Johnson has had success in and out of state

Bobby Johnson will be coaching a game in his home state this weekend. However, it’s not with the school it could have been.

When Clemson and coach Tommy Bowden parted ways last October, Vanderbilt’s Johnson was one of the first names that popped in my mind.

It made some pretty good sense. Johnson is a native of South Carolina, played at Eau Claire High School in Columbia, graduated from Clemson in 1973 and coached as the defensive coordinator for an 8-3 Tiger team in 1993 before leaving to become Furman’s head coach the following season.

He had great success with the Paladins, going 60-36 in eight seasons at the helm with three conference championships and a trip to the I-AA finals in 2001, the same year he won coach of the year.

Johnson then took off for Vandy in 2002, taking over the league’s worst program in what looked like a paycheck job. Many coaches come to the school that focuses more on academics, lose for a couple of seasons and are then let go.

That’s not been the case with Johnson. He struggled mightily with the players that were left to him, winning only six games in his first three years. After a modest turnaround of 14 wins the next three years, Vandy broke through with seven wins and a bowl trip in 2008. That turned out to be a Music City Bowl victory over Boston College in the school’s first postseason win 53 years. Johnson was also named Co-SEC coach of the year last season as well as a host of other accolades.

Success at Vanderbilt usually grabs anyone’s attention, especially Saturday’s opponent South Carolina, which has lost to the Commodores the last two seasons.

“I think Bobby’s done an excellent job there,” USC coach Steve Spurrier said this week. “I know him a little bit. They’ve been very competitive at Vandy. It’s a difficult job, as we all know.”

And while this season for the Commodores (2-5) hasn’t started off as successful as 2008, Spurrier believes the slate can be blamed for that.

“Their schedule is just as tough as ours every year,” he said. “You know we all talk about our tough schedule. They’re right there in the Eastern Division with us. And they play Georgia Tech out of conference. We played N.C. State. I think Georgia Tech’s proven to be better than N.C. State now. They’ve lost some close games. But his players play hard and they play smart. That’s a reflection that a coach is doing a pretty good job.”

There’s no question that Johnson can coach. The only thing we’re left to wonder is how long he’ll stay at Vanderbilt.

Sure, it’s not the best resume builder, but there will come a day when a bigger program, possibly in the South, comes calling for Johnson.

In fact, a permanent return to the state should never be ruled out.