First off, sincere congrats to Ellis Johnson for apparently landing the Southern Miss job. He’s hitting an age where it starts getting hard to grab a head coaching spot, so good for him.
Secondly, is Georgia having a good December, or what? Almost every school in the East (plus Auburn!) is now having to deal with staff upheaval at a critical time. I’d also argue that Johnson was as important to South Carolina’s success this season as Grantham was to Georgia’s. Maybe Spurrier hits a home run with his replacement, but it’s certainly hard to see how he could do any better that what he had.
This is about as good as Charlie Strong leaving for Louisville, if you think about it. If I’m Mark Richt, I’ll take my chances with that.
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UPDATE: I’d say this qualifies as too much information.
https://twitter.com/#!/davidbrandtAP/status/149254270032691200
Get The Picture 
Ellis Johnson has saved Spurrier’s butt frequently over the years. Be tough to get somebody else that good. Don’t think it’ll affect SC’s defensive effort against Georgia though, since we’re their career game every year. Might cause SC revert to normal faster overall, and speed up Spurrier’s senescence.
Oh, and Good Luck Ellis. You’re not in our conference anymore.
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Aren’t you glad now that Ellis Johnson did not get hired as UGA DC 2 years ago?
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Auburn can’t seem to find anyone who wants to be a coordinator there. I expect the Old Ball Sack to move quickly especially during recruiting season.
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I suspect Spurrier won’t have nearly as much trouble finding a DC as Chizk is having.
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For several, several reasons. The aU is headed down…rapidly, while SC is on an upswing.. SC is the better school than their in-state rival, and the AubieCanes will always live in Bama’s shadow.. SOS is clearly the better coach with a record of winning that spans over two decades, and Cheatzik has a losing record for 5 years when you take away the “professional” scandal year. Spurrier will keep his hands on the offensive controls and give the DC complete lattitude to run the defense while Cheatzik has a defensive background and is accused of meddling with the offense to the point Malzahn felt he was handcuffed. Plus, the AubieCanes have no OC at all now.
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Actually, I think Spurrier will have a hard time finding someone to replace Johnson – especially if Lorenzo Ward goes with Johnson. USC’s rise the last two years has been dependent on the success of the defense and you just don’t find a lot of guys with his track record. Ward has been with Johnson for a while too, so it would make sense that he might go to USM.
However, Spurrier might want to retain Ward to keep the same philosophy that has been working for them.
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Prediction: I believe Spurrier will step down after this season.
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Love too that Johnson ran kind of a hybrid defense that not many teams run so hopefully there will be a little bit of a transition problem for them next year no matter how good the new coach.
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+1. There will undoubtedly be a period of adjustment when the USCe D learns a different system. This just might be the one time that playing the Dicks…er…Cocks early is an advantage for the Dawgs.
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Funny how the meme can swing so far in the other direction… Instead of ‘who will be UGA’s next head coach?’, it’s ‘Who will be at USC/UF/AU?’
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The only way this gets better is if Saban leaves.
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for the Dolphins!
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…or is eaten by dolphins while on a sunset cruise…
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Sharks more likely.
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If Saban fell overboard the sharks would ferry him to shore and deposit him gently on the beach. Professional courtesy, you know.
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They don’t eat their own???
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Good luck to Coach Johnson.
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Now we need Lattimore to have an unusually long recovery from surgery, at least until the 3rd game of the season.
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Screw that. I want to beat the Cocks with Lattimore.
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He won’t be 100% by the time we play the Gamepenises regardless, and then it’s off to the NFL with him. Yay!
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He was a heck of a coach. I’m very happy and happy for him. But the article says “Southern Carolina”? Too funny. No respect. Bet they would never mess up “University of South California” or even “Northern Carolina”
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This is all just too much early Christmas. Thinking of our beloved Bulldogs hanging their stockings and “sugarplums” dancing in their heads; -beginning to think of them as favorite grandchildren in my extended family.
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Macallan: Interesting you say South Carolina is a better school than their in state rival. I know it’s a small point. I live in Georgetown County SC and from this perspective Clemson is harder to get into than SC. Most objective opinion in this area thinks Clemson is generally a better school than SC. Just saying FWIW.
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It certainly is more split than most states. I am sure your opinion is based on better intel than I have these days. I once worked and traveled extensively on business in SC but that was in the 80s. At that time, Clemson was considered the “cow” college and SC was “the” university school. Clemson had been a better footbal program for some time but SC was the more desirable school. Being centrally located, and in the state capital, I am surprised they have fallen behind in popular opinion.
I do remember the ladies being somewhat equal, and lots of fun!. Clemson girls being less sophisticated might have won the “most fun” award. I usually don’t like schools located in larger metros anyway, always felt a college town makes the experience a more unique memory…and safer. Being in the SEC also gives SC an edge on Clemson.
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Clemson had good Science faculty and research facilities (better than SC) back in the late 60s and early 70s. Bet they haven’t dropped any in comparison nowadays. It was an eye opener when visiting their campus back then. We had great mutual respect for each other’s research and UGA had become one of the four leading Bioscience Universities in the country according to Natl. Ins. for Science ranking us alongside Cornell and Stanford. I didn’t see no cows.
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Again, the “cow college”, it was perception, not an actual comparison. I think SC/Clemson is like Bama/AU from a pereceptual standpoint, at least in those days. I have to admit, I share that opinion and am surprised Clemson is respected academically. That doesn’t mean I am right, probably not based on your and Hogbody’s comments. As stated before, the only thing I like about Clemson is it’s location and memories of time spent with some of their coeds. Sorry, I have a bias against anyone wearing/supporting orange, and coaches that hew tobacco.
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