Forbes Article on Stanford's Rise to Football Prominence

[GT Man]

Ross, O'Leary, and Gailey each had way more leniency in who could be recruited than had Johnson his first five years. Just when Gailey began to understand how to recruit to Tech, the morons wanted him gone. This has been the pattern for Tech. head coaches since Dodd retired. And now that Johnson has been given some leave to recruit some outside the " Tech. cookie cutter", most of the same morons want him gone.

As far as I'm concerned, they can take their ADD/ADHD and/or OCD problems and put them in that spot in Nebraska where the sun doesn't shine. I will not support the insanity.

It's the brave new world we live in--expecting instant gratification.

 

[Techster]

Ross, O'Leary, and Gailey each had way more leniency in who could be recruited than had Johnson his first five years. Just when Gailey began to understand how to recruit to Tech, the morons wanted him gone. This has been the pattern for Tech. head coaches since Dodd retired. And now that Johnson has been given some leave to recruit some outside the " Tech. cookie cutter", most of the same morons want him gone.

As far as I'm concerned, they can take their ADD/ADHD and/or OCD problems and put them in that spot in Nebraska where the sun doesn't shine. I will not support the insanity.

I'm not sure the whole leniency thing for Ross, O'Leary, and Gailey is 100% true. Maybe to certain degree, but it's pretty well known that all those coaches complained about being hamstrung by what SA's they were allowed to bring in. It's no secret Ross talked about how much harder recruiting to GT because of those restrictions were than he originally thought.

This year will definitely be a telling year for CPJ. He has set recruiting roots in GA and the immediate surrounding states for the last 6+ years, and now he gets to make the ultimate decision on who he's allowed to bring in. I think "true" GT fans all want to see CPJ do well because that means GT is doing well. I think 5 years is more than enough time to decide which direction a coach's tenure at a school is going. At some point, "it is what it is".

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

Ross, O'Leary, and Gailey each had way more leniency in who could be recruited than had Johnson his first five years. Just when Gailey began to understand how to recruit to Tech, the morons wanted him gone. This has been the pattern for Tech. head coaches since Dodd retired. And now that Johnson has been given some leave to recruit some outside the " Tech. cookie cutter", most of the same morons want him gone.

As far as I'm concerned, they can take their ADD/ADHD and/or OCD problems and put them in that spot in Nebraska where the sun doesn't shine. I will not support the insanity.

Did you just call me a moron? I demand satisfaction, Sir! Surely you don't pine for Gailey's return.

 

[Techster]

Did you just call me a moron? I demand satisfaction, Sir! Surely you don't pine for Gailey's return.

Letting Gailey go was probably the right call at the time because of the fractured fanbase and declining attendance. W's and L's mean a lot, but no head coach can overcome those two factors (ask Phillip Fulmer at UT, Bobby Bowden at FSU).

A part of me is curious what Gailey could have done with the improved recruiting returns we were seeing in 2006 and beyond. He was starting to get some major talent into GT, and he finally hit the jackpot with top tier QBs...the position that was his biggest downfall for his tenure here.

 

[GT Man]

Letting Gailey go was probably the right call at the time because of the fractured fanbase and declining attendance. W's and L's mean a lot, but no head coach can overcome those two factors (ask Phillip Fulmer at UT, Bobby Bowden at FSU).

A part of me is curious what Gailey could have done with the improved recruiting returns we were seeing in 2006 and beyond. He was starting to get some major talent into GT, and he finally hit the jackpot with top tier QBs...the position that was his biggest downfall for his tenure here.

Gailey had some recruiting success (which I attribute more to Giff Smith than Chan) but his coaching did not inspire confidence. When you don't throw to Calvin Johnson during a conference championship game, there's a problem. I'm glad he's gone on to greener different pastures.

With PJ, it seems the opposite is true. The man can coach and he has a killer instinct that Chan lacked (PJ hates losing, as evident is his snide post-game press conferences). PJ's issue is recruiting.

We Tech fans can't catch a break

 

[GT Man]

Letting Gailey go was probably the right call at the time because of the fractured fanbase and declining attendance. W's and L's mean a lot, but no head coach can overcome those two factors (ask Phillip Fulmer at UT, Bobby Bowden at FSU).

What we had, was a malaise.

 

[augustabuzz]

I'm not sure the whole leniency thing for Ross, O'Leary, and Gailey is 100% true. Maybe to certain degree, but it's pretty well known that all those coaches complained about being hamstrung by what SA's they were allowed to bring in. It's no secret Ross talked about how much harder recruiting to GT because of those restrictions were than he originally thought.

