Collins says players have 'chip on their shoulder'

[AlabamaBuzz]

I don't think it is oversimplifying things, with all due respect, to say that a HC can make a heck of a difference one way or the other. I realize GT has significant challenges to overcome, and that is why I did not want to try and compete "straight up" hoping that we could recruit well enough to have a special year every once in a while. (special to me is 9+ wins and being competitive with our arch rival). But, when you throw in a guy who does not appear to have the gameday acumen, the tragedy was bigger than even I imagined.

 

[GT33]

137 days til signing day and this man is posting the recruiting rankings.

you’re also ignoring that we took smaller classes in 21/22 because we tried our hand at the portal. that’s a lot to keep up with i don’t blame you for missing it

There's always a reason we should be sucking. Now it's size of the class. Nobody else has that issue of course, just like Covid, it only affected GT.

 

[JacketFan137]

There's always a reason we should be sucking. Now it's size of the class. Nobody else has that issue of course, just like Covid, it only affected GT.

that literally impacts the score the class is given lol this isn’t an excuse. another person joins the ignore list

 

[GT33]

that literally impacts the score the class is given lol this isn’t an excuse. another person joins the ignore list

You're probably better off having a back & forth with the couple of fonts buying your story line. Have a good night.

 

[forensicbuzz]

The typical Gt fan I am convinced is a "self aware, savvy" consumer (and possibly a 16% chance of being a "millionaire") who will withhold a $100 contribution until things get better.

Unfortunately, I think there is an awful lot of truth in this statement. It's the difference between GT and most other programs when it comes to fundraising. We actually think that withholding our support when we are unhappy with the outcome will affect positive change.

 

[MidtownJacket]

Voting with the wallet only makes sense when the effect of not funding the endeavor brings an acceptable end.

If you’re boycotting a company because you’re opposed to how they run and don’t care if they go out of business, have at it.

If you’re withholding badly needed funds from an organization you want to succeed you’re just further damaging the thing you want to salvage.

That’s why I don’t get the approach.

 

[JacketFan137]

Voting with the wallet only makes sense when the effect of not funding the endeavor brings an acceptable end.

If you’re boycotting a company because you’re opposed to how they run and don’t care if they go out of business, have at it.

If you’re withholding badly needed funds from an organization you want to succeed you’re just further damaging the thing you want to salvage.

That’s why I don’t get the approach.

and this is compounded by the fact that our fanbase has been apathetic for well over a decade. even coming after pretty solid seasons we can never improve attendance and this is an issue regardless of offense, head coach, what jeans the coach is wearing and where he got his cup from. the red outs and the orange outs in our stadium were bad recently but those are not new things for us. when we don’t have an opponent that travels the likelihood of us filling the stadium is pretty small if not zero.

some of that i’m afraid is because our fanbase is literally dying. it’s no secret that our fanbase is ancient in the world of college football. you still see a pretty significant amount of people here engaging in arguments on here using games and situations from the 60s/70s/80s. that is kinda telling in and of itself lol these are also people that probably don’t live near campus anymore and for them a trip to the stadium is a big challenge. they don’t need new tech gear since they’ve been accumulating it for 60 years so new adidas stuff is not gonna make it to them. so yeah a lot of issues with money and fundraising that have basically built into a pretty long and grueling path back into being competitive the way people probably want us to be

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

Why do our own fans and alum buy this narrative that GT is broke and it’s our fans fault for everything? GT has billions and is a economic machine yet our own fans buy this naive argument that GT is broke. Maybe it’s time we are real with each other - GT doesn’t care to be better and will use every excuse under the sun not to invest anything into athletics. These are the same topics and narratives we’ve had for 30plus years. As an alum I’m tired of GT’s ineptitude and then being blamed for it by the yes men around here. You know the old saying - where there’s a will there’s a way. GT has no will and is run by people out to get theirs.

GT can become a powerhouse overnight once those in charge of the money decide they want to be good at athletics and use our billions to come into the modern age. But they don’t wan to so they hide behind their desks while the fans turn on each other talking about chump change.

Now, I’m sure I’ll be told I’m crazy and that GT can’t use any money for the largest facilities on campus and for the most media covered programs at GT. Use any web browser and search news about Georgia Tech and tell me that 90% of the responses aren’t about athletics. I just did a Google search and of the top 20 news stories about GT the only one not about sports was about an employee leaving GT for Rice. The other 19 were all about athletics.

