HC Candidate/Rumors/Info Thread

[Augusta_Jacket]

The optimist in me reads into this that ADJB has his sights set high and believes he can hit the mark. Clark is a good coach.

It may come down to him. I am not sure how many of the identified coaches are even willing to take on the GT football dumpster fire right now.

 

[Gt2019]

Not crazy about any of these, Jamey Chadwell would be ok but not bring his defense staff they aren't that good
Bill Clark not that great of a record at UAB and their schedule
Mike Houston Has a losing record at East Carolina no thanks.

Jbatt go back to the drawing board.

49-26 at UAB is pretty damn good with 2 conference titles and being in a state with Alabama and Auburn. Especially considering he had to restart an entire football program with no players or no roster. Mike Houston has built up programs and fixed them. He walked into an absolute mess at ECU.

 

[JacketFan137]

Does anyone really know if high school coaches “liking Tech coaches” is a real thing or not? It would be great, if we are going to have this discussion, to have names and first hand accounts rather than third party rumors every time we change coaching staffs.

Claiming this is a problem for Tech is a refrain I’ve heard for decades. Bobby Dodd was the last coach that supposedly had the respect of all the high school coaches.

ultimately i can’t provide a good source cause this is information i’ve gathered from conversations with a handful of guys i know that coach in the north metro area in forsyth, gwinnett, fulton and cobb. we have just really lacked a presence at some of the bigger schools in the area like buford, grayson, and some other pretty prominent programs

the biggest tell of this is we have had a hard time recruiting our own state and are rarely seen as an option by top 50 talents. i’m not saying we need to be raking in all top 10 ga recruits as that is unrealistic when bama, clemson, lsu, ohio state etc are all knocking on the door, but we are not even considered most of the time.

winning back some recruiting control of our own state should be priority number 1 for whoever comes in as far as recruiting plan goes

 

[Vespidae]

Does anyone really know if high school coaches “liking Tech coaches” is a real thing or not? It would be great, if we are going to have this discussion, to have names and first hand accounts rather than third party rumors every time we change coaching staffs.

Claiming this is a problem for Tech is a refrain I’ve heard for decades. Bobby Dodd was the last coach that supposedly had the respect of all the high school coaches.

I was talking to one of my students yesterday, a starter at Auburn (who made a monster play in the game!), about recruiting. What do you think of Kirby?", I asked. "Kirby Smart is a damn good recruiter", he said. "He almost got me. It's very very hard to say no to Kirby." Of course, he signed with Auburn instead.

"Tech", I asked? He mumbled something along the lines of "it was the guy before the guy who got fired". And? "Tech is just not a factor. There's football and there's football. I want to play football. It's just not a serious thing at Tech. Here, Athens, Tuscaloosa ... that's serious football. That's the League."

I don't think it is about high schools and coaches "liking Tech". We offer a different product. Dodd's time was still the SEC (mostly) and players like Bill Curry graduated and went to the NFL. Tech in 1960 was Alabama today. The Dallas Cowboys modeled their uniforms after Tech. It's a totally different environment today. We generate less media interest today than before. We schedule opponents that for the most part, have no connection recruiting wise, to the area. There's movement of coaches and staff across the SEC ... but almost never to Tech.

It's as if we unplugged ourselves and are complaining about the lack of electricity.

 

[Vespidae]

The optimist in me reads into this that ADJB has his sights set high and believes he can hit the mark. Clark is a good coach.

Carnell Williams, the interim at AU, is probably NOT going to get the job. (Kiffin is the front runner and boosters have ponied up whatever it takes to hire him.) But, there is MASSIVE support for Carnell. He has lit a fire under the team and oozes passion. He many coach here, but could be a damn good coach to have on the team. The thinking is, Kiffin won't want him around but he could be a huge asset to Tech, especially in recruiting. He's won over a lot f oppf of f people.

 

[bigbob]

I was talking to one of my students yesterday, a starter at Auburn (who made a monster play in the game!), about recruiting. What do you think of Kirby?", I asked. "Kirby Smart is a damn good recruiter", he said. "He almost got me. It's very very hard to say no to Kirby." Of course, he signed with Auburn instead.

