2021 ACC Coach Rankings

TromboneJacket

Ramblin' Wreck
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818
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Seattle, WA
I try not to sound like someone with sour grapes, but lazy takes abound in that article. If you just put them in order of win totals from last year, the list wouldn’t change much. Norvell is given a pass for “roster issues” despite F$U consistently recruiting at a high level over the past years and not dramatically changing schemes or player skillsets, but Collins gets blasted for having the same record while beating Norvell head to head. Cutcliffe gets to coast on a couple good seasons that happened 5 years ago. Manny Diaz inherited a talented roster and was gifted a top 5 QB and gets credit for not being terrible. I guess Bobby Dodd was right; if you want to be seen as a great coach, get a job at a big state school with a lot of money.
 

GT_EE78

Banned
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3,605
Theres also a link in there to all 65 of the P5 rankings where Saban/Swinney/Riley/Day garnered the top spots.
CGC landed at 55
At least we're not Syracuse.
 

g0lftime

Helluva Engineer
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5,348
A terrible loss to the Citadel. A complete obliteration by Clemson and blow out loss to VT with back to back 3 win seasons won't get many votes for Coach of the year. His first year was a learning e experience for him and his staff. The second year was a commitment to a freshman QB getting experience. This year is an indictment on his staff ; especially his two coordinators. We did not look prepared several times in some games. The Clemson game was a total embarrassment. Worst performance by a GT team I have ever witnessed. It was like what we would do to teams like Elon under PJ. The kicking game was probably the worst in D1. This year will be the year that defines the competency of the staff IMO. I hope to be surprised by better than expected results but not holding my breath.
It would have been easy for him to be ranked at the bottom. They gave him the benefit of the doubt.
 

YellowJacket55

Georgia Tech Fan
Messages
26
I don't care how they rank CGC , all I care about winning. 3 wins is getting old.
I agree that’s waaaayyy to low, but remember it was a shorter schedule (3/12 vs 3/10) with a true freshman quarterback, multiple injuries, and key pieces out due to COVID tracing week to week. Not to mention we played it safer than most teams with practice during the height of the pandemic and that showed on the field. Also, I could be mistaken but didn’t we start nearly the lowest amount of seniors in P5 last season? Someone correct me on that if I’m wrong. It was disappointing, but context is important and I think people’s patience may be running a little too thin based on what I see as a season with a huge asterisk. Here’s to a season with a much-improved on field product.
 

TromboneJacket

Ramblin' Wreck
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818
Location
Seattle, WA
Even Lindy's mag says--GC has shown weakness in game mgt--but not recruiting.
Makes sense to me. Game management is about knowing (or guessing) what to do in millions of different situations. Coordinators are often not tasked with or educated on this aspect of coaching because it’s traditionally seen as the head coach’s job. If there’s one aspect of football I would expect an inexperienced head coach to be weak in, it would be game management. My hope is that this year we’ll do well enough in things like execution, game planning, and play calling that Collins will be able to win games without having to manage the game and clock like Bill Cowher, Bill Belichick, or Paul Johnson (who, fortunately for us, had many years of being a head coach to refine that skill before arriving at Tech).
 
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Makes sense to me. Game management is about knowing (or guessing) what to do in millions of different situations. Coordinators are often not tasked with or educated on this aspect of coaching because it’s traditionally seen as the head coach’s job. If there’s one aspect of football I would expect an inexperienced head coach to be weak in, it would be game management. My hope is that this year we’ll do well enough in things like execution, game planning, and play calling that Collins will be able to win games without having to manage the game and clock like Bill Cowher, Bill Belichick, or Paul Johnson (who, fortunately for us, had many years of being a head coach to refine that skill before arriving at Tech).
So I have to correct you. It is not just the head coaches job to make adjustments. It is the D coordinator and the O coordinator, with the help of their coaches. I would hope that if say a team runs a play and it succeeds that the D coordinator adjusts for the next time it is run. And how do you prepare for a game....study lots of film, history and come in with a plan for everything.

What's the most important skill to coaching? "Human relationships. Put yourself around great people." Bear Bryant.
 

Heisman's Ghost

Helluva Engineer
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4,397
Location
Albany Georgia
A terrible loss to the Citadel. A complete obliteration by Clemson and blow out loss to VT with back to back 3 win seasons won't get many votes for Coach of the year. His first year was a learning e experience for him and his staff. The second year was a commitment to a freshman QB getting experience. This year is an indictment on his staff ; especially his two coordinators. We did not look prepared several times in some games. The Clemson game was a total embarrassment. Worst performance by a GT team I have ever witnessed. It was like what we would do to teams like Elon under PJ. The kicking game was probably the worst in D1. This year will be the year that defines the competency of the staff IMO. I hope to be surprised by better than expected results but not holding my breath.
It would have been easy for him to be ranked at the bottom. They gave him the benefit of the doubt.
Win more ball games and these rankings will go right into the trash. It is that simple. As for these current rankings, they seem about right based upon the past couple of years. The thing that struck me was how far Fuente has fallen. He managed to end that long winning streak against rival UVA and the Hokie 28 year bowl streak. It was not so long ago, that he was regarded as the fair haired boy and many commentators thought Virginia Tech had come out on top compared to UVA's coaching selection of Bronco. Replacing a legend like Frank is never a good idea. You always want to be the guy that replaces the guy replacing the legend. Examples abound of careers and reputations in tatters from following a legend. Johnny Griffith following Wally Butts at Georgia, Bud Carson following Bobby Dodd at Tech, Ron Zook replacing Steve Spurrier at Florida, Ray Perkins replacing the Bear. All of them came to grief with high expectations and usually a depleted roster. IIWII
 
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