Duke's Still Alive...

I admit that earlier today I had my doubts about Duke's chances with all of the other options on Paul Johnson's plate. But after speaking to a source this afternoon that said Duke was still very much in the hunt, I started to get my hopes up. And after reading Bill Wagner's most recent blog post, I'm very hopeful that Duke will have a legitimate chance to make the hire.

Wagner even admits to writing Duke off more or less by not mentioning them in some of his previous reports, but he makes some great points—including that the cost of living in the triangle is much lower than in either Dallas or Atlanta, that Johnson could bring his assistants to Duke, and that he has family ties to the area.

The next 24 hours will be very, very interesting...

Afternoon Paul Johnson Report

Bill Wagner in Annapolis has another update—Johnson now has 4 options to choose from. He can choose from standing offers at Georgia Tech, Duke and SMU or he can stay at Navy. From the implications of Wagner's posts, it seems as if Georgia Tech is reluctant to pay big bucks for Johnson. We know that SMU AD Steve Orsini has collected $10mil from big boosters to pay for a new coach, so their offer is expected to be at least $2mil per year.

Wagner is saying that Georgia Tech will probably expect a decision no later than Friday, meaning there should be movement by the end of the week. Looking at the situation in this framework, it seems that Duke stands right in the middle both in respects to the attractiveness of their job (with GT's being more attractive and SMU's situation less) and in terms of compensation (with SMU seeming to offer the biggest pot of gold and GT hesitant to pay much as they're still on the hook for $4mil of Gailey's salary).

Again, the chatter isn't positive for Duke fans at this point, but a quick decision will benefit all parties, whether that means we'll have an introductory presser in Cameron tomorrow or we'll be able to move on to Plan B. Keep your fingers crossed and keep checking back, because I'll post whatever comes across the wire as soon as it comes up.

Johnson to Interview with Georgia Tech Today

Respected college football writer Tony Barnhart of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting on his blog that Navy HC Paul Johnson is meeting with Georgia Tech AD Dan Radakovich in Atlanta.

Barnhart does add though, that he's unsure if Johnson would take the job if offered, citing the "red carpet" treatment that SMU has given him. There is no mention of Duke's involvement with Johnson in this article, making me think that it's imperative for Duke to step up their pursuit of the Navy coach to ensure they remain on his radar screen.

UPDATE (1:55) - Bill Wagner in Annapolis thinks that the possibility of Johnson signing with the Yellow Jackets by the end of the day is real, judging that second interviews usually result in job offers and his gut feeling is that Johnson would accept such an offer. We'll keep watching the wires and post as soon as we hear anything.

Tuesday Evening Update

Emphasis on volume with this post, so here it goes...

1) Navy HC Paul Johnson did go to Dallas last night, according to this report in the Dallas Morning News. This probably confirms the speculation of the SMU fans on this forum, who I mentioned last night went as far as going to the airport to stake out the arrival of a booster's plane from Baltimore.

2) Bill Wagner, the writer from the Annapolis Capital who has done some great reporting on Johnson, has a lengthy blog post with some new details on his movements over the past three days. Definetly a good read.

3) Grambling State's AD granted permission for Rod Broadway to speak with Duke about their vacancy, so now we know what sort of "business" Broadway was attending to when he landed at RDU this morning. Sources have indicated to me that Alleva met with Broadway in Durham today, so he's a definite candidate at this point.