"Tech", I asked? He mumbled something along the lines of "it was the guy before the guy who got fired". And? "Tech is just not a factor. There's football and there's football. I want to play football. It's just not a serious thing at Tech. Here, Athens, Tuscaloosa ... that's serious football. That's the League."

I don't think it is about high schools and coaches "liking Tech". We offer a different product. Dodd's time was still the SEC (mostly) and players like Bill Curry graduated and went to the NFL. Tech in 1960 was Alabama today. The Dallas Cowboys modeled their uniforms after Tech. It's a totally different environment today. We generate less media interest today than before. We schedule opponents that for the most part, have no connection recruiting wise, to the area. There's movement of coaches and staff across the SEC ... but almost never to Tech.

It's as if we unplugged ourselves and are complaining about the lack of electricity.

I was a student at Tech in 1060 and it was not like Bama today. We did beat them in 1962, but lost in 61 and 60. Maybe the 50ths we were like Bama today.

 

[Techster]

when i said recruiting i didn’t explain fully. i wasn’t necessarily talking about OUR recruiting but the recruiting of the conference as a whole. it’s a pretty significant step up in depth and overall talent.

the x’s and o’s are not the same against better competition. there will be things he got away with at the g5 level against their lower teams that will just not work the same. that’s not even related to the option that is just a fact of the matter. you also may have to approach things differently on defense as the odds of a gamebreaking player ie your jordan addisons, brock bowers, sammy watkins’, insert any random nfl blue chip prospect will be in p5 but less likely to be in g5.

i’m more so concerned about the p5 experience on defense. taking a mediocre to bad defensive staff and a head coach who is an OC is a pretty legitimate concern. i think offensively chadwell is good enough to handle that jump but defensively this staff would possibly be a downgrade from what we currently have and that would be a major concern

Chadwell has never recruited at the top of his conference. He's said that many times...he recruits to his system. He'll go after the best recruits he can, but he doesn't need a roster full of 4 and 5 stars to succeed. That's the beauty of Chadwell, and why he has so many fans. He makes the most out of what he has through development...similar to Ross/O'Leary/Gailey/CPJ. Those are the type of coaches GT needs.

Not being condescending, but have you ever played football or any sports? When we played against a 4A team or a 7A team, we didn't create brand new plays to adjust for the a higher tier of competition, coaches still looked for favorable matchups, defensive tendencies and how to attack them, and personnel advantages. As I said, Chadwell has been running his system for years, he's probably seen every defense there is against his system. There isn't an infinite amount of defensive systems in football.

Your defensive concerns are my defensive concerns as well. But I think Chadwell is a smart guy. If his defensive staff isn't working out the first year, I think he'll do what's needed to improve the defense...even if it means letting coaches he's worked with go. A good AD usually finds a way of convincing coaches of what's best for the program.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

I was a student at Tech in 1060

...You're even older than Supersize...

 

[stech81]

49-26 at UAB is pretty damn good with 2 conference titles and being in a state with Alabama and Auburn. Especially considering he had to restart an entire football program with no players or no roster. Mike Houston has built up programs and fixed them. He walked into an absolute mess at ECU.

I don't have anyone I would pick but I just don't think Houston or Clark would bring more fans to the game till they prove something here(at least 3 years). Just don't have the pop of others to get the fan base excited.

 

[JacketFan137]

Chadwell has never recruited at the top of his conference. He's said that many times...he recruits to his system. He'll go after the best recruits he can, but he doesn't need a roster full of 4 and 5 stars to succeed. That's the beauty of Chadwell, and why he has so many fans. He makes the most out of what he has through development...similar to Ross/O'Leary/Gailey/CPJ. Those are the type of coaches GT needs.

Not being condescending, but have you ever played football or any sports? When we played against a 4A team or a 7A team, we didn't create brand new plays to adjust for the a higher tier of competition, coaches still looked for favorable matchups, defensive tendencies and how to attack them, and personnel advantages. As I said, Chadwell has been running his system for years, he's probably seen every defense there is against his system. There isn't an infinite amount of defensive systems in football.

