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Paul Johnson, Class of ’79, Physical Education

From coaching a high school football team to meeting with President Bush, this WCU grad is at the top of his game

Paul Johnson coaching a US Naval Academy football game

Top honors: Johnson, who was named head coach at Georgia Tech in December 2007, received one of the coaching profession's most prestigious honors in 2005 as head coach for the U.S. Naval Academy: the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year. In 2008, he was named ACC coach of the year by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

On the gridiron: Johnson began his career as an assistant football coach at Avery County High School. From there, he “graduated” to offensive coordinator assignments at Lees-McRae Junior College, Georgia Southern University, the University of Hawaii, Navy, and Georgia Tech.

A winning record: As he’s moved from team to team, winning records have followed. As head coach at Georgia Southern (1997 to 2001), Johnson posted a 62-10 record, won two straight Division 1-AA national championships and five straight Southern Conference championships, and was named Division 1-AA National Coach of the Year four times.

Go, Navy! In 2002, Johnson took over as head coach for the U.S. Naval Academy. After a two-win season in his first year as head coach, Johnson led the team to an 8-5 record in 2003 and a 10-2 mark in 2004—the most football victories at Navy over a two-year span in almost a century. He’s also led the team to back-to-back bowl games (Houston Bowl, 2003; Emerald Bowl, 2004) for only the second time in the Navy’s 124-year history.

Hello, Mr. President: After the Navy beat Air Force and Army in 2004, Johnson and his team met with President George W. Bush to receive the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.