 

[4shotB]

. Maybe it’s time we are real with each other - GT doesn’t care to be better and will use every excuse under the sun not to invest anything into athletics.

I think 90% of the Tech fans I know personally agree with you. It seems like the other 10% are convinced that getting a new coach (again) is the ticket to the promised land.

 

[JacketFan137]

Why do our own fans and alum buy this narrative that GT is broke and it’s our fans fault for everything? GT has billions and is a economic machine yet our own fans buy this naive argument that GT is broke. Maybe it’s time we are real with each other - GT doesn’t care to be better and will use every excuse under the sun not to invest anything into athletics. These are the same topics and narratives we’ve had for 30plus years. As an alum I’m tired of GT’s ineptitude and then being blamed for it by the yes men around here. You know the old saying - where there’s a will there’s a way. GT has no will and is run by people out to get theirs.

GT can become a powerhouse overnight once those in charge of the money decide they want to be good at athletics and use our billions to come into the modern age. But they don’t wan to so they hide behind their desks while the fans turn on each other talking about chump change.

Now, I’m sure I’ll be told I’m crazy and that GT can’t use any money for the largest facilities on campus and for the most media covered programs at GT. Use any web browser and search news about Georgia Tech and tell me that 90% of the responses aren’t about athletics. I just did a Google search and of the top 20 news stories about GT the only one not about sports was about an employee leaving GT for Rice. The other 19 were all about athletics.

i don’t know enough about that to say whether that is true or not but it makes a lot of sense and i will take your word for it.

either way, we have to also recognize we fail to consistently fill up a stadium that’s a little more than half of the attendance of our biggest in state rival. even though i’ve personally done my best to make up for that by buying enough beer to kill an elephant at the games we can’t really close that gap and that’s just attendance, not even counting the merch sales and other revenue uga is able to generate just by having the fanbase they do. there is no amount of money being withheld by the powers that can ever make up for that lack of a real fanbase

 

[MidtownJacket]

Why do our own fans and alum buy this narrative that GT is broke and it’s our fans fault for everything? GT has billions and is a economic machine yet our own fans buy this naive argument that GT is broke. Maybe it’s time we are real with each other - GT doesn’t care to be better and will use every excuse under the sun not to invest anything into athletics. These are the same topics and narratives we’ve had for 30plus years. As an alum I’m tired of GT’s ineptitude and then being blamed for it by the yes men around here. You know the old saying - where there’s a will there’s a way. GT has no will and is run by people out to get theirs.

GT can become a powerhouse overnight once those in charge of the money decide they want to be good at athletics and use our billions to come into the modern age. But they don’t wan to so they hide behind their desks while the fans turn on each other talking about chump change.

Now, I’m sure I’ll be told I’m crazy and that GT can’t use any money for the largest facilities on campus and for the most media covered programs at GT. Use any web browser and search news about Georgia Tech and tell me that 90% of the responses aren’t about athletics. I just did a Google search and of the top 20 news stories about GT the only one not about sports was about an employee leaving GT for Rice. The other 19 were all about athletics.

I don’t dispute that the school is also woefully lacking in their commitment to the athletic department. I’m just suggesting people can marshal their own investments however they want.

I prioritize both the academic AND athletic mix because I believe in both missions. I also direct the portion of my funding intentionally to support where and how needs it most.

I just am saying it doesn’t make sense to me to care about the direction of the program and not do everything in one’s power to support it fully.

 

[GT33]

I think 90% of the Tech fans I know personally agree with you. It seems like the other 10% are convinced that getting a new coach (again) is the ticket to the promised land.

Replacing coaches fixes immediate things- correct play or best play we got being called, timeout management, how well practices are being run, in some cases overcoming existing liabilities whether near term recruiting battels are won or lost, getting the right player in the right position, etc

Long term the $$ and GT institutional commitment levels to winning affects the overarching ones- stability of program, relative level of competitiveness over many years, marketing ability. It takes the reliance off singular personal capabilities and reduces the burden on individuals but raises fanbase expectations.

Think of it this way- if GT was highly successful wouldn't Key be better and recruiting and coaching the OL. He'd have an easier time opening that recruiting door, getting responses from HS coaches for real feedback not just on the few fliers GT's identified & targeting, it would be easier to teach that guy with higher skill levels becausse his performance wold not be so dependent on precise technique he's overcome the lack of precision with his higher taent level, etc.

It all feeds together.

