New Tulane coach won’t work miracles in Year 1

    The off-season of football euphoria is almost over at Tulane University.
    First-year head coach Curtis Johnson has sold his program. His team, the Tulane administration and what remains of Tulane’s ticket-buying public have bought in.
   Now, the games begin.
  And, here’s a note of caution to Tulane supporters: Don’t expect too much, too soon.
     Johnson’s team was already thin on the offensive and defensive lines. And that was before Johnson lost defensive end Michael Pierce (academic casualty) and center Zach Morgan (injury).
    Johnson has said repeatedly that Tulane will not be a “redshirt” football program. He has said repeatedly that if a true freshman is better than a senior, he will play.
    Asked how many true freshmen he plans to redshirt? “Zero,” said Johnson.
    Moments after he made that statement, I ran into a Tulane supporter outside the Wilson Athletic Center.
    Said the supporter, “If we don’t win with this guy (Johnson) we oughta just shut it down.”
    There’s some validity to that statement.
    Tulane insiders swear that school President Scott Cowen is truly committed to the success of the football team.
    A Tulane source says the school still hopes to begin play in 2014 in a new on-campus football stadium.
    And, when it comes to caliber of hire Tulane has made, my guess is they won’t get much better than Johnson.
     Johnson is homegrown (St. Rose), has a Super Bowl ring as an assistant with the Saints and has spent multiple years successfully recruiting the New Orleans metro area for the University of Miami.
    If Johnson can’t get it done, who can?
    In the meantime, through the years, Tulane’s lack of success in football is stunning. The school plays in one of the best football stadiums in the world, in perfect weather, in a destination city. And the high school football in Louisiana is some of the best in the country.
    At media day Johnson said Tulane just has to get the players that LSU doesn’t want.
     If only it were that simple.
 Over the last 10 seasons, Tulane has a football record of 39-81. In the past 10 seasons, Tulane has won a total of 13 games away from home.
    In Conference USA, Tulane is 21-59.
    Supporters of a new on-campus stadium are convinced that the combination of a home field and a coaching staff that includes locals Curtis Johnson, David Johnson and Lionel Washington will change that.
    The verdict on that statement will come in time. In 2012, improvement, especially late in the season, is a reasonable expectation. The next season, the Green Wave should be noticeably improved.
    And by year three, the Johnson express should be rolling, in time for the possible opening of the new on-campus stadium.
    If not, someone will be responsible. And, it shouldn’t be Johnson.
    Ed Daniels is sports director of ABC26 WGNO. He can be reached at [email protected].