AD Hire: J Batt

[Skeptic]

So after last night y’all don’t think
Batt called Alabama to ask for his job back? He had to be thinking, oh boy what have I gotten myself into.

Well, we might be asking the same question of him, don't you think? I am disappointed for the interim guy, but the problems are wide and deep. Stumbled over a YouTube piece which had Collins trying to explain the pro-set offense he was bringing along and I think I heard him saying the players he didn't like would have to adapt to a different offense and scheme. But now, almost anything would be an improvement from Thursday night. Too bad.

 

[Skeptic]

Yeah, really. Sounds like a dream job to me.

If your dream is to get a job with no expectations, no pressure, knowing that anything you do will be an improvement and the road is wide open to big things without the initial baggage, then this is it. Thjere were so many misfires on so many levels with Collins it just makes your head ache.

 

[AugustaSwarm]

No. I don't think that at all.

It anything, he's probably seeing more opportunity. I hope he's coming in with some vision of what he'd like to do - walking in to a mess only makes it easier to push for your vision. The more broken it is now, the more recognition/appreciation/etc he will get on the back end after he's fixed things.

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

When the camera panned to JBatt on the sideline Thursday night, he looked like a deer in the headlights.

I can't imagine he understood the attendance woes, the lack of an entertaining, functional offense, and the psychosis of our big $$ guys. He may have made a call to UA to see if his job was still available. ha,ha

 

[MidtownJacket]

How I wish the US had a systematic program for this. But we don't. Something like the Germans use would be a great addition to our educational system. The CCs are a start, but not comprehensive enough, imho.

Mike Lowe has been advocating for this for a while now. He has been making some good progress as well: https://www.mikeroweworks.org/

 

[JacketOff]

When the camera panned to JBatt on the sideline Thursday night, he looked like a deer in the headlights.

I didn’t interpret it that way at all. It was more like:
“There’s a man with a camera standing in my face and I’m not sure how much longer he’s going to be standing there or what I need to be doing with my hands.”

Batt knew full well what he was walking into. He at least has to have some semblance of a plan to get things back in working order, or he wouldn’t have been hired. At least I hope so anyway.

 

[bikeseat]

I didn’t interpret it that way at all. It was more like:
“There’s a man with a camera standing in my face and I’m not sure how much longer he’s going to be standing there or what I need to be doing with my hands.”

Batt knew full well what he was walking into. He at least has to have some semblance of a plan to get things back in working order, or he wouldn’t have been hired. At least I hope so anyway.

Agreed. I think he was standing there unsure when he was supposed to be live on screen

 

[slugboy]

When the camera panned to JBatt on the sideline Thursday night, he looked like a deer in the headlights.

I can't imagine he understood the attendance woes, the lack of an entertaining, functional offense, and the psychosis of our big $$ guys. He may have made a call to UA to see if his job was still available. ha,ha

I think you mean this as kidding around, but…

You’re not going to get through a P5 interview without having done your research, especially for the top roles. He’s seen a full spectrum of programs. He’s worked at Alabama, UNC, Eastern Carolina, James Madison, and William & Mary. He’s seen programs with cheap tickets and expensive ones, small stadiums and big ones, full stadiums and empty ones. He knows that not only have we had three losing seasons, but three badly losing seasons. He’s an ACC alum and knows the conference.

Even if that wasn’t true, everyone on the hiring committee knew what we were hiring for, and was looking for. They’re looking for an AD to fix our problems, and that AD has to understand them coming in.

Cabrera wanted someone who knew what they were getting into and was ready to fix it. There’s no point in firing Stansbury unless you’re going to reform the entire AA, and the next AD has to know exactly how big that job is.

If anything was a surprise, he probably went into Thursday night’s game thinking that the coaching staff had turned things around. He might well have been thinking that we had an “ace in the hole” for the coaching search. He probably didn’t feel as good about that after Thursday night.

When you take a turnaround job, you know it’s going to be a grind. There are a couple of good outcomes: (1) you do that for a couple of years, get the program turned around, and get offered one of the top jobs in the country, or (2) you do such a good job that you build the job and the AA that you want to lead and you stick with it for the long haul. This is Batt’s shot.

Things are “getting real” though. I think it was Sugar Ray Leonard who was asked if he got scared going into a fight, and he said that a little fear was a good thing and he liked going into a bout with a “light coat of sweat”.

I think Batt is ready for this, and he’s got the backing of the administration. If he’s not, someone else is.

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

I think you mean this as kidding around, but…

You’re not going to get through a P5 interview without having done your research, especially for the top roles. He’s seen a full spectrum of programs. He’s worked at Alabama, UNC, Eastern Carolina, James Madison, and William & Mary. He’s seen programs with cheap tickets and expensive ones, small stadiums and big ones, full stadiums and empty ones. He knows that not only have we had three losing seasons, but three badly losing seasons. He’s an ACC alum and knows the conference.

