Johnson has ties to the Golden Eagles, as he was an assistant coach there for two seasons. His only head coaching experience was at The Citadel, where he was 12-21. He was also a Mississippi State defensive coordinator before coming to South Carolina in 2008.
Magee was on Columbia’s 107.5 The Game yesterday and said that a head coach could be named as early as today. Magee considers Johnson and USM’s offensive coordinator Blake Anderson to be the top candidates for the position. Alabama’s defensive coordinator Kirby Smart is also a candidate, though it is uncertain if Southern Miss would be able to pay him what he wants.
Magee said that in the past, USM has looked for a young offensive mind, similar to Larry Fedora, who was recently named the head coach at UNC. However, the Golden Eagles are in a state of transition, as Athletic Director Richard Giannini will also be stepping down in January, so the interim AD is heading the search, so the hiring strategy could be different. Anderson is considered the favorite right now, as he might also be a candidate for the Auburn offensive coordinator vacancy.
Johnson makes $750,000 annually at USC, which was approximately what Fedora was making at USM before taking the job at UNC. Johnson has a successful business in Columbia, as well as young children, so the Golden Eagles would have to make the move worthwhile if they are to offer him the position. Furthermore, the Gamecocks might give Johnson a raise to try to keep him.
Here’s Magee’s blog about the USM coaching vacancy.
Other News:
-After being named a Sporting News first-team All-American, Melvin Ingram became only the third USC consensus All-American. The other two were George Rogers and Del Wilkes. To be a consensus All-American, you must be named to three of the five lists. Ingram is on four.
-Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and offensive lineman Mike Matulis were named to the Sporting News All-Freshman team.
-Bruce Ellington told several members of the media yesterday that he would not be at football practice on Saturday, as the Ohio State basketball game is at noon that day. He still does not know his future schedule.
What to look forward to:
I’ll update the blog tonight with a preview for the Ohio State men’s hoops game that will tip-off at noon Saturday. The game is on ESPN. It’ll be a busy weekend, as I will be at the game, but there will also be two football practices this weekend, so I’ll have reports from those as well.
Tweet of the Day: @JeffSchultzAJC: John Abraham has 3.5 sacks tonight. He’d have more but he can’t stop laughing.
I don’t have NFL Network, so I didn’t see the Atlanta-Jacksonville game, but I don’t think I missed much. And Abraham is a former Gamecock if you didn’t already know that.
Sports story that will get overlooked because of other headlines: From NBCSports.com, Tori Gurley chooses Packers practice squad over Vikings active roster: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/15/tori-gurley-chooses-packers-practice-squad-over-vikings-active-roster/
