Jay Johnson hadn't met legendary LSU coach Skip Bertman until he'd already become the Tigers' next coach. But the links go back so far they require a VCR to watch.
Speaking at his official introduction within Alex Box Stadium Monday afternoon, Johnson looked down at Bertman and outgoing LSU coach Paul Mainieri to share how the retired coaches helped influence his career. Those stories stretched as far back as Johnson's days as a 24-year-old youth baseball coach.
"I had no idea what I was doing at that point in time. So who’s the best in the country at doing what I want to do? It was Skip Bertman, so I bought his video tape," Johnson said. "So he made some money off me a long time ago, coach. It was called ‘How to Win the Big One.’ I can’t tell you how influential that was in my development as a coach."
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Johnson, now 44, later described Bertman as the John Wooden of baseball coaches, noting his feat of five College World Series titles in 10 years.
"I was coaching 16 to 18 year old boys and your speeches and your motivational sheets and all of these things that you utilized to motivate your players to do amazing things. .... This is the greatest college baseball coach of my lifetime," Johnson continued. "So, coach, we didn’t meet til yesterday, we didn’t talk on the phone until a couple days ago, but you’ve been influencing me for a very long time. And I want to say thank you for that. I’m not standing here today if it’s not for that right there, because winning is about people, and getting people to do things that they didn’t think were possible."
Johnson also spoke directly to Mainieri. He called back to comments the former LSU coach once made — during his Notre Dame days — about winning in the cold weather. The first step, he said, was putting on a jacket.
Mainieri’s coaching career ended earlier in June, a decision he announced prior to the NCAA tournament. Johnson said he was watching the press conference on SEC Network, and sent Mainieri a text — but without motives of landing the job.
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The then-Arizona coach emerged as one of the front-runners for the LSU job while leading the Wildcats to the College World Series for the second time in six seasons. That run ended with two losses in Omaha after defeating Ole Miss in the Super Regionals.
Johnson was thankful regional ended a day earlier so he could watch LSU close out Oregon from the loser’s bracket of the Eugene Regional.
"You guys really inspired me," Johnson said. "And for you to finish your career that way, being a regional champion, was amazing. And that’s a reflection of your leadership, more than anything else. These two men right here, that’s why I call this the honor of my lifetime.”
Watch Johnson's full intro press conference below. Can't see the video? Click here.
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Follow Jeff Nowak on Twitter @Jeff_Nowak or contact him by email at jeffrey.nowak@audacy.com