Even if that wasn’t true, everyone on the hiring committee knew what we were hiring for, and was looking for. They’re looking for an AD to fix our problems, and that AD has to understand them coming in.

Cabrera wanted someone who knew what they were getting into and was ready to fix it. There’s no point in firing Stansbury unless you’re going to reform the entire AA, and the next AD has to know exactly how big that job is.

If anything was a surprise, he probably went into Thursday night’s game thinking that the coaching staff had turned things around. He might well have been thinking that we had an “ace in the hole” for the coaching search. He probably didn’t feel as good about that after Thursday night.

When you take a turnaround job, you know it’s going to be a grind. There are a couple of good outcomes: (1) you do that for a couple of years, get the program turned around, and get offered one of the top jobs in the country, or (2) you do such a good job that you build the job and the AA that you want to lead and you stick with it for the long haul. This is Batt’s shot.

Things are “getting real” though. I think it was Sugar Ray Leonard who was asked if he got scared going into a fight, and he said that a little fear was a good thing and he liked going into a bout with a “light coat of sweat”.

I think Batt is ready for this, and he’s got the backing of the administration. If he’s not, someone else is.

Of course. But, he did have a distressed look on TV.

 

[Techster]

I swear, GT fans are the most self loathing and self defeating fan base.

Anyone who works in sports, especially in the Southeast, understands the situation at other peer schools...particularly at an SEC or ACC school. You don't think J Batt didn't know about GT from his days in the ACC or working with others at Alabama? GT is a P5 program in the middle of the biggest market in the South. Batt knows exactly what he has in front of him. If anything, he probably looked around Thursday and thought "OK, this is what GT is, this is how we fixed it at 'Bama/James Madison/ECU/etc..."

I 100% guarantee you Batt surveyed the field with adminstrators/donors/coaches and put together a mental list on what the priorities are, and how to tackle them. All of this "buyer's remorse" talk is so much BS and indicative of the self defeatist attitude that pervades our fanbase.

 

[GT_05]

I swear, GT fans are the most self loathing and self defeating fan base.

Anyone who works in sports, especially in the Southeast, understands the situation at other peer schools...particularly at an SEC or ACC school. You don't think J Batt didn't know about GT from his days in the ACC or working with others at Alabama? GT is a P5 program in the middle of the biggest market in the South. Batt knows exactly what he has in front of him. If anything, he probably looked around Thursday and thought "OK, this is what GT is, this is how we fixed it at 'Bama/James Madison/ECU/etc..."

I 100% guarantee you Batt surveyed the field with adminstrators/donors/coaches and put together a mental list on what the priorities are, and how to tackle them. All of this "buyer's remorse" talk is so much BS and indicative of the self defeatist attitude that pervades our fanbase.

I’m thinking arrogance may be an issue as well.

 

[roadkill]

Pretty sure Batt would have shown interest in the GT job prior to our 2-game winning streak, or at least certainly before our win over Duke. I imagine he saw our wins at Pitt and over Duke as a pleasant surprise and possible upside, but still understood the mess he was getting into.

 

[Randy Carson]

I wasn't sure I would post this (or where), but this is as good a time and place as any.

Yesterday, I was talking with a former Wake Forest offensive lineman. Currently coaches at a high school. When I mentioned that I went to Tech and made reference to our woes and Wake's success under Dave Clawson, his reaction was interesting. Paraphrasing (and in no particular) order he said:

1. He has tremendous respect for Georgia Tech and what it has accomplished.
2. He respected CPJ and acknowledged that preparing for the TO was very difficult for the defensive players.
3. He recognizes the challenges that small, academically challenging schools face.
4. He agrees that a unique offensive scheme is important for schools like Tech and Wake.
5. He hates the transfer portal and believes that it is a terrible thing for high school players because schools are now recruiting transfers instead of high schoolers. High school players are being told to go play for an FCS team for a year (Elon, App State, etc.), to hit the weights, etc. FBS coaches are more interested in transfers than high schoolers (unless they are 4-5 stars, of course).
6. He doesn't like the NIL and recounted a story of an NC player who was offered $1 Million to sign with the Buckeyes. That sounds REALLY high, but consider this article.

I'm proud of #1 and a firm believer in #4.

Points 5 & 6 are things he knows first hand because he's talking with the college recruiters who are visiting his school and talking with his players.

 

[g0lftime]

I didn’t interpret it that way at all. It was more like:
“There’s a man with a camera standing in my face and I’m not sure how much longer he’s going to be standing there or what I need to be doing with my hands.”

Batt knew full well what he was walking into. He at least has to have some semblance of a plan to get things back in working order, or he wouldn’t have been hired. At least I hope so anyway.

My thought is he took the job because GT is a recognized academic institute, in a vibrant city, a sports heritage, and lots of potential. He is not afraid of the challenges.