An Illini's take on the Johnson situation
We Penn State fans can talk all we want about Larry Johnson, Sr. not going to Illinois, and staying with Joe Paterno and the Lions. But then I was thinking, "what does the other side think of all this?" Most of you remember Joe at Paint The Town Orange, from his 2008 guest blogger spot on ZN. Now he's back. This is more of an "editorial," than an interview, completely unfiltered, and (relatively) unedited. So, without delay, here is PTTO with an Illini's-eye view of all this: "It is pretty disappointing not to have Larry Johnson Sr. as the new DC here in Champaign, given our current prospects on defense and the loss of Mike Locksley, the source of all of our DC area talent we could have definitely used him in Champaign. Some of our most exciting players have come from Locksley and the DC area (Vontae Davis, Arrelious Benn, and backup QB Eddie McGee) we were even optimistic about landing Jelani Jenkins, but without Locksley this pipeline looks to be drying up. Larry Johnson Sr. I have been told is by far the best recuiter on the the PSU staff, with specialties in the same areas as Locks.
I just want to reiterate my thanks to Joe at PTTO for his help on this.
Zook must have really wanted Johnson for the DC position, I have heard that the full half million salary was being offered to him, so this was a major push. Its no surprise either, because going into last year the most talented facet of [Illinois'] defense was supposed to be the defensive line. Needless to say, given how gashed [Illinois] was against the run, the D line underperformed. Underperformed so much that Zook let our previous DLine guy (Sims) go. Johnson's emphasis on the defensive line would have been very valued, especially with some very talented DTs coming in.
As to why he is staying at PSU I cant say. Maybe Illinois isnt that attractive of a job right now. Maybe he thinks he will get a better job offer down the road, (maybe a DC job after Joe leaves) or maybe he just doesnt want to move, I dont know. But I do know that this is for sure a setback for Zook and the program.
Overall in fact our defense has sucked. And without a major coaching overhaul it will suck. I have no idea where Zook will go from here, I am sure he was banking on Johnson to remedy the problems on that side of the ball. We cant have another season with Bill Malory, and we still need a true QB coach. Whoever Zook gets instead of Johnson had better be a damn good coach first, and also have recruiting ties to somewhere the Illini can capitalize on now that we wont have the Wash DC area. I am sure there is a backup plan, but for now its back to the drawing board for a team that has the talent to play much better than it has, hopefully we can find a defensive mind that can get us over the hump."
I thought it was very interesting that even those outside the PSU program see this as LJS building his resume, and possibly more. I see this as LJS waiting for JoePa to retire, Tom Bradley to get the head coaching job, then LJS sliding into Bradley's spot. After a few years as a defensive coordinator, LJS will be off to build/coach his own program. Really, it all plays out very nicely for LJS.
2 Commented on this story:
Larry Johnson would have made an invaluable addition to the Illini Staff helping not only with the defensive production but immensely with recruiting in the Northeast. Johnson was very interested in the position with Illinois however his wife was dead set against it, being too settled down, rooted and comfortable in her community. Larry Johnson loses a great opportunity to be Associate Head Coach and a step closer to being head coach some day, which was his dream. At Penn State he is mired in a long waiting game. It will be years before he would get an opportunity to "just maybe" be Defensive Coordinator at Penn State. Despite what Larry Johnson said to the press, he was offered a position doubling his salary and it wasn't love for his players or loyalty to Penn State, it was mostly his wife's doing or undoing however you like to perceive it.
I'm terribly interested in how you know this was his wife's doing or undoing. Maybe being the D-line coach at a yearly big teneleven power, putting a kid or two in the draft yearly, working under and with legends, and a genuine shot at a DC position at one the all-time great defensive schools in a few years is almost as good as being zooker jr. Only nice thing about being ron's asst HC would be the job opening when he leaves for greener pastures soon. Besides, orange isn't a flattering color, now or ever.
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