Bobby Johnson Retiring, Not Resigning, As Vanderbilt Head Coach

Reporter: When did you start thinking about retirement?

Bobby Johnson: About 20 years ago.

In what might have been the sanest snap press conference ever to be called in the SEC, Bobby Johnson calmly dismissed any of the usual concerns. Health issues? No. Burnout? Maybe a little, but not enough to do the trick. Anything else? No, said the coach, who cited a limited amount of time left on this earth as the primary motivation for retiring from his position as head football coach at Vandy.

Johnson is not interested in being an AD, and said that while he may not be done, he has time to decide what to do next and will take his time. As hurried as the press conference may have been, Johnson seemed completely in control, though he did get emotional when discussing his players, whom he described as “accepting the challenge of getting one of the best educations in America while playing on college football’s premiere stage.”

Vandy assistant and longtime Johnson staffer Robbie Caldwell will take over for Johnson in the meantime.