On Wednesday, Randy Shannon turned down Maryland’s offer to become their new defensive coordinator as it would’ve cost him most, if not all, of the $1.5 million buyout he’s slated to receive from Miami.
A day later, word has surfaced Larry Johnson has done the same because, well, he’s that damn loyal to Penn State, Joe Paterno and the 2011 recruiting class.
The Nittany Lions defensive coordinator told David Jones of the Patriot-News that he is not a candidate for a position on Randy Edsall‘s Terps staff. The same couldn’t be said earlier this month, however.
A knowledgeable source within the team said Johnson reluctantly turned down an overture from Edsall 10 days ago when Johnson was working a clinic in Baltimore. Johnson told Edsall he could not in good conscience entertain thoughts about the Maryland DC job after having assured several PSU recruits he had just signed that he would be coaching them next season, the source said.
First of all, bravo to Johnson for telling a recruit something… and sticking to the pledge. Second of all, brav-freaking-o to Johnson for keeping his word to the 17- and 18-year-old young men who are coming to Happy Valley in large part because of his influence. Johnson is a native of the area, so it must have been twice as tough for him to turn down both a chance to go “home” as well as coordinate his own defense.
Johnson has spent the past 15 seasons with the Nittany Lions, 11 of those years as Paterno’s defensive line coach.
Earlier today, the Terps announced that they had promoted Todd Bradford from inside linebackers coach to coordinator.
Nicely done Coach. A man of his word – rare
roll tide
Not looking good for the Terps. They get more refusals than acceptances. Wonder if this is any reflection on how they treated Ralph????This is definitley not a destination institution.
@lbijake
couldn’t have put it better myself. More importantly why would he leave Penn St for Maryland
Expect nothing less from Coach Johnson. Class act.
Complete BS on the loyalty to recruits line coming from “inside the PSU camp”…LJ is master of PR and recruiting gimmicks … anyone believing this is the reason he stayed is very naive
It’s a shame his son didn’t turn out to be less of a douche. Good for you, LJ Sr.
Yeah, how’s Edsall’s “Dream Job” working out for him so far?
Pretty good actually. He has the best QB in the conference, a roster stocked with speed and athleticism at the skill positions and on defense, and has already begun to make some inroads in local recruiting.