Paul Johnson (American football)

Paul Johnson
Johnson on the sidelines facing Clemson in 2008
Biographical details
Born (1957-08-20) August 20, 1957 (age 67)
Newland, North Carolina, U.S.
Alma materWestern Carolina (B.S., 1979)
Appalachian State (M.S., 1982)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1979–1980Avery County HS (NC) (OC/OL)
1981–1982Lees–McRae (OC)
1983–1984Georgia Southern (DL)
1985–1986Georgia Southern (OC)
1987–1994Hawaii (OC)
1995–1996Navy (OC)
1997–2001Georgia Southern
2002–2007Navy
2008–2018Georgia Tech
Head coaching record
Overall189–100
Bowls5–8
Tournaments14–3 (NCAA D-I-AA playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 NCAA Division I-AA (1999, 2000)
5 SoCon (1997–2001)
1 ACC (2009, vacated)
4 ACC Coastal Division (2008, 2009 (vacated), 2012, 2014)
Awards
Eddie Robinson Award (1998)
AFCA Division I-AA Coach of the Year (1999, 2000)
Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award (2004)
SoCon Coach of the Year (1997, 1998)
ACC Coach of the Year (2008, 2009, 2014)
College Football Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2023 (profile)

Paul Clayton Johnson (born August 20, 1957) is a former American college football coach. He served as the head football coach at Georgia Southern University from 1997 to 2001, the United States Naval Academy from 2002 to 2007, and Georgia Tech, from 2008 to 2018, compiling a career college football coaching record of 189–100. Johnson's Georgia Southern Eagles won consecutive NCAA Division I-AA Football Championships in 1999 and 2000. Noted for his use of the flexbone spread option offense, Johnson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023.