Tech to analyze problem areas after season

Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson again labeled the 2017 football season as a disappointment. In the wake of Saturday’s 38-7 loss to Georgia in the season finale, there are few who would argue with him.

Picked to finish third in the ACC’s Coastal Division, the Yellow Jackets would up going 5-6 overall. That’s four fewer wins than the 2016 team that won the Taxslayer Bowl.

And over the next few weeks, Johnson said he will put everything under a microscope and try to decipher how the program has produced two losing seasons over the last three years and is unlikely to make a trip to a postseason bowl game.

“I think like any season, when you finish, you have to take a long, hard look at everything,” Johnson said. “You have to go back and look at everything, no question. Especially when you have a disappointing season like this.”

The season has been an odd mish-mash of results for Georgia Tech. There were the late one-point losses to Tennessee and Miami, the late loss to Virginia, the upset over Virginia Tech and the sound defeats to Duke and Georgia to close the season.

“This season we had a chance – woulda, shoulda, coulda, you can’t play that game – but we had a chance to have a much better year than it turned out,” Johnson said.

Many questions have been asked about the Georgia Tech defense, which was expected to be a strength this year. Instead, the defense produced mixed results, leaving some to question whether defensive coordinator Ted Roof’s job was in jeopardy.

When asked about Roof’s job status after the Georgia game, Johnson said all aspects of the program would be scrutinized, but would not speculate about whether a change might be made.

“I think Ted Roof has coached a long time. He’s a good football coach,” Johnson said. “He’s coached at places that’s won a lot of games.

“Like everything else, we’ll look at it all and evaluate. We didn’t exactly set the woods on fire on offense in the second half (of the season) and I’m pretty confident in myself.”

Johnson’s offense was able to run the ball effectively this year, but the inability to throw it with any degree of success allowed the opposition to focus on shutting down the run.

Another area that warrants scrutiny is special teams, but that’s a more difficult question. Many of those responsibilities are split among a handful of coaches.

This story was originally published November 25, 2017 at 6:28 PM with the headline "Tech to analyze problem areas after season."