Not sure why I am contributing, but here goes...
CCG was great at evaluating and developing NFL level talent. His teams overcame multiple issues that were not his fault (Flunkgate, injuries, etc.) and still went to a bowl every year. His biggest issues was not developing QBs to match the rest of the talent on the field and hiring an idiot for OC. Hr also did not push Nix out when it was clear he was incompetent.
CPJ was a coaching genius who could take lesser talent and beat better teams. He overcame lack of support of ADs in both funding assistant coaches as well as the overall program. Heck, MBoob tried to push him out at Tech. And, yet, he was still highly successful. His biggest issue was not recruiting ACC level talent to remain competitive every year.
CGC inherited a program bereft of talent. He was not put in a position to succeed, especially after Covid, the transfer portal rule changes, and NIL. Still, recruiting made a clear improvement (Gibbs alone is proof of that). His biggest issue is that he was empty suit. He did not know how to run a program other than talk a bunch BS.
I don’t agree with “he was not put in a position to succeed”. TFG was given far more resources than either of his predecessors. Stansbury gave him every resource possible. He was in a rebuild, but there are coaches who have succeeded in similar situations in a year or two.
Recruiting did trend up; however, assistant coaches like Choice were important contributors, and deserve a lot of the credit. Also, there was increased investment in recruiting staff.
Other programs dealt with COVID and the transfer portal.
It wasn’t an easy situation. He had a lot of graduating talent. But he was given a lot of latitude and plenty of time. There’s no indication that he ever was going to significantly improve the team. After several 3 win seasons, it’s clear that he’s a 3 win kind of coach.
Despite him saying “if you can’t see the improvement, you’re not looking”, I can’t find an area where he actually improved the team year over year.
If he was secretly talented above the typical coach, opponents who saw him in action—coaching, recruiting—would jump on the chance to get an undervalued coach who wanted to rebuild his reputation.
UNC desperately needs defense. If he can recruit and coach defense, they’d pay him.
Saban hired Kiffin, who he apparently can’t stand. If TFG could help a team win, his phone would be rung off the hook