It took a while, but Georgia Tech has come through with a contract extension offer for head coach Paul Johnson. Sometimes it is amazing what winning can do to move things along. After wrapping up the ACC Coastal Divison for a second time in three years and then topping in-state rival Georgia on Saturday, Georgia Tech made a move to keep Johnson happy in Atlanta.
“We’re exchanging numbers now and we’re actually in discussion for an extension,” Jack Reale, Johnson’s agent, said Monday after receiving the extension offer in a report by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I don’t want to characterize anything further than that.”
Hey, it’s a start.
Johnson has two years remaining on his current contract, and his name has floated around as a possible candidate for some other jobs in recent days, including Nebraska. The effort to lock in Johnson at Georgia Tech helps the program’s stability on the recruiting trails, in addition to keeping the staff happy. Georgia Tech stalled on negotiating a contract extension before, but now is as good a time as any to assure the cards in all in order with the Georgia Tech program.
Johnson has put together a 58-34 record over the past seven seasons since arriving at Georgia Tech from Navy. In that time Georgia Tech has won one ACC title and one bowl game. For the second time in three season Georgia Tech will face Florida State in the ACC Championship Game this week in Charlotte. He is currently earning a base salary of $2.588 million and is the fifth highest-paid coach in the ACC.