Your defensive concerns are my defensive concerns as well. But I think Chadwell is a smart guy. If his defensive staff isn't working out the first year, I think he'll do what's needed to improve the defense...even if it means letting coaches he's worked with go. A good AD usually finds a way of convincing coaches of what's best for the program.

i played baseball at a pretty high level. there are factually things in every sport that you cannot get away with as you step up in competition. i think chadwell can adjust and figure that out but your condescending comment really misses the mark.

there’s a reason there are nfl offenses and a lot of the coaches that saw success in college struggled. sometimes things just don’t work when the defenders/o line/qbs/whoever are just able to do more things physically than competition at a lower level. this is why some recruits dominate in high school and why you have your tim tebows, aaron murray’s, and chris weinke’s that are great in college and not in the pros. just ask yourself why vad lee went from streaky and inconsistent at tech to a record holder at JMU.

so will that happen to chadwell? none of us know but i really think it’s gonna be a big change for his defensive staff and i would rather just hire a p5 coordinator than play russian roulette with a defense that isn’t even standing out at a lower level of football

 

[Gt2019]

I don't have anyone I would pick but I just don't think Houston or Clark would bring more fans to the game till they prove something here(at least 3 years). Just don't have the pop of others to get the fan base excited.

I agree but winning cures all. Tech doesn’t have many fans interested right now any way so winning is about the only way to fix that. Only a Deion Sanders type name would generate fans before winning started.

 

[Techster]

I was talking to one of my students yesterday, a starter at Auburn (who made a monster play in the game!), about recruiting. What do you think of Kirby?", I asked. "Kirby Smart is a damn good recruiter", he said. "He almost got me. It's very very hard to say no to Kirby." Of course, he signed with Auburn instead.

"Tech", I asked? He mumbled something along the lines of "it was the guy before the guy who got fired". And? "Tech is just not a factor. There's football and there's football. I want to play football. It's just not a serious thing at Tech. Here, Athens, Tuscaloosa ... that's serious football. That's the League."

I don't think it is about high schools and coaches "liking Tech". We offer a different product. Dodd's time was still the SEC (mostly) and players like Bill Curry graduated and went to the NFL. Tech in 1960 was Alabama today. The Dallas Cowboys modeled their uniforms after Tech. It's a totally different environment today. We generate less media interest today than before. We schedule opponents that for the most part, have no connection recruiting wise, to the area. There's movement of coaches and staff across the SEC ... but almost never to Tech.

It's as if we unplugged ourselves and are complaining about the lack of electricity.

I've always wondered how much GT gave up by leaving the SEC. Not just in terms of $$, but what kind of program we would be viewed as. There's a reason why Dodd thought GT could be "the Notre Dame of the South" and took us independent. GT was a household name in the South, and 'Bama level football brand at the time. We were one of the most respected football programs in the country...and we took ourselves out of the conversation. There's a reason why UGA was adamant about not letting us back in the SEC...TWICE!

What's done is done...but there will always be a part of my GT fandom that wonders "What if GT never left the SEC..."

 

[JacketFan137]

I've always wondered how much GT gave up by leaving the SEC. Not just in terms of $$, but what kind of program we would be viewed as. There's a reason why Dodd thought GT could be "the Notre Dame of the South" and took us independent. GT was a household name in the South, and 'Bama level football brand at the time. We were one of the most respected football programs in the country...and we took ourselves out of the conversation. There's a reason why UGA was adamant about not letting us back in the SEC...TWICE!

What's done is done...but there will always be a part of my GT fandom that wonders "What if GT never left the SEC..."

i bet we could be at kentucky’s level right now. probably not uga/bama level but enough to give them some scares and pretty competitive OOC

 

[Techster]

i played baseball at a pretty high level. there are factually things in every sport that you cannot get away with as you step up in competition. i think chadwell can adjust and figure that out but your condescending comment really misses the mark.

there’s a reason there are nfl offenses and a lot of the coaches that saw success in college struggled. sometimes things just don’t work when the defenders/o line/qbs/whoever are just able to do more things physically than competition at a lower level. this is why some recruits dominate in high school and why you have your tim tebows, aaron murray’s, and chris weinke’s that are great in college and not in the pros. just ask yourself why vad lee went from streaky and inconsistent at tech to a record holder at JMU.

so will that happen to chadwell? none of us know but i really think it’s gonna be a big change for his defensive staff and i would rather just hire a p5 coordinator than play russian roulette with a defense that isn’t even standing out at a lower level of football

Sorry, but your reply totally misses my point. You're still focused on the wrong things. Anyhow, I'll leave it at that.

