More on bowl opponent, Ellis Johnson
A couple of items on a sunny Thursday in the capital city:
Some of you have not been too excited about going to Birmingham. Would a matchup against a top-25 team make the trip more tempting?
The Birmingham News’ Jon Solomon, former State sports writer and unofficial Papajohns.com Bowl historian, reports on his blog today that No. 15 Pittsburgh remains in the running for the Big East’s bid in Birmingham.
If Pitt loses to Cincy this weekend in what amounts to the Big East championship game, the Panthers look like they could be USC’s opponent Jan. 2 at Legion Field. If Pitt upsets the Bearcats and gets the conference’s automatic BCS berth, the South Florida-UConn winner likely would be the choice for the Papajohns.com.
–There have been a couple of online reports today saying Ellis Johnson is a candidate for the defensive coordinator openings at Florida State and Georgia.
It’s not surprising schools would be interested in Johnson, who has added to his already impressive resume during his two years in Columbia.
And while Johnson certainly will listen if other schools call, I’d be surprised if he were to leave. Johnson, a Winnsboro native whose wife is from Columbia, cited a desire to be closer to home and log more time in the South Carolina state retirement system when he left Arkansas after just a few weeks to join Steve Spurrier’s staff in January 2008.
Now, depending on what Georgia and Florida State are paying – Monte Kiffin money? – the salary increase might outweigh the retirement benefits.
Johnson has two years left on his deal that pays him $350,000 a year, the most among Gamecock assistants.
Even before Johnson’s name was mentioned in connection with the FSU and Georgia openings, Spurrier said earlier this week he wanted to get more money for his assistant coaches.
My guess is Johnson stays in Columbia, and gets an extension and a raise.
53 Comments to “More on bowl opponent, Ellis Johnson”
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USC football beat writer Joe Person has covered the Gamecocks since the start of the 2002 season. He's been on the college football beat since 1993. 
USC is definetly on the way up and Ellis Johnson is a very big reason for that. Pay the man more if thats what it takes to keep him!
[...] 5) USC will likely play the winner of the Connecticut-South Florida game. Assuming one of them scores by Jan. 2nd. Or does the plot thicken and USC ends up playing a top 25 team??? [...]
great info on U. of Pittsburgh being in PapaJohn’s Bowl and more interesting was tidbit about ellis Johnson. 350k is not chicken feed, but if we gotta pay more to keep him, sounds like a good idea to me.
Unless it is a huge raise, why in the world would coach Johnson want to go to GA or FSU?? Never understood why Charlie Strong left either. It never catipulted him to a head coach?? Even if he gets one this year it still took him 4 or 5 years. He could have done that staying here.
Lets get behind this team and have a big show of fans at the bowl game. Start the 2010 Gamecock football season early with a full support turnout for Gamecock football in Birmingham. Go Gamecocks!!!!
Play the easiest team out there ….. USC has played a tough sec schedule and it would be nice for the program to end on a positive note – two big wins at the end of the season and to get 8 wins as opposed to getting another one of those character building losses at the end of the season …. I really think the Gamecocks are on the cusp of greatness or at the very minimum becoming a solid 9-3 or 10-2 football team but it will be greatly assisted if they can start to end some of these seasons on a positive note …..
Putting on a clean shirt on a pig doesn’t make the pig smell better.
My family is sitting the cheap pizza bowl out.
Was ready and had made reservations for Nashville (just in case). But I’ve cancelled those. Most likely going to Charleston or Hilton Head now for a few days after Christmas.
Keep Ellis…
I’ll pass on the Pizza Bowl… We’ve got a very good young team that will likely compete for the SEC East next couple of years and we should garner the respect of that type program. Factually speaking this team as is… was VERY close to being 9 or 10 wins. Get a decent QB and we would have been spot on. Put us in the Peach Bowl against VT and sell out the place. Tennesse is closer to B’ham let them go there.
I hope Spurrier comes through for Ellis and the rest of the coaches; they work real hard and need a bonus and a raise.
quite riot: how much better of a QB do you want? he had 21 total TD and only 8 INTs. He also had the second most yards in the SEC. More than Crompton, more than Tebow, more than McElroy, more than Cox, more than everyone besides mallet. Garcia is a pretty damn good QB. The problem was the oline and seeing as how most of them are returning we should have a very experienced line next year. This is going to be a complete team next year.
I will be at the bowl game pulling for my Gamecocks. Top 25 opponent or not, I am excited about our young players and the future of the program and will be on hand to show it.
“Very close to 9 or 10 wins”??? “Clean shirt on a pig”??? What a couple of dumb comments. We need USC fans to turn out in force for this bowl so that we get back our reputation for following this team wherever it goes. If you stay at home you have no one but yourselves to blame if we get snubbed by a bigger bowl again next year.
