Sewak, who was fired in November 2005 after four successful seasons at the helm of the Eagles, will serve as the Yellow Jackets’ co-offensive line coach.
“It was exciting to get back to work,” Sewak said via telephone. “I’m ready to go again. My engines are all juiced up. I’ve got a lot of energy to put into this job. I’m just excited for it.”
Sewak was drawn to Tech for several reasons, including the opportunity to reunite with Johnson, work in a BCS conference and coach the triple-option offense.
“We’ve had a great relationship,” Sewak said of Johnson, a former Georgia Southern head coach who was hired by Tech last month after a six-year stint at Navy. “We’ve been good friends since 1985.”
Johnson and Sewak first coached together during that watershed year in Statesboro, working as assistants under legendary coach Erk Russell and leading the Eagles to their first two national crowns.
The pair then spent eight seasons at Hawaii with Johnson as the offensive coordinator and Sewak coaching the offensive line. When Johnson took over the Eagles in 1997, he brought Sewak along as his offensive coordinator and line coach, and GSU later won its fifth and sixth national titles. Sewak was promoted to Georgia Southern’s head job when Johnson left for Navy following the 2001 season.
During his four years in charge of the Eagles, Sewak complied a Southern Conference best 23-7 record against league opponents, won two conference championships and advanced to the postseason three times - including a trip to the national semifinals in 2002. GSU also boasted the top rushing offense in the nation every season under Sewak, who garnered SoCon coach of the year honors in 2004.
With a sophomore quarterback and a new defensive line in 2005, the Eagles went 8-4, earned an at-large bid to the postseason and finished the year ranked ninth in the country in The Sports Network and ESPN/USA Today polls. But a second consecutive first-round playoff loss cost Sewak his job.
He talked with several schools over the last two years in hopes of landing another head gig, but eventually opted for an assistant’s job under Johnson.
“It’s exciting to stay with the offense,” said Sewak, a former offensive lineman at Virginia who served as a graduate assistant at Tech in 1984. “I want to continue to coach in our offense and see how far it will take us.”
Sewak’s hire at Tech frees up some much-needed cash at Georgia Southern, which was paying him an annual base salary of $109,000 through June 30, 2009, or until he took another job.
Leaving Statesboro won’t be easy for Sewak, his wife and their three children, who’ve been here for 11 years. They’ll try to sell their house and move the family to the Atlanta area as soon as possible.
“I was blessed down there,” Sewak said. “All the friends I had and all my family’s friends made the last two years really enjoyable. Statesboro has been great to me. I can’t say enough good things about it. To raise a family down there was just perfect.”
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
