Any news?? (stage 3: press coverage)

[Augusta_Jacket]

And what is the date for the end of the season? Jan. 1st is "after the season". As fans we might all think it's obviously after the uga game but it's going to be defined within the contract. My livelihood is spending a ton of time parsing contract language, I'm not convinced by one article in the ajc saying "end of season".

This article from the athletic says "after 2022". Calendar year? "Season"?
https://theathletic.com/2972042/202...-under-fire-but-buyout-makes-firing-unlikely/

It sure would be some insightful journalism if someone could actually quote what it says in the contract

Again, based on the total history of coaching firings from universities all over the US, I am fairly certain it means the end of the 2022 football season, which for us, is November 26th.

 

[stech81]

I lived 35 years in Atlanta and knew Buckhead pretty well. I don't know where his kids go school (Marist? Westminister? Other?), but kids can get a lot of pressure and make things uncomfortable. Sometimes, families just say, "Dad, we aren't having any fun here" and Dad makes plans to move on.

I would hope not as bad as I hate CGC I would not say anything to his wife or kids. And I can't believe any Tech person would.

 

[link3945]

Contract has to be an open record, right? Anyone able to find the actual contract?

 

[Lotta Booze]

Again, based on the total history of coaching firings from universities all over the US, I am fairly certain it means the end of the 2022 football season, which for us, is November 26th.

ok

 

[Vespidae]

To speak to your point, I'd posit that it's not so much the repetitive, but the hyperbole that's the issue. When you keep using words like elite and high level, they lose their impact, and eventually become a point of attack for your detractors. I get what he was trying to do, I just disagree with how far he took it.

That's why I always like the simplicity of how Saban describes his approach. "All we are trying to do is execute the play as it was designed and as perfectly as we can. That's it."

 

[Vespidae]

I would hope not as bad as I hate CGC I would not say anything to his wife or kids. And I can't believe any Tech person would.

Why does it have to be Tech fans? The Dawg fans must be having a field day tormenting them.

 

[boger2337]

Won't happen, but would be interesting to see how much could be raised with how angry everyone is. I would contribute.

I am getting a donation verification letter in the mail today from the GTAA.

 

[GTLorenzo]

I am getting a donation verification letter in the mail today from the GTAA.

They do have various options when you donate, sholarship fund, specific sport, endowment, etc. Maybe they could just add a "Buyout Fund" option. Or a "Debt Relief Fund" option.

 

[stech81]

Why does it have to be Tech fans? The Dawg fans must be having a field day tormenting them.

Why would they want him fired or to leave > Yes I know uga fans are dumb

 

[Vespidae]

They do have various options when you donate, sholarship fund, specific sport, endowment, etc. Maybe they could just add a "Buyout Fund" option. Or a "Debt Relief Fund" option.

I think the best path forward is to use this crisis as a catalyst to major change. Let the AA get a $10M loan to buy Geoff out. Then, have several donors pony up $25 million towards debt relief IF ... it is matched 3:1 by individual contributions. That cuts $100M right there. Refi. And do it again next year.

As long as we have the debt we do, we have so little room to maneuver. We really do need a major fundraising goal to restore financial flexibility to the AA.

 

[Lotta Booze]

Why does it have to be Tech fans? The Dawg fans must be having a field day tormenting them.

Honestly I think the dwag fans pity them/us more than want to trash talk

 

[Vespidae]

Why would they want him fired or to leave > Yes I know uga fans are dumb

They probably don't. But taunting can take many forms. "Your Dad sucks! I hope he coaches at Tech forever. ha ha ha ha". You know how it goes on the playground.

 

[boger2337]

They do have various options when you donate, sholarship fund, specific sport, endowment, etc. Maybe they could just add a "Buyout Fund" option. Or a "Debt Relief Fund" option.

EXACTLY! Why not just be transparent. That's a huge issue with college sports. Not letting lesser donors call out EXACTLY what they want that money to go to. You can say which program but if I send in 5k I want it for the buyout. I don't have that option. I'd send in a rolling monthly contribution straight to the principal of the debt on the North stands. They don't offer that.