“USC” is on the way up? really. ummm, ok.
agreed. what are you smoking quiet riot? because we “might” win the sec in a couple of years, the bowls should treat us like champions now?? ridiculous. and who cares how close we were to 9 or 10 wins, the fact remains we only won 7, along with half the rest of the sec, and only 3 of those were conference wins.
YES! The Gamecocks are on the way up. Pay Ellis he is a hard nose old school coach, a very good one. and GO GAMECOCKS
Yes, we are on the way up. Anyone who has watched this team, and does not have a bias against us knows this. Unfortunately, you still have morons like BigT that will not admit it. When did the salvation army get internet access T?
Barry…who do you think you are punishing by not going? The SEC? ESPN? The bowl game? Birmingham? or The Gamecocks? I am going. Just becuase the 7-5 gamecocks did not get a high profile bowl is no reason to be down on the team or the game.
[...] South Carolina could face #15 Pittsburgh in the Papajohns.com Bowl if the Panthers lose to Cincinnati tomorrow. (Also, Joe Person of [...]
Um, Quiet Riot, you say this team was very close to being a 9 or 10 win team, and therefor we should have that respect. You do realize that this team easily could have been a 5 or 6 win team as well, right? We did escape with wins against Kentucky and Vanderbilt. Don’t act like we are an elite team yet, cause we are not. I personally look forward to the PapaJohns bowl and hope we get a match up against Pittsburgh or UConn as I think both match ups would be fun to watch.
Fire Spurrier. Make Ellis Johnson the head coach, then let Darrin Horn run the offense.
You USC fans are smoking crack again!!! “Our program is on the ‘way up” BS….you guys are always saying you are on the way up! You still finish at the bottom of the pile in the East!! UGA has always owned you and always will! You should go back to the ACC where you can finish 2nd to Clemson each year. Yes, you beat them this year and good for the SEC. But, they have owned you too. Neither one of us has much to talk about this year, but at least we beat you as always!! Go Dawgs!!
I think his salary is adequate in this day and time. If the record and attendance improve, then he will have probably earned a raise. Extending his contract a year is fine with me.
This is not the time to be played for raises. See Charlie Weis, Brad Scott, etc etc.
Pay the man, Ethel
BigT, you don’t have to like it, you don’t have to know about college football, but USC had a very young team this year. A lot is coming back. Two years in a row our game with UGA has ended on their goal line. Not next year. And UT and Arkansas, really this young team’s only bad games, have to come to Columbia next season. See you later.
hope Hyman opens up his wallet to keep Ellis. He’ll have to with big boys UGa and FSU going after him. THink he stays but it’ll cost south carolina another 150k/yr.
whatever happens, we need a W in this game to keep the momentum going after the clemtech win! if that means playing a lower tier big east team, bring it on!
Ellis leaves and next year this team will lose to Clemson to cap off the season and the record won’t be any better than this years – may not catch the same breaks and only win 5 or 6 next year to be honest.
Pitt would certainly be some opponent for the Gamecocks; who knows, maybe Dan Marino will be there to cheer on his old team.
Who do we have to cheer us on?
Anyway, i’m certain Pitt will not choose the pizza bowl; they have better cards in their deck to play.
We on the other hand, have been dealt, well you know, we’ve been dealt only one option, it was this bowl or else sit out the bowl season. At least I can say this, if we’re going over to Birmingham, I suppose if I do attend the game, when I come back, I can feel like a real city slicker coming back home to the Big City here in Columbia. There couldn’t be a more obscure bowl in the country than this one in Birmingham; that makes Columbia look like Manhattan!
Y’all are killing me. Go to the papjohn.com’s bowl! Be happy with any bowl USC gets! One day we’ll be good enought to demand New Year’s and New Year’s Eve bowls regularly, but we’re just not that team right now. -Jon USC 1994 J-School
Greg D, you must enjoy displaying your ignorance. Birmingham is a bigger city than Columbia. And there are PLENTY of more obscure bowl games, try any of the ones closer to Christmas.
Doc – don’t take your frustrations out on Greg D you should direct that to your team. Maybe if no one shows up to support mediocrtity they will play like the game means something to us!
Don’t give me that crap about how hard it is to play in the SEC either – man up and find a way to compete or keep your mouth shut. This is the only fan base I’ve ever heard cry about how hard their competiton is. Maybe you should move to another conference just so we won’t have to hear the belly aching about the SEC being too much
for you.
Who will be there to cheer on the Gamecocks? Maybe the guy with the Heisman AND a Super Bowl Ring.
Let’s count all of Marino’s trophies and rings:
(chirp chirp chirp)
Oh, and don’t forget: Marino doesn’t even have and NFL records anymore. Between Favre, Manning and Breese Marino is officially a losing also-ran.
Good night, Pittsburgh!
South Carolina had to return unsold tickets to last years bowl game against Iowa. If they have to return unsold tickets to the Papa John’s Pizza Bowl game, I do not see anyone really excited about getting Carolina next year. It is all about the money. If you do not support your team, you can kiss those “desireable” bowl games good bye!
