And from the “way out of left field” department comes this latest bit of news, with Georgia Tech announcing a rather surprising replacement for a significant vacancy on its coaching staff.
After just one season at Penn State, Ted Roof has been hired as the Yellow Jackets’ new defensive coordinator, the school announced. Roof will replace Al Groh, who was fired by head coach Paul Johnson back in early October.
“I’ve known Ted for a long time and I’m excited that he has decided to come back to Georgia Tech,” Johnson said. “He’s one of the most respected football coaches in the nation.”
The move is indeed a homecoming for Roof. From 1982-85, Roof was a four-year letterman under head coach Bill Curry at Tech. He returned to his alma mater in 1998 and was promoted to defensive coordinator a year later, a post he held for three years before leaving for the same job at Duke.
Prior to Roof’s one season with the Nittany Lions -- they were 29th in total defense and 16th in scoring defense in 2012 -- Roof served as Auburn’s defensive coordinator.
Shortlyafter Roof’s resignation was announced, Penn State announced that secondary coach John Butler had been promoted to coordinator. That’s another surprising layer to this development given the presence of veteran defensive assistants Larry Johnson and Ron Vanderlinden on Bill O’Brien‘s coaching staff.