 

[WreckinGT]

Mobs don't respond to logic...

He was asked in a radio interview about whether the economics of the situation forced his hand on the situation and he flat out said they didn't . There is no way I am going to find a link to that but here is a snippet from the AJC.

Stansbury did have at his disposal the resources to make a change had he decided it was necessary, according to a person familiar with the situation.

That meant that high-level donors had enough concern about the state of the team that they were willing to foot the bill for a buyout that would have cost $10.5 million, according to the terms of his memorandum of understanding. (The total drops to $7.2 million after the 2022 season by the terms of the aforementioned agreement.)

There were plenty of other sources at the time saying the same thing. The idea that there was no evidence that donors were willing to help with this simply isn't true. What actually lacks logic is everyone on message boards pretending they know the actual financial details that TStan does, and know how much he was able to raise for this if need be. That's not logic as much as an agenda.

 

[RamblinRed]

The decision of when to fire is basically a $3.3MM decision. The costs for this year are sunk no matter what you do. But the costs for the last 3 seasons on his contract are not.
His last 3 years would be $3.4, $3.5, $3.6 - so $10.5MM. The buyout after the season is $7.2MM ($2.4MM * 3).

For an AA with consistent money issues $3.3MM is going to be hard to swallow. Also, the way the schedule works plays in favor of not firing during the season. 4 of the first 6 games are home games, only 2 of the last 6 are home games and only 1 of the last 5. The season tickets are already payed for. So it is really only the walk-up tickets and any spending that those fans do that is the lost revenue. If you look at how many people are in the stands (not what is announced attendance which is tickets sold) it seems reasonable that the lost revenue of people not buying tickets for an individual game is likely less than $1MM total.

The recruiting class isn't good enough to even worry about in the slightest currently 48th on Rivals and 52nd on 247sports (and 12th in avg rating on both among 14 ACC teams). Also imo decisions on hiring and firing coaches should never be based on recruiting - that is a very short term focus.

The goal if you make a coaching change is to get the best coach for your school that is interested in coming. It's not the biggest name, it's not who may be the 'best' coach out there. It is who amongst the candidates that is interested in coming to the school is most likely to succeed.

I think if GT ends up 1-5 or 1-6 then we might see the AA pull the trigger (Lewis was 1-7 when GT pulled the trigger in a time where buyouts were not a big deal). If he wins even one game of the next 3 I think Collins coaches the season out.

 

[stech81]

The decision of when to fire is basically a $3.3MM decision. The costs for this year are sunk no matter what you do. But the costs for the last 3 seasons on his contract are not.
His last 3 years would be $3.4, $3.5, $3.6 - so $10.5MM. The buyout after the season is $7.2MM ($2.4MM * 3).

For an AA with consistent money issues $3.3MM is going to be hard to swallow. Also, the way the schedule works plays in favor of not firing during the season. 4 of the first 6 games are home games, only 2 of the last 6 are home games and only 1 of the last 5. The season tickets are already payed for. So it is really only the walk-up tickets and any spending that those fans do that is the lost revenue. If you look at how many people are in the stands (not what is announced attendance which is tickets sold) it seems reasonable that the lost revenue of people not buying tickets for an individual game is likely less than $1MM total.

The recruiting class isn't good enough to even worry about in the slightest currently 48th on Rivals and 52nd on 247sports (and 12th in avg rating on both among 14 ACC teams). Also imo decisions on hiring and firing coaches should never be based on recruiting - that is a very short term focus.

The goal if you make a coaching change is to get the best coach for your school that is interested in coming. It's not the biggest name, it's not who may be the 'best' coach out there. It is who amongst the candidates that is interested in coming to the school is most likely to succeed.

I think if GT ends up 1-5 or 1-6 then we might see the AA pull the trigger (Lewis was 1-7 when GT pulled the trigger in a time where buyouts were not a big deal). If he wins even one game of the next 3 I think Collins coaches the season out.

