Faulkner Raise

[cpf2001]

I mean, “recruiting will never change even if he continues the upward swing and has more support from administration” is pretty much the definition of Debbie Downer, isn’t it?

Especially if you think he is a top caliber coach - then he should be able to do more with less to get the results to open up the wallets even more.

Maybe the wallets aren’t there, maybe they are. Nobody has really tried to find out in 15-20 years - back when GT was one of the top paying schools in the conference.

But repeatedly saying there’s no way? Yeah, that’s Debbie downer all day

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

I mean, “recruiting will never change even if he continues the upward swing and has more support from administration” is pretty much the definition of Debbie Downer, isn’t it?

Especially if you think he is a top caliber coach - then he should be able to do more with less to get the results to open up the wallets even more.

Maybe the wallets aren’t there, maybe they are. Nobody has really tried to find out in 15-20 years - back when GT was one of the top paying schools in the conference.

But repeatedly saying there’s no way? Yeah, that’s Debbie downer all day

We simply aren’t talking about the same thing. I’m not talking about wallets being opened. GT has a small fanbase with few alumni who care. If you are counting on alumni wallets to open up then you believe in the tooth fairy. I’m talking about GT school money to open up. GT has plenty of money to be successful at whatever they choose to be successful at. They simply refuse to use money for athletics. The GT fanbase won’t get it done. Johnson won Orange Bowls, double digit wins and beat UGA and it didn’t happen.

And Key is a top tier coach but he isn’t a magician. This idea of coaches doing more with less consistently is a myth. Saban won ZERO Natties at Mich State because he didn’t have the players like he was able to buy at Bama. Same coach, different budget led to different results. Expecting Key to be a miracle worker is totally unfair to him. Put it this way, if Key wins a consistent 8 games at GT he will have offers from many big boy programs because everyone knows winning 8 or 9 games with little money at a small school translates to 10-11 wins at Auburn, Florida, ND, etc. That’s exactly what O’Leary did and he got an offer. Napier got a big time job from a small school.

This is the new era where it’s all about buying players not coaches. GT has to buy players or they will lose coaches to schools that will. I give Key 4 or 5 more seasons until he gets poached. I give Stoudamire 2 more seasons until he’s poached. That‘s not being Debbie Downer when we see it every off season at other schools. It just hasn’t happened at GT because we haven’t had any coaches anyone wanted to hire away. The last coaches we had poached were O’Leary, Cremins, and Morris. Everyone in college football is impressed by Key, Weinke, and Faulkner because they turned a dumpster fire into a 4th place finish. Key does that a few more times and schools like Ole Miss or South Carolina will be calling with access to 4 and 5 stars.

 

[Bogey]

Key is assured of having the opportunity to beat the leg humpers while coaching at GT every single year, which he relishes. No other school can offer that. He is here for the long term with the support he now has from the school, our donors, and our fans. I can't see that support changing in the foreseeable future.

 

[stinger78]

Of course recruiting can change. We’ve all seen it change from GOL to CCG to CPJ to TFG to CBK. The issue is can we consistently recruit at a very high level in the NIL era. Ironically, though our high value on academics undoubtedly hurts us, the more academics are separated from the process in the NIL era the more that helps GA Tech recruiting.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Key is assured of having the opportunity to beat the leg humpers while coaching at GT every single year, which he relishes. No other school can offer that. He is here for the long term with the support he now has from the school, our donors, and our fans. I can't see that support changing in the foreseeable future.

UF

 

[UgaBlows]

UF

AU

 

[57jacket]

Georgia Tech assistant coach Chris Weinke receives extension, raise

Georgia Tech has extended the contract of assistant coach Chris Weinke, according to documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

www.ajc.com

 

[MidtownJacket]

I think NIL is going to continue to bleed into NCAA Athletic budgets. If/when (if you want a seat on my hype train) that happens, GT will be in a position to fund some of the NIL programs we will need to attract and retain the best of the best.

AD JB and PresCab have shown a sincere willingness to do new things to fund the programs (look at the matching program GT did with the AT fund/GTAA).

My prediction is if HCBK brings us to a spot where we are winning 8-10 a year and need more budget for better recruiting, we'll get the budget under the current administration. You don't hire a fundraising AD if you aren't going to be serious about funding your athletics program.

 

[MidtownJacket]

Georgia Tech assistant coach Chris Weinke receives extension, raise

Georgia Tech has extended the contract of assistant coach Chris Weinke, according to documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

www.ajc.com

From the Article: "Weinke will be going into his 14th season of coaching and seventh in the college ranks. The former Florida State quarterback would owe Tech 200% percent of his base salary if he terminates his new contract within 120 days of March 30. He would owe 75% of his should he leave the Jackets before December’s signing day and would owe 50% of his salary should he depart before February’s signing day."

Love seeing these clauses in the raises. We got a good one in the Battman

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

Key is assured of having the opportunity to beat the leg humpers while coaching at GT every single year, which he relishes. No other school can offer that. He is here for the long term with the support he now has from the school, our donors, and our fans. I can't see that support changing in the foreseeable future.

