AD Hire: J Batt

[slugboy]

You sonuvabiscuiteater

We’d also manage our roster better than Atlanta United

I'm not sure if the dimensions of that infield would work.

You can fit a regulation FIFA/UEFA pitch inside a quality competition track (link). It's just the right size.

 

[LongforDodd]

We’d also manage our roster better than Atlanta United


You can fit a regulation FIFA/UEFA pitch inside a quality competition track (link). It's just the right size.

Regulation soccer field? From Ted Lasso I learned that old Wembley field was bigger than new Wembley and that there may not be a standard.

 

[rfjeff9]

I think Tech might be able to get the BoR to go along with expansion of several of the minor programs - history, philosophy, the languages, sociology, political science - into full majors. Rice, VT, and Purdue - the only schools like Tech with, you know, athletic programs have full majors in these areas. (So does Cornell, but they aren't an FBS school.) So do the academies. So, for that matter, do MIT, Carnegie-Mellon, and Cal Tech. True, with GSU in town, this would be a hard and probably multi-year sell and would meet resistance. It would be worth a try, however, for both the athletic program and the school.

 

[kg01]

I have done my job...and now I rest.

 

[iceeater1969]

Back of the bus boo bird

In the 60s only a few players took engr classes.

Tech has thrived w adding coop program , racial integration, becoming largest govt dod resesrch indtitute, quadrupling enrollment, adding many international students, doing on line teaching and best of all adding lots of female students.

I trust Batts boss to do this right.

Likely will not be a major but jopefully will be more likly a tweaking to allow minors in regorous sports related subject to be jointly taught by gt/ga st/emory.

 

[Skeptic]

Batt is exactly what we need. Young up and coming AD, former collegiate athlete so understands the players lives. He was behind a $600 million fundraising campaign for athletics for bama within the last year. Great thing is he’s seen the bama NIL program and how it works and can bring a similar thing to tech.

Well, if you say so. I come down on the "hopefully optimistic" side even as that strange press conference reverberates in my brain pan. Nobody asked the new guy who would make the coach hire, how long a contract he would offer, what would he propose as a buyout, did he have more money for salaries, did he have a shopping list, how long he or his agent have been in touch with the GT president --it wasn't just this week obviously -- has he ever hired a varsity coach for any sport, how would the hiring decision be made and does it have to get approval outside the athletic department, or ... hell, ka 12-year-old would have given him a tougher grilling than what he got.

Then to read today that he has essentially wrapped football in with all the other sports and he will get to the coaching hire in his own good time thank you very much, and I am left with the feeling the hire will be another mid-major limited success guy and the first question will be about how much he can curl.

I surely expected from enthusiasm than that shown yesterday. I want to be wrong but hiring does not seem this guy's strong point. Until Georgia Tech proves otherwise -- as this situation offers -- it is a middlin' job with a limited upside. Change "Alabama" to Alcorn State on his resume and figure out how enthusiastic we should get. GT becomes the biggest job Batt ever had.

Meanwhile if you want to know why the country is in such straits, watch that press conference and weep for the loss of community journalism.

 

[iceeater1969]

Well, if you say so. I come down on the "hopefully optimistic" side even as that strange press conference reverberates in my brain pan. Nobody asked the new guy who would make the coach hire, how long a contract he would offer, what would he propose as a buyout, did he have more money for salaries, did he have a shopping list, how long he or his agent have been in touch with the GT president --it wasn't just this week obviously -- has he ever hired a varsity coach for any sport, how would the hiring decision be made and does it have to get approval outside the athletic department, or ... hell, ka 12-year-old would have given him a tougher grilling than what he got.

Then to read today that he has essentially wrapped football in with all the other sports and he will get to the coaching hire in his own good time thank you very much, and I am left with the feeling the hire will be another mid-major limited success guy and the first question will be about how much he can curl.

I surely expected from enthusiasm than that shown yesterday. I want to be wrong but hiring does not seem this guy's strong point. Until Georgia Tech proves otherwise -- as this situation offers -- it is a middlin' job with a limited upside. Change "Alabama" to Alcorn State on his resume and figure out how enthusiastic we should get. GT becomes the biggest job Batt ever had.

Meanwhile if you want to know why the country is in such straits, watch that press conference and weep for the loss of community journalism.

Dont try to butt in line.
Months ago - i was first to say " i hate the new coach!!

