After eight games Atlanta Journal-Constitution college football writer Tony Barnhart stated that Johnson "deserves some consideration" for SEC Coach of the Year, albeit based on a misstated record of 4-5 instead of 3-5. [1]
Barnhart's 2006 postseason survey of ten former SEC coaches ranked the Vanderbilt job the least attractive in the SEC. Former Ole Miss coach Billy Brewer summarized Johnson's performance: "The tough thing about the Vanderbilt job is that you can improve a lot from year to year and still finish last in the SEC East. For what he has, I think Bobby Johnson does a heck of a coaching job."[2]
2007 Campaign
Johnson again led the Commodores to success in 2007, with SEC conference wins over Mississippi and South Carolina, ranked No. 6 at the time of the contest. Standing with a 5-5 record, the Commodores then squandered a 24-9 third-quarter lead against in-state rival Tennessee, losing 25-24 after a 49-yard Bryant Hahnfeldt field goal attempt that would have won the game glanced off the left upright.
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | Coaches# | AP° | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Furman Paladins (SoCon) (1994–2001) | |||||||||
| 1994 | Furman | 3-8 | 2-6 | 6th | |||||
| 1995 | Furman | 6-5 | 5-3 | 3rd | |||||
| 1996 | Furman | 9-4 | 6-2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1997 | Furman | 7-4 | 5-3 | 3rd | |||||
| 1998 | Furman | 5-6 | 3-5 | T-6th | |||||
| 1999 | Furman | 9-3 | 7-1 | 1st | |||||
| 2000 | Furman | 9-3 | 6-2 | 2nd | |||||
| 2001 | Furman | 12-3 | 7-1 | 1st | L 6-13 vs. Montana in Div. I-AA title game | ||||
| Furman: | 60–36 | 41-23 | |||||||
| Vanderbilt Commodores (SEC) (2002–present) | |||||||||
| 2002 | Vanderbilt | 2-10 | 0-8 | 6th (East) | |||||
| 2003 | Vanderbilt | 2-10 | 1-7 | 5th (East) | |||||
| 2004 | Vanderbilt | 2–9 | 1-7 | 6th (East) | |||||
| 2005 | Vanderbilt | 5-6 | 3-5 | 5th (East) | |||||
| 2006 | Vanderbilt | 4-8 | 1-7 | 6th (East) | |||||
| 2007 | Vanderbilt | 5-7 | 2-6 | 6th (East) | |||||
| 2008 | Vanderbilt | 0-0 | 0-0 | ||||||
| Vanderbilt: | 20–50 | 8–40 | |||||||
| Total: | 80-86 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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References
- ^ "Coaches jobs in question". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2006-10-31. Retrieved 2006-12-06.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Barnhart: Best and worst SEC jobs". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2006-12-13. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
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