Having UGA on the schedule every year is not the same as having a chance to actually beat them every year. I’m as diehard a fan as anyone but this game has not been a fair fight in decades. They buy 4 and 5 stars and we buy 3 stars with some 4’s here and there. It’s why we’ve won 3 games this century. If you think Key will stay at GT just so he can lose 18 out of 20 you don’t understand how a competitive person thinks. I have zero faith that GT will earmark money so Key can buy 5 and 4 star players - which means at some point if the opportunity arises for him to coach at a school who will buy him 5 and 4 star players he will be gone. It’s why Deboer went to Bama. He could have won 10 games a year at Washington but he knew he’d never get enough talent to truly compete for a Natty so when the opportunity arose he left.

And if Key is happy winning 7-9 games a year for the next 20 years at GT while losing 18 out of 20 to them, then I guess we’ll all continue to do what we’ve been doing for 40 years which is hoping the Saturday after Thanksgiving (or Friday) comes and goes quickly.

 

[TooTall]

It’s why Deboer went to Bama. He could have won 10 games a year at Washington but he knew he’d never get enough talent to truly compete for a Natty so when the opportunity arose he left.

Do yall want me to tell him?

If you make the CFP Championship game then you are truly competing for a Natty, despite the score. And Washington made the CFP last year beating 2 top 5 teams to get there.

Despite all the disadvantages that HC Key was dealt, he has us a 3rd down stop away from having a game tying drive against the mutts this past year. We only lost the game by 8. He is 0-2 vs the mutts, but if you think it will become 3-17 in his first 20 years here, then you should not drive or operate heavy machinery until the drugs/alcohol leave your system.

 

[WreckinGT]

Despite all the disadvantages that HC Key was dealt, he has us a 3rd down stop away from having a game tying drive against the mutts this past year. We only lost the game by 8. He is 0-2 vs the mutts, but if you think it will become 3-17 in his first 20 years here, then you should not drive or operate heavy machinery until the drugs/alcohol leave your system.

College Football is going to going to undergo massive changes in the next 5 years. Changes that are going to impact us in a negative way and not change much at all for UGA. 3-17 is pretty realistic if not optimistic. Personally, with the way things appear to be heading, I don't think we will even be playing them every year in 15 years. If we want to avoid that, we have to find a way to get into one of the P2 conferences. Expecting our program to raise enough money from donors to overcome the drastic media right money difference in the future, and deal with the House settlement, and deal with rising NIL costs is just not realistic.

 

[SOWEGA Jacket]

Do yall want me to tell him?

If you make the CFP Championship game then you are truly competing for a Natty, despite the score. And Washington made the CFP last year beating 2 top 5 teams to get there.

Despite all the disadvantages that HC Key was dealt, he has us a 3rd down stop away from having a game tying drive against the mutts this past year. We only lost the game by 8. He is 0-2 vs the mutts, but if you think it will become 3-17 in his first 20 years here, then you should not drive or operate heavy machinery until the drugs/alcohol leave your system.

You must be a moral victory type of guy. That’s fine, especially if you are a GT fan. That’s really just about all we’ve had for multiple decades now. But, there are still a few GT men out there who care about final scores.

Even Key isn’t obtuse enough to believe a group of 3 stars will beat a group of 4 stars at any consistent level. Sure, a Hall of Fame coach got his 3 stars to do it 3 times out of 11 tries. That percentage is looking as the outlier right now. Gailey was 0-7 and Collins/Key are a combined 0-5.

As for DeBoer, he is smart enough to know the difference between winning and losing Natties is huge which is why he left a program that won’t win a Natty for one that will buy the best players and have a real chance. Washington never had a real chance.

You guys who believe a coach can overcome a player gap are living in the past. We could trade Key for Kirby tomorrow and UGA would keep rolling along and GT would remain where we are because players go where they will get paid and win. Kirby wouldn’t be near the recruiter he is perceived as being if he were the coach at a normal school. Just ask Saban.

 

[Tdrake]

You must be a moral victory type of guy. That’s fine, especially if you are a GT fan. That’s really just about all we’ve had for multiple decades now. But, there are still a few GT men out there who care about final scores.

Even Key isn’t obtuse enough to believe a group of 3 stars will beat a group of 4 stars at any consistent level. Sure, a Hall of Fame coach got his 3 stars to do it 3 times out of 11 tries. That percentage is looking as the outlier right now. Gailey was 0-7 and Collins/Key are a combined 0-5.

As for DeBoer, he is smart enough to know the difference between winning and losing Natties is huge which is why he left a program that won’t win a Natty for one that will buy the best players and have a real chance. Washington never had a real chance.

You guys who believe a coach can overcome a player gap are living in the past. We could trade Key for Kirby tomorrow and UGA would keep rolling along and GT would remain where we are because players go where they will get paid and win. Kirby wouldn’t be near the recruiter he is perceived as being if he were the coach at a normal school. Just ask Saban.

I don't post enough to take a side in this discussion, but do want to offer a question. Can anyone recall a time in the past 30 years where the president of the university has been as committed to GT sports as now with Cabrera? And to further it, the president, the AD, the coaches as aligned as they are today? Thats not meant to downplay the realism offered regarding the hurdles GT deals with, just a perspective that I don't think any of us can predict the impact of that alignment and commitment from the top will mean for GT athletics.

