Paul Johnson explains why he let Al Groh go

This morning Paul Johnson decided to make a change. You can listen to him explain his decision making above; but in short Johnson was highly complimentary of Al Groh; but decided that for whatever reason the players were having a hard time implementing Groh's schemes on the field and that forced Johnson to make the change.

A quick look at one key stat behind Johnson's decision...Groh came to Georgia Tech as defensive coordinator prior to the 2010 season. That season the Yellow Jackets were 57th in scoring defense. In 2011 they slipped to 60th.  This season they have plummeted to 89th. 

Secondary coach Charles Kelly will now "run the meeting" and the rest of the staff will adjust responsiblities as well. Special teams coordinator Dave Walkosky will now also coach the defensive line. Defensive line coach Andy McCollum will move to inside linebackers and inside linebackers coach Joe Speed shifts to outside linebackers. 

During his press conference, Johnson was asked if he viewed this opportunity as a bit of a tryout for the defensive staff to be retained or even to serve as defensive coordinator moving forward into next season...his response was left open to interpretation; but we didn't sense much excitement on that front from Johnson...then again we rarely sense much excitement from Johnson.