Posted by: Chris Vannini on October 9, 2012

With Georgia Tech letting go of defensive coordinator Al Groh yesterday, the future of Yellow Jacket football under Paul Johnson has come under some criticism.

But athletic director Dan Radakovic told the Atlanta Journal Constitution he has full faith in Johnson, both for this season and moving forward.

"I know there's some erosion in support right now, but the Falcons are 5-0 and there was erosion in their fan base last year, too, when they didn't win in the playoffs," Radakovich told the paper. "That's the thing about sports now. People can express their opinion quickly. I have confidence in Paul. He's the right person for this job and he will continue to move the program forward. We have to get through this bump in the road. We still have six games left for a chance to have a positive season."

Johnson is 36-23 in four-plus seasons in Atlanta, but 16-16 in the last two-and-a-half seasons, including a 2-4 start this year.

With Groh's firing, Johnson will be on his third defensive coordinator at Tech. Secondary coach Charles Kelly is set to fill in as interim coordinator this season.

Radakovic said he and Johnson talk daily, and the AD says he isn't seeing the team abandoning ship or anything. He understands the outside criticism, but trusts Johnson to turn things around.

"Paul has demonstrated to me that he can coach and he can pull a team together," Radakovich told the paper. "And it's important to note that it's not just here. His entire career to me has been as big a positive as anything. He has shown that he's able to sustain success in an organization over a long period of time."

Below is Monday's press conference announcing the Groh decision.

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Chris Vannini is the lead writer for CoachingSearch.com and has covered Michigan State sports for The State News, The Oakland Press and MLive.com. He writes a weekly column for the Detroit Free Press on behalf of SB Nation. Vannini lives in Big Ten country, so his foot speed is far from SEC caliber, but his pulse on coaches is hard to match. Be sure to follow @CoachingBuzz on twitter and send your feedback to chris@coachingsearch.com