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

Personally, I believe a new HC is going to have a gargantuan challenge to make us respectable again, especially in the new NIL wild, wild west. With that said, I sincerely wish we could go back to the hiring process after CPJ's announcement and really do a better job of hiring probably the most critical HC position GT has ever hired. To me, it seems it was done very quickly and without due diligence, but I realize I am looking from the outside. GT football will always need to have the smartest guy in the room leading the sideline, in my opinion, if it is to outperform its talent.

 

[4shotB]

Replacing coaches fixes immediate things- correct play or best play we got being called, timeout management, how well practices are being run, in some cases overcoming existing liabilities whether near term recruiting battels are won or lost, getting the right player in the right position, etc

Long term the $$ and GT institutional commitment levels to winning affects the overarching ones- stability of program, relative level of competitiveness over many years, marketing ability. It takes the reliance off singular personal capabilities and reduces the burden on individuals but raises fanbase expectations.

Think of it this way- if GT was highly successful wouldn't Key be better and recruiting and coaching the OL. He'd have an easier time opening that recruiting door, getting responses from HS coaches for real feedback not just on the few fliers GT's identified & targeting, it would be easier to teach that guy with higher skill levels becausse his performance wold not be so dependent on precise technique he's overcome the lack of precision with his higher taent level, etc.

It all feeds together.

Great post and I doubt anyone disputes what you have typed here. I certainly don't. WTBS, a great coach gets us back to our 7 win glass ceiling. In the short term, that will feel like a blessing but remember the last 3/4 years of both CCG's and CPJ's tenure? GT fans were not exactly enthralled with them either although the pain of the last 3 years has clearly blurred many memories. A new coach will provide some short term relief but as long as the systemic issues remain we will be relegated to "competitive in the Coastal status" (again, I understand that is indeed a step up from recent seasons but that is not a level that is satisfactory in the long run, especially when we are getting manhandled by the Clemson, LSU and Uga's on our schedule and let's face it, this is NOT strictly a CGC issue either.)

Besides, the systemic issues will severely limit our pool of top tier candidates anyways. And I think most of us believe it lead to CPJ's retirement. Who wants to enter a gun fight with a knife?

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

i don’t know enough about that to say whether that is true or not but it makes a lot of sense and i will take your word for it.

either way, we have to also recognize we fail to consistently fill up a stadium that’s a little more than half of the attendance of our biggest in state rival. even though i’ve personally done my best to make up for that by buying enough beer to kill an elephant at the games we can’t really close that gap and that’s just attendance, not even counting the merch sales and other revenue uga is able to generate just by having the fanbase they do. there is no amount of money being withheld by the powers that can ever make up for that lack of a real fanbase

Agreed. But, again, it’s a GT self induced problem. Our attendance problem is twofold - 1) we stink, 2) we are an international school hence lack of student and now modern alum don’t care because other than a few fleeting years in their youth they have zero ties to GT or Atlanta.

My kid is a student at GT and he told how last fall half his freshmen dorm didn’t go to the games across the street because they simply are not into our American sports. It would be like him going to school in Delhi and then not caring about the cricket matches. If we start winning of course fans are going to come back a little but as the old alums die off there are very few alum football fans taking their place. And GT is fine with that. And now with what we saw last year even diehards like me won’t be going to as many games. I was pumped about our schedule a few years back for this year. But now, do I really want to drive to Orlando to watch us get mauled? Do I really want to make the short drive to Tally? I probably will because I’m a fanatic but I can find no fault with my fellow GT alum who choose not to. And I sure won’t belittle them when GT itself doesn’t care enough to show up properly.

UGA is what happens when the school, alum, and fans all actually care about the product. GT athletics have been and will continue to spiral downward without institutional changes which aren’t happening under this admin.

 

[ScGold]

yeah he should just go to acc media day and stare deadpan into the camera. completely oblivious to questions being asked. laser focused on the season. do not answer a single question because that’s what the enemy wants us to do. they want you fulfilling your media obligations. they don’t want you grinding. working hard in the shadows. if collins was truly dedicated he would have sent in an animatronic collins so he could watch film the whole time. maybe that would finally be the point he could prove to us that he TRULY cares about football and not running his mouth while wearing skinny jeans.

His talking is one of the reasons the program is spiraling down the drain. He has been a hype machine for 3 years. He might want to try actually coaching for a change. Maybe ur kin to Ge Off, but facts are he has sucked at this job and his mouth has cost him. Talk is cheap and ge off has proven that to be true. Does he have a plan besides carrying around a WH coffee cup and telling everyone how tough his job is?