 

[apatriot1776]

I don't post enough to take a side in this discussion, but do want to offer a question. Can anyone recall a time in the past 30 years where the president of the university has been as committed to GT sports as now with Cabrera? And to further it, the president, the AD, the coaches as aligned as they are today? Thats not meant to downplay the realism offered regarding the hurdles GT deals with, just a perspective that I don't think any of us can predict the impact of that alignment and commitment from the top will mean for GT athletics.

I think it’s pretty clear both sides are right to some degree. GT has structural problems that prevent us from being a top ~15 athletic program (think Texas, Alabama, Michigan, Oregon) with a top 15 coach. And if Brent is a top 15 coach he’s well within his rights to leave if we are a borderline top 50 program (think UVA, Arizona, Cincinnati, Duke) as we have been trending since about 2014.

Now, if Batt and Cabrera and the boosters put in the work to elevate us to a top ~25 athletic program resource-wise (think Oklahoma St, UNC, Ole Miss), is that enough to keep Key? Maybe…

 

[AugustaSwarm]

You must be a moral victory type of guy. That’s fine, especially if you are a GT fan. That’s really just about all we’ve had for multiple decades now. But, there are still a few GT men out there who care about final scores.

Even Key isn’t obtuse enough to believe a group of 3 stars will beat a group of 4 stars at any consistent level. Sure, a Hall of Fame coach got his 3 stars to do it 3 times out of 11 tries. That percentage is looking as the outlier right now. Gailey was 0-7 and Collins/Key are a combined 0-5.

As for DeBoer, he is smart enough to know the difference between winning and losing Natties is huge which is why he left a program that won’t win a Natty for one that will buy the best players and have a real chance. Washington never had a real chance.

You guys who believe a coach can overcome a player gap are living in the past. We could trade Key for Kirby tomorrow and UGA would keep rolling along and GT would remain where we are because players go where they will get paid and win. Kirby wouldn’t be near the recruiter he is perceived as being if he were the coach at a normal school. Just ask Saban.

There was a time (not all that long ago) that UGA wasn't in the discussion for championships. Kirby took over at UGA and took the recruiting from good to great - a few years later, they were on top of the world.

I say this to point out that the uptick in recruiting seemed to matter. But it also shows that a school's situation can be changed by putting the right leadership in place. Pre-Kirby, uGA was a quality program that was always arms length away from truly competing for a national title. With Kirby they are kings. Things can change.

Dr. Cabrera has changed the level of commitment to athletics. Key is changing the culture of the football program. If Key can continue this trajectory, we could begin to play big boy football again.

I'm not pretending that we'll be in national title game next year - but there is a clear path to success and we appear to be well on our way. How far this path goes, I dunno. But I'm here for the ride!

 

[leatherneckjacket]

I think the expanded playoff opens up the possibility that a team without 50% or more blue chips can and/or will win a National Championship.

 

[stinger78]

I don't post enough to take a side in this discussion, but do want to offer a question. Can anyone recall a time in the past 30 years where the president of the university has been as committed to GT sports as now with Cabrera? And to further it, the president, the AD, the coaches as aligned as they are today? Thats not meant to downplay the realism offered regarding the hurdles GT deals with, just a perspective that I don't think any of us can predict the impact of that alignment and commitment from the top will mean for GT athletics.

I've not seen this level of commitment in my lifetime although it seemed to me that Crecine was fairly supportive as well. I appreciate Pres. Cabrera very much for his outspoken support. I know he faces great pressure from the faculty, and maybe even the trustees, to move GT forward academically as a premier research university. He seems to have set forth his feelings that athletics are a valuable asset in terms of name recognition and that collaboration around athletics can also pay huge dividends in terms of research partnerships. It goes without saying but we need to hope this continues.

 

[roadkill]

I've not seen this level of commitment in my lifetime although it seemed to me that Crecine was fairly supportive as well. I appreciate Pres. Cabrera very much for his outspoken support. I know he faces great pressure from the faculty, and maybe even the trustees, to move GT forward academically as a premier research university. He seems to have set forth his feelings that athletics are a valuable asset in terms of name recognition and that collaboration around athletics can also pay huge dividends in terms of research partnerships. It goes without saying but we need to hope this continues.

Most of GT's Presidents in my lifetime have had engineering backgrounds. The exceptions are Crecine and Cabrera. Correlation?

 

[jepherson]

I think the expanded playoff opens up the possibility that a team without 50% or more blue chips can and/or will win a National Championship.

That’s a really good point.

The circular logic of 1) Blue-blood football program wants certain players, so those players must be highly rated, 2) said highly rated players go to said blue-blood program, 3) blue-blood program gets favorable rankings and access, 4) highly rated players on highly-ranked blue-blood team win Championships, 5) we logic out that only teams with highly rated players can win Championships.

Playoff expansion will allow a few more non-blue-blood programs to have access, and they may occasionally prove themselves worthy.