I guess I can kiss those bowl games goodbye. I wouldn’t attend the pizza bowl if USC called me up and offered me free tickets.
why would USC offer you tickets Barry? no team likes fairweather fans
Gamecock fans who were sitting on the couch last bowl season instead of supporting the team in Tampa at the Outback bowl cannot complain about bowlgames.
PapaJohns bowl is Jan 2 which is more convenient than Dec 27 (Music City) for most ppl. Go to Birmingham and support the Gamecocks in full force!!!!!
Note to Eric Hyman:
Cancel Barry’s all-expense paid trip to Birmingham.
Even more proof that unless we’re playing for a national championship, the Clemson game really doesn’t mean a whole lot. A least not as far as bowl games go. We lost to Clemson last year and went to a bowl that was higher than we deserved. We beat Clemosn this year and go to a bowl that is less than we deserve.
What a bunch of jacka$$es. Support your friggin team no matter what… so what… the bowl game sucks. When was the last time Carolina could say they go on a consistent basis to bowls?
We do now, and you clowns cant drive an extra couple of hours. You make us look stupid, thus why we didn’t get a better bow.
Come on, quite your belly-aching! Maybe not a great bowl, but the team gets to keep practicing for a month. That means a lot of extra skill development for next year. If you want the Gamecocks to be considered by great recruits, you need to support your team and have some pride. Otherwise, USC will only sign thugs rather than the good blue-chips that build a program. Maybe USC struggles in the SEC, but it is the SEC! Try being a fan of some snow-bound midwestern school where it takes a little guts. Go Gamecocks!!
I think HBC should split his salary with EJ..after all, he is the co-head coach, and the main reason we don’t have a losing season!
just win any bowl against any team! A win against our in state rivel, followed by a bowl win is a great way to end a season
CONNECTICUT VS TENNESSEE: UCONN VS EX CONS
I went to Papajohn’s last year to see the Wolfpack play. To my fellow Gamecock fans: don’t waste your money. Birmingham acted like they weren’t expecting anyone to show up. Hotels and restaurants were unprepared, the parking lot attendants were untrained, and the stadium should be condemned (parts of it already have). They sat us all on the same side so that it wouldn’t look empty, ran out of food in first half (but had plenty of beer ’til the end). Wish they were going somewhere else, I’d make the trip but never again to B’ham.
This is the most stupidest headline I’ve ever frakkin read…’Would a ranked team persuade Gamecock fans to go to Pizza Bowl’. That’s the equivalent of a Gamecock fan coaxed to go to a SC Basketball game to see a ‘dead-last’ ranked SC team because they’re playing Duke or North Carolina! That’s like SC fans only coming to a recent SC/Florida football game to get a glimpse of Tee-Bone on his last hooray run up the score on us blindfolded. Unless it’s sunny and we have earned a 7-6 record and not just fell flat against a team the likes of Tennessee this past season…hang it up and watch it on TV. Spurrier’s got his raise and so be content in that old 107 year broken record in our heads saying…’Wait til next year’. I’m a University of South Carolina alumni.
The Papa John Bowl pays $300,000. That’s the lowest amount of all the bowls. The Gamcocks will lose money. Thank God they will get a share of all the other SEC bowls.
Chick-fil Bowl. 3.35 million. Music City Bowl 1.6 million. Independence Bowl. 1.1 million.
Why the Pizza bowl? UGH .. we’re staying home. Music City, or Chic-Fil-A (Nashville or Atlanta) .. but Birmingham, Alabama? What a joke .. it’s the Toilet Bowl. I was hoping for Music City Bowl (Spurrier vs. Bowden rematch of days gone by). TV ratings would have been incredible! Spurrier … “Come’on Man”!
Oh forgot to mention .. the payout for the Pizza Bowl is the second smallest of all bowls, .. at $300,000 (the lowest is MPC Bowl at $250,000). Comparatively speaking the Chic-Fil-A is $2.4 Mil for SEC,and the Music City is $1.6 Mil). So, .. basically it will cost us money to send the team! We continue to be a laughing stock! When we change this history of mediocrity?
I hope to go to B’ham but not likely. Back surgery coming up next week will probably prevent it, but, if possible, I’ll be there.
I will definitely be there in spirit as will the rest of my family.
Goooooooooo ‘Cocks
I’m confident Ellis Johnson is NOT going anywhere else. He wanted to be at USC since he was head coach at The Citadel. Now that he’s finally here, he’s done moving – period.
Kudos to Spurrier for giving up a personal raise to allow us to give our assistants extra money.
PITT got beat by CINCY and Rutgers got beat by W VA – most likely it will be PITT against our USC – a good challenge for the Gamecocks – PITT has a great freshman running back – we have an excellent defense. We can win no matter who we play!