IMO, I don't think Chadwell is as high on Batt's list as others believe, but I'd love to be proven wrong. We'll see in a few weeks.

 

[g0lftime]

I was a student at Tech in 1060 and it was not like Bama today. We did beat them in 1962, but lost in 61 and 60. Maybe the 50ths we were like Bama today.

Did you see the comet in 1066 and William win the battle of Hastings? Just kidding.
We played Bama in 1965 (maybe 1964) which was supposed to end our series with Alabama. It was Namath's last year but his knee was hurt and he only played enough to score a couple of touchdowns. His backup played most of the game. We had a very good DB Bussel that Namath burned for a TD pass just before the half.
Curry scheduled them when he became coach and we beat them first game of the season and then lost 10 straight.
Tech was a nationally prominent team under Dodd in the 50's. Competitive in the 60's but not prominent.

 

[Vespidae]

I've always wondered how much GT gave up by leaving the SEC. Not just in terms of $$, but what kind of program we would be viewed as. There's a reason why Dodd thought GT could be "the Notre Dame of the South" and took us independent. GT was a household name in the South, and 'Bama level football brand at the time. We were one of the most respected football programs in the country...and we took ourselves out of the conversation. There's a reason why UGA was adamant about not letting us back in the SEC...TWICE!

What's done is done...but there will always be a part of my GT fandom that wonders "What if GT never left the SEC..."

This speaks to my own view that to be relevant, you have to be present. Notre Dame is Notre Dame because they went anywhere in the country to play the best teams they could. That was their brand.

Tech, in my view, needs to be the best SEC team NOT in the SEC. Stop playing Alcorn State, Austin Peay, and Lousiiana School of the Blind. We play UGA, fine ... but fill in the rest of the schedule with local, relevant teams that DEEPEN our penetration into our backyard. I would far rather play Auburn and other SEC schools because we become relevant to the recruiting base as a legit alternative.

Ask Bill Belichick what he looks for in a draft pick. "Who did he play against?" They don't look at W-L records ... they look to see what the level of competition was.

If you want to fix Tech football, you have to fix scheduling. It's a complete system. Better quality opponents leads to more press [awareness], leads to more people following the outcomes [interest], leads to more folks including Tech in their plans [consideration}, leads to more people trying the product [selection].

That's the Consumer Journey. It works.

 

[stech81]

I agree but winning cures all. Tech doesn’t have many fans interested right now any way so winning is about the only way to fix that. Only a Deion Sanders type name would generate fans before winning started.

yes, but you could be looking at 3 years, any new coach needs 3 years to get his players. Just know I'm not naming who should be the new head coach (that way I can talk bad about how bad he is, and no one can say he was your pick)

 

[Northeast Stinger]

...You're even older than Supersize...

Before the Battle of Hastings

 

[UgaBlows]

I keep hearing Chadwell would most likely bring his whole staff. I think his OC Willy Korn could stay back at CCU to be their new HC. Korn is who you really want to come with Chadwell. His defensive staff is the concern for me, I think you need to give him the money to hire a top notch defensive staff to mix well with his high powered offense. A key thing is P5 experience on his staff, only 2 of his staffers have P5 experience and that was being an analyst for a year or two. You typically want to surround a first time P5 HC with P5 experienced guys, especially when that HC has 0 P5 experience in any capacity which is what Chadwell is. I get him wanting to keep his guys he’s comfortable with and understand. There’s 2 sides of it that I see.

We keep hearing this but there is zero proof, where is the rumor coming from?

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

We keep hearing this but there is zero proof, where is the rumor coming from?