 

[JacketFan137]

Change "Alabama" to Alcorn State on his resume and figure out how enthusiastic we should get. GT becomes the biggest job Batt ever had.

what are you trying to say here because you could have easily said that about so many different people across sports. paul johnson was our best coach since ross and we were by far the biggest job he had.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Change "Alabama" to Alcorn State on his resume and figure out how enthusiastic we should get. GT becomes the biggest job Batt ever had.

Leave it as it is and GT is still the biggest job Batt ever had. Assistant AD at Bama is nice, but a full AD at ANY power 5 school is a bigger job than assistant AD.

 

[slugboy]

Change "Alabama" to Alcorn State on his resume and figure out how enthusiastic we should get. GT becomes the biggest job Batt ever had.

That’s called “a promotion”.

The alternative hires are “AD taking a step back to a quieter job”, “AD who fell from grace who is rehabilitating their career”, and “AD choosing to give up a top program for a rebuild”

Edit: omitted “Lieutenant Governor making a career change”

 

[Skeptic]

Dont try to butt in line.
Months ago - i was first to say " i hate the new coach!!

actually I said it years ago but everybody wanted to give the new guy a break. Instead he broke us.

 

[Skeptic]

what are you trying to say here because you could have easily said that about so many different people across sports. paul johnson was our best coach since ross and we were by far the biggest job he had.

yeah, but look at the guy's track record and it wasn't batting .500 at a mid major. He proved he could coach right out of the box.

 

[Skeptic]

Leave it as it is and GT is still the biggest job Batt ever had. Assistant AD at Bama is nice, but a full AD at ANY power 5 school is a bigger job than assistant AD.

I need to be clear on this, as they say. I have been a GT longer than most of you have been alive. I want this guy to work out. I want him to make a great hire. I want him to tell the alums to take a flying hike and stay out of his candy jar.

But until I see the administration get involved, forget it. I don't want football running the institution. I just want to see Tech compete to its level. and yes, go for the championship every year. Damn right.

 

[JacketFan137]

yeah, but look at the guy's track record and it wasn't batting .500 at a mid major. He proved he could coach right out of the box.

i know i’m just saying at some point in sports every persons career someone had to be the one to give a guy a chance. sometimes it pays off (dabo, sean mcvay, etc.) sometimes it doesn’t. same applies for an AD

 

[BCJacket]

I need to be clear on this, as they say. I have been a GT longer than most of you have been alive. I want this guy to work out. I want him to make a great hire. I want him to tell the alums to take a flying hike and stay out of his candy jar.

But until I see the administration get involved, forget it. I don't want football running the institution. I just want to see Tech compete to its level. and yes, go for the championship every year. Damn right.

We'll see how it plays out. It's fair to be skeptical. But everything I've heard from Dr Cabrera feels like a near-180 degree turn from Bud Peterson. Peterson viewed his role with athletics as "Hire an AD". Go back and watch ADTS introductory presser. Peterson didn't look like he even wanted to be there. Clough was focused on trying to turn GT into MIT. That's as far back as my knowledge goes. But Cabrera said a lot of 'I's and 'We's in the press conference yesterday. I believe that he wants top tier competitive athletics at GT and is willing to put the resources of the Institute behind that mission.

 

[Lotta Booze]

Well, if you say so. I come down on the "hopefully optimistic" side even as that strange press conference reverberates in my brain pan. Nobody asked the new guy who would make the coach hire, how long a contract he would offer, what would he propose as a buyout, did he have more money for salaries, did he have a shopping list, how long he or his agent have been in touch with the GT president --it wasn't just this week obviously -- has he ever hired a varsity coach for any sport, how would the hiring decision be made and does it have to get approval outside the athletic department, or ... hell, ka 12-year-old would have given him a tougher grilling than what he got.

Then to read today that he has essentially wrapped football in with all the other sports and he will get to the coaching hire in his own good time thank you very much, and I am left with the feeling the hire will be another mid-major limited success guy and the first question will be about how much he can curl.

I surely expected from enthusiasm than that shown yesterday. I want to be wrong but hiring does not seem this guy's strong point. Until Georgia Tech proves otherwise -- as this situation offers -- it is a middlin' job with a limited upside. Change "Alabama" to Alcorn State on his resume and figure out how enthusiastic we should get. GT becomes the biggest job Batt ever had.

Meanwhile if you want to know why the country is in such straits, watch that press conference and weep for the loss of community journalism.