This year will definitely be a telling year for CPJ. He has set recruiting roots in GA and the immediate surrounding states for the last 6+ years, and now he gets to make the ultimate decision on who he's allowed to bring in. I think "true" GT fans all want to see CPJ do well because that means GT is doing well. I think 5 years is more than enough time to decide which direction a coach's tenure at a school is going. At some point, "it is what it is".

Typically five years is enough time to begin evaluating, but when do you start the clock for Johnson? Johnson has been recruiting with one hand tied behind his back. All I ask is for Tech. to get off the merry-go-round.

 

[IEEEWreck]

What we had, was a malaise.

Tech NRE right there. And come to think of it, not a bad metaphor for our head coaching problem.

Edit: Oh wait, better explain:

Our head coaches have been somewhere between decent and very good, but are hindered by factors outside the control of their office. However, people who are dumb just sort of glass over if you talk to them about sticky wages and real investment on the one hand, or the Hill and recruiting to standards on the other. So yeah.

 

[OldJacketFan]

It's the brave new world we live in--expecting instant gratification.

Ain't that the truth. Let me post some numbers showing a particular coach's record in his first seven years.

The record of the unnamed coach in his first seven years was:

33-43-1

Lest anyone think he inherited a depleted, down program this program in the four years prior to his arrival went 32-13-1. In today's environment the unnamed coach would have hounded without mercy and, most likely, fired before his seventh year.

CPJ is 47-32 in his first six years at Tech, a considerable difference from the unnamed coach. To some this is unacceptable. Where would the Tech program be if the likes of Dwyer, Morgan and Burnett had remained for their senior years? Does anybody think Tech would have been 6-7? We all know success breeds success and had the '10 season would up a 9 or 10 win season it's arguable that the impact on recruiting would have been significant. I attach no blame to the 4 players mentioned, given the financial rewards it's tough to argue they made the wrong choice to go Pro. But I don't think that their decision impacted Tech not only on the field but in recruiting as well. We're seeing an upswing in recruiting and a coach/staff that is keeping the program at a consistent level. Compare that to so many other programs over the same period of time. I am not happy with 7-6 records but I see way too many positives to think about running CPJ off at this stage. Others will point out that CCG has a similar record but the one thing that turned me against CCG was the sense that he had maximized what his teams could accomplish and I've yet to get that same feeling with CPJ.

BTW does anyone care to guess who the unnamed coach is?

 

[OldJacketFan]

You know I hate it when the fingers get moving faster than the brain.............................

"But I don't think"...................should have been.............But I DO think......

 

[Techster]

Typically five years is enough time to begin evaluating, but when do you start the clock for Johnson? Johnson has been recruiting with one hand tied behind his back. All I ask is for Tech. to get off the merry-go-round.

I think you begin to look at a coach critically in his 3-4 year. By then, it's mostly/mainly "his players" in the program.

Bottom line, GT is GT, and all that comes with it. Coaches know what our reputation is, and the difficulties of being a consistent top 15-20 team. Just look at when CPJ first got hired here. He was full of piss and vinegar. One of the things that won him a lot of fans from the get go was him saying "If I didn't think GT could win a national championship, I wouldn't have taken the job." That was in response to someone asking him about all the difficulties recruiting and succeeding at GT, was a national championship realistic here.

Personally, I think if you give CPJ consistent top 15 recruiting classes, there's no doubt in my mind we are competing for national titles every year. But that's the catch, can he bring in consistent classes with top tier players? If he brings in top 20-30 classes, I've always felt we would be consistently competing for ACC titles on the level of FSU, VT, and Clemson. He did it in 2008 and 2009 with just a handful of special players on each side.

 

[augustabuzz]

I think you begin to look at a coach critically in his 3-4 year. By then, it's mostly/mainly "his players" in the program.

Bottom line, GT is GT, and all that comes with it. Coaches know what our reputation is, and the difficulties of being a consistent top 15-20 team. Just look at when CPJ first got hired here. He was full of piss and vinegar. One of the things that won him a lot of fans from the get go was him saying "If I didn't think GT could win a national championship, I wouldn't have taken the job." That was in response to someone asking him about all the difficulties recruiting and succeeding at GT, was a national championship realistic here.

Personally, I think if you give CPJ consistent top 15 recruiting classes, there's no doubt in my mind we are competing for national titles every year. But that's the catch, can he bring in consistent classes with top tier players? If he brings in top 20-30 classes, I've always felt we would be consistently competing for ACC titles on the level of FSU, VT, and Clemson. He did it in 2008 and 2009 with just a handful of special players on each side.

What you're saying is true. The biggest impediment that Johnson has faced in recruiting has been artificially contrived by Tech. in response to O'Leary having too much leeway 15 years ago. The point is that 2014 is Johnson's first true recruiting class.