 

[ScGold]

I read this board frequently (duh!) and think people oversimplify things. Our problems are bigger than our current HC sadly enough. The real problems are obvious and sacrificing another body at the alter like we did with the previous two guys won't change the systemic issues that plague us.

Decent coaching last year and that team goes bowling. The oc and dc did one of the worst jobs in the history of tech football. Maybe the worst one season performances ive seen. I go back to Peeper Rogers days when caught yellow jacket fever. Almost to the point of being in tbe same conversation as B fing lewis. All that being said the football team has more talent now that anytime in recent memory. Yet the hc still wetting the bed.

 

[JacketFan137]

His talking is one of the reasons the program is spiraling down the drain. He has been a hype machine for 3 years. He might want to try actually coaching for a change. Maybe ur kin to Ge Off, but facts are he has sucked at this job and his mouth has cost him. Talk is cheap and ge off has proven that to be true. Does he have a plan besides carrying around a WH coffee cup and telling everyone how tough his job is?

yeah collins actually has never been on a football field before coming here. the players don’t practice they actually just take marketing and social media classes.

we get it man you hate collins. his mouth has nothing to do with his inability to coach. he tried to sell the program, as literally any coach does. it just came off as a problem to you because you hate tech football lol

 

[JacketFan137]

Agreed. But, again, it’s a GT self induced problem. Our attendance problem is twofold - 1) we stink, 2) we are an international school hence lack of student and now modern alum don’t care because other than a few fleeting years in their youth they have zero ties to GT or Atlanta.

My kid is a student at GT and he told how last fall half his freshmen dorm didn’t go to the games across the street because they simply are not into our American sports. It would be like him going to school in Delhi and then not caring about the cricket matches. If we start winning of course fans are going to come back a little but as the old alums die off there are very few alum football fans taking their place. And GT is fine with that. And now with what we saw last year even diehards like me won’t be going to as many games. I was pumped about our schedule a few years back for this year. But now, do I really want to drive to Orlando to watch us get mauled? Do I really want to make the short drive to Tally? I probably will because I’m a fanatic but I can find no fault with my fellow GT alum who choose not to. And I sure won’t belittle them when GT itself doesn’t care enough to show up properly.

UGA is what happens when the school, alum, and fans all actually care about the product. GT athletics have been and will continue to spiral downward without institutional changes which aren’t happening under this admin.

atlanta sports fans in general have been terrible and fair weather for as long as i can remember. hawks games cost like $10 til the playoffs or they’re playing lebron/the warriors/whoever. falcons games you could just about sit field level in some games over the past 4 years because the stadium was so empty. i have been to empty braves games at turner field and suntrust/trust. when the falcons had the super bowl run, the hawks are in the playoffs and this year following a world series with a competitive team people go to games but this is not a loyal sports town at all. tech has never had good attendance and we couldn’t even sell out a season in 2009 or 2014 and those are our only two major nationally relevant teams in the last 20 years. i think we sold out games at the end but tech fans are too fair weather and would rather wait and see us be good than support the come up. meanwhile clemson and uga having a down season is still selling out every game.

collins sucks and is gone probably this season or next, but the attendance problem is seriously like 10% collins fault. we’ve pretty much been a steady decline since 2014 so it’s not like we went from
full stadiums to empty over night

 

[JacketFan137]

Personally, I believe a new HC is going to have a gargantuan challenge to make us respectable again, especially in the new NIL wild, wild west. With that said, I sincerely wish we could go back to the hiring process after CPJ's announcement and really do a better job of hiring probably the most critical HC position GT has ever hired. To me, it seems it was done very quickly and without due diligence, but I realize I am looking from the outside. GT football will always need to have the smartest guy in the room leading the sideline, in my opinion, if it is to outperform its talent.

the problem is without the crazy amount of money to offer and the task we were giving them we weren’t gonna draw any interest from any top coaches. again, collins is getting paid like a vanderbilt coach. the contract is long (any coach would have gotten that cause they knew the rebuild would be difficult), but his yearly pay is not competitive in major p5 like sec and big 10.

meanwhile look at the hires across the conference recently like cristobal, mack brown, etc that are big names. we weren’t gonna get a guy like that when you are giving him a roster with 20 RBs on scholarship and an o line under 290 lbs. our admins suck but i think their hands were tied. whisenhunt and collins were the only names that were very interested and i don’t think anyone can make a compelling argument that life would be different right now with whisenhunt. maybe we win 4/5 games instead but it would be similar just no waffle house and skinny jeans