I know no one has seen the buyout clause but does it have to be all at once or can we draw it out over time.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

He was asked in a radio interview about whether the economics of the situation forced his hand on the situation and he flat out said they didn't . There is no way I am going to find a link to that but here is a snippet from the AJC.



There were plenty of other sources at the time saying the same thing. The idea that there was no evidence that donors were willing to help with this simply isn't true. What actually lacks logic is everyone on message boards pretending they know the actual financial details that TStan does, and know how much he was able to raise for this if need be. That's not logic as much as an agenda.

All the other sources at the time were message boards quoting the "person familiar with the situation." Again, there has been no substantive proof we had the funds and a lot of evidence we didn't.

As for the financial details, as a state university, the annual report is readily available to the public.

https://ramblinwreck.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2020-21-GTAA-Annual-Report-FINAL.pdf

 

[RonJohn]

There were plenty of other sources at the time saying the same thing. The idea that there was no evidence that donors were willing to help with this simply isn't true. What actually lacks logic is everyone on message boards pretending they know the actual financial details that TStan does, and know how much he was able to raise for this if need be. That's not logic as much as an agenda.

Please link to another "source" who said that. There were other reporters who referenced that article. There have been plenty of posters on several forums who have stated it as fact. However, I have not seen a single known source who said it. In fact, the paraphrase from the unknown "source" is that "resources" were available. Does that mean money for the buyout? Does that mean money for a buyout and also enough to bring in a new coach and assistant staff? Does that only mean a telephone with which to make calls? "Resources" could mean a lot of things. On top of that, I don't put much stock in a paraphrased statement from "a person with knowledge of the situation" if I don't know who/what that source is. On top of that, I don't put very little stock in that statement if it isn't corroborated by others.

 

[WreckinGT]

The decision of when to fire is basically a $3.3MM decision. The costs for this year are sunk no matter what you do. But the costs for the last 3 seasons on his contract are not.
His last 3 years would be $3.4, $3.5, $3.6 - so $10.5MM. The buyout after the season is $7.2MM ($2.4MM * 3).

For an AA with consistent money issues $3.3MM is going to be hard to swallow. Also, the way the schedule works plays in favor of not firing during the season. 4 of the first 6 games are home games, only 2 of the last 6 are home games and only 1 of the last 5. The season tickets are already payed for. So it is really only the walk-up tickets and any spending that those fans do that is the lost revenue. If you look at how many people are in the stands (not what is announced attendance which is tickets sold) it seems reasonable that the lost revenue of people not buying tickets for an individual game is likely less than $1MM total.

The recruiting class isn't good enough to even worry about in the slightest currently 48th on Rivals and 52nd on 247sports (and 12th in avg rating on both among 14 ACC teams). Also imo decisions on hiring and firing coaches should never be based on recruiting - that is a very short term focus.

The goal if you make a coaching change is to get the best coach for your school that is interested in coming. It's not the biggest name, it's not who may be the 'best' coach out there. It is who amongst the candidates that is interested in coming to the school is most likely to succeed.

I think if GT ends up 1-5 or 1-6 then we might see the AA pull the trigger (Lewis was 1-7 when GT pulled the trigger in a time where buyouts were not a big deal). If he wins even one game of the next 3 I think Collins coaches the season out.

It may not even be a 3.3M dollar decision. The buyout could be negotiated lower. If we tell Collins, we will give you half of that to leave now, he may very well take it. Get an extra 1.7 million now, or 1.7 million less later and you have to play out this season which isn't likely to go well for you.

 

[Vespidae]

I know no one has seen the buyout clause but does it have to be all at once or can we draw it out over time.

I don't know. But my understanding is that if he is fired before Year 4, he gets the full value on departure. After that, he continues to get paid annually. That's what it was for Malzahn and why he walked away with a $30M check in his pocket.

But I'm assuming the contracts are similar. They may not be. Most of the ones I've seen require a fired coach to pursue alternative employment which counts against the buyout.