C'mon...I'm pretty sure I can give you his answer to most of the questions you're asking: "Let me find the coffee first and we'll look into it".

He hasn't even started day 1 yet, he's not going to have details on length of contract and buyout for a new football coach. Let alone proffer that info at this announcement press conference. Expecting some sort of prosecutorial cross examination from these reporters seems a bit silly.

 

[bobongo]

But until I see the administration get involved, forget it. I don't want football running the institution. I just want to see Tech compete to its level. and yes, go for the championship every year. Damn right.

We'll see how it plays out. It's fair to be skeptical. But everything I've heard from Dr Cabrera feels like a near-180 degree turn from Bud Peterson. Peterson viewed his role with athletics as "Hire an AD". Go back and watch ADTS introductory presser. Peterson didn't look like he even wanted to be there. Clough was focused on trying to turn GT into MIT. That's as far back as my knowledge goes. But Cabrera said a lot of 'I's and 'We's in the press conference yesterday. I believe that he wants top tier competitive athletics at GT and is willing to put the resources of the Institute behind that mission.

I've asked this question before and never gotten more than vague answers, so I'll ask again (not trying to be difficult, just honestly wanting to know):
What specifically can the administration do to "get involved" and "put the resources behind that mission"? I know you're probably not just talking about finances, but aren't they supposed to be separate?
What, financially or otherwise, can the administration do to help other than to provide moral support?

 

[Randy Carson]

What, financially or otherwise, can the administration do to help other than to provide moral support?

Set high expectations? Insist on excellence? Replace underachievers quickly?

 

[slugboy]

I've asked this question before and never gotten more than vague answers, so I'll ask again (not trying to be difficult, just honestly wanting to know):
What specifically can the administration do to "get involved" and "put the resources behind that mission"? I know you're probably not just talking about finances, but aren't they supposed to be separate?
What, financially or otherwise, can the administration do to help other than to provide moral support?

When a new leader starts, they often start with assessing where their organization is, setting a strategic vision, and then setting priorities and creating a strategic plan to get there. In vague terms, Batt will probably want the most help with portions of executing on the strategic plan.
Also, when you go to the CEO, your requests should be focused ("I need this one thing..."). Cabrera is the CEO here.
When you hire a head coach or an AD, you expect them to give you a thumbnail assessment of the team or the AA, a vision, and your plan to achieve that vision. I'm sure Batt did something like that in his interview. However, he's really just getting an idea of what the AA is like now, when he's in the middle of it. His plans and assessment are going to change.

Without having the detail that Batt has, I would guess these are the strategic needs:

1. Financial Stability: Work down the debt service in the AA so that you have financial flexibility to reprioritize your spending as needs change and the ability to keep up with your rivals in attracting talent and building your program. Cabrera has already committed and announced a fundraising drive that includes the AA. This is the best fit for what the institute can do.
2. Build effective fundraising: Georgia Tech's AA is behind its peers in relative giving to the AA. This needs to be fixed if GT is going to be competitive. This is Batt's area of expertise.
3. Generate more revenue: Sell more shirts, sell more tickets, find other things to sell.
4. Decide where you want football to go: What kind of team are we going to have? What's the right infrastructure to support it? Assess where we are, do a SWOT, figure out how we're going to compete.
5. Hire a new football head coach. This is urgent, but if you don't know where you're going, you don't know who can guide you there.
6. Assess weaknesses in other programs and build a plan to address those issues.
7. As part of #6, you need a plan to handle NIL.
8. Assess the rest of the AA--what works, what doesn't, where we need to change the organization.

#1 is the main place where you'd ask for Cabrera for help, and #2 and #3 are other areas.

You worry about the other areas when you've got your top areas under control.

As for the rest, I think Batt has to orient himself first, assess his environment, find the obstacles that need clearing, and focus on them.

 

[85Escape]

As for the rest, I think Batt has to orient himself first, assess his environment, find the obstacles that need clearing, and focus on them.

Exactly! There is little worse for the health of an organization than a new leader who comes in and makes a bunch of changes in the first four weeks before they even have a flipping clue the real lay of the land. They usually got fed a bunch of BS from a couple of insiders (who are also quite possibly the reason the last idiot got fired.)

He's got to figure out how to hire a HC in short-order, so he doesn't have the luxury to assess for six months. So it will need to be an early focus and he's going to have to go with a very high-level assessment of what it takes at GT for a HC to be successful.

But we certainly can't expect him to have a plan when he doesn't even start until next Monday!