HC Candidate/Rumors/Info Thread

leatherneckjacket

Helluva Engineer
Messages
2,145
Location
Atlanta, GA
Look up Bill Lewis's coaching history at his two previous stops before GT: Wyoming and East Carolina. Lewis never had a winning season before his one amazing year where he coached ECU to 11-1. In fact, there was a decade between Wyoming and ECU...which tells me Lewis spent a LOT of time rehabbing his career after his failures at Wyoming.
Lewis was a horrible hire. He rode that one great season with an NFL caliber QB (Jeff Blake) to hoodwinking an aging Homer Rice into hiring him. The comparison to Chadwell makes no sense except in the minds of those who want someone else and grasping at straws to knock other coaches.
 

Towaliga

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,131
I know exactly who we should hire. However, I’m not going to say who that is. Half of the people on this board would hate the idea and call me an idiot, and since I’m married I get enough of that home ( I’m beginning to think I’m married to Stech81’s wife’s long lost twin sister). Also, if whoever is hired doesn’t work out, I can come back on here claiming everyone should have agreed with me.
 

link3945

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
101
yeah it makes no sense and is not something that is practical against teams that have an advantage over you in the trenches. i don’t think it’s a coincidence kenneth walker transferred and was the best back in college football last year
It worked pretty well against Clemson over the weekend.
 

Techster

Helluva Engineer
Messages
18,390
I'm warming to Chadwell, and it's obvious he runs a great scheme that we could use around here. I just hope he can recruit because that's essential. CGC could recruit but he couldn't coach. Paul could coach but even though I know he wasn't given proper resources he wasn't that much of a recruiter. We need somebody who can do both.

I think Chadwell will recruit really well for his scheme...better than CPJ did for his scheme. If that makes sense. He may not get many top 15-20 classes regularly that some on here want, but I can see him getting top 25-35 classes, and those would be good enough for him to win 8+ games a season, with a special season every 3-4 years.

He's made Coastal Carolina must watch TV...Coastal has more games televised now than they've ever had. That's because of Chadwell. Imagine what he can do for GT in the Atlanta market. GT football just might be...dare I say it...cool again!
 

slugboy

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
11,725
Sounds a lot like the guy we brought in from East Carolina in the mid 90s after he too had a great QB.

We should do our due diligence, but Chadwell looks a lot different than L****. That's part of why we have a search firm.

When we hired L****, I was one of many fans saying "what? you're kidding". In contrast, Chadwell checks a lot of boxes, but we should make sure there are no fatal flaws that would keep him from thriving here. He looks like a great candidate, though.

Yep. I know them as well. Good people trying to do a good job. Unfortunately, with coaching searches, it doesn't always work. I'm sure they'll do all of their due diligence very well and bring a good list of potential hires (with all of our GT issues considered) and hopefully the selection committee will make the best possible choice.

A good search firm should lay out all the warning signs and all the potential the possible head coaches (and possible ADs) have. We're not going to see a perfect candidate--even Saban has his drawbacks. I'm more concerned about how well our people use the search firm than the work of the search firm itself.

Its all about Angel
Does he want a top / mid/ or mediocre (present case) football program for the students and instiute ?

We have aimed at midlevel and are at medicore w 3 coaches that left on sour note.

For "good"
He must be and say he is commited to the rebuild - $, admin / prof / student enthusiasm, seek some degree of acceptance of blended degree minors outside those currently offered.
I hope we let him know we want to aim for good.

We didn't aim at mid-level for any of those hires. Gailey was viewed as an innovative OC and a solid NFL head coach. We were surprised that his offense was so boring here, but it wasn't in Pittsburgh. He was still an above average coach.

Johnson was a disruptive game-changer. His two biggest issues are that he didn't get nearly the staffing support that Collins did, he never got the defensive coaches he needed, and that he had an AD actively trying to cut him off at the knees. He's a hall of fame coach.

Collins was supposed to be a disruptive recruiter. We were supposed to be even with UNC and FSU. He did recruit very well, and we got a lot of solid classes, but he didn't keep them together and build them. It's still silly to say that we were aiming at mediocre when we hired Collins--we were aiming at big-time, and it blew up. Collins ticked all the boxes that you have for "good" except for the "blended minors" (which aren't happening).
 

Techster

Helluva Engineer
Messages
18,390
Two things are currently at odds right now:

1. Cabrera wants to hire an AD first. He's also implemented an interim AD that came from outside of the athletic department, and hired an executive firm to help find our next coach and AD. That tells me he's going to do this his way, and without outside influence. He's going to get the best AD and HC for the job, not what outside influence wants.

2. There are strong rumors of donors already reaching out to candidates. Already there are several candidates being names with very specific scenarios already mapped out.

From the outside looking in, I don't think any candidate we've named is really viable until an AD is hired. From the tea leaves Cabrera has put out there, he's going to hire the AD and empower that person to hire our next coach. Speculation is fun, but I think until we get an AD in place, any coaching candidate attached to GT is pure speculation...or wishful thinking.
 

bobongo

Helluva Engineer
Messages
7,736
A good search firm should lay out all the warning signs and all the potential the possible head coaches (and possible ADs) have. We're not going to see a perfect candidate--even Saban has his drawbacks. I'm more concerned about how well our people use the search firm than the work of the search firm itself.
A search firm is a great idea if the candidates you'd be filling a position with are not so well known. But coaches are well known, and their records are quite public. I don't see how a search firm is all that necessary or helpful in finding a head coach.
 

AugustaSwarm

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
916
A search firm is a great idea if the candidates you'd be filling a position with are not so well known. But coaches are well known, and their records are quite public. I don't see how a search firm is all that necessary to find a head coach.
Because there's a LOT more to it than just simply knowing a name. There's contracts, buyouts, personal desires, etc. You're not paying for a list of names, you're paying for all the extra details that take hours of leg work. For example, No point in interviewing a candidate if he refuses to move his family to ATL.
 
Last edited:

BCJacket

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
761
A lot of the really great coaches were guys who went the route of a low level D2/FCS/G5 HC job and progressed their way up, winning along the way. Saban, Meyer, CPJ. There's something to be said for a guy who wants to be the guy. Being an effective leader, motivator, decisionmaker is a skill. Personally, I'd rather have a guy that has already developed that skill.

If the knock on Chadwell is that he doesn't have P5 experience. Well, I'd point to CGC, he worked in P5 almost exclusively. He was successful as a coordinator. But he never really seemed to figure out how to be a head coach. If you're an effective leader, then you can build a team that fills in your weaknesses.
 

Vespidae

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,342
Location
Auburn, AL
Of course it's more than knowing a name. Most of that is publicly known. And, there are the donors...
Not really. Rich Rodriguez was all set to accept the job at Alabama until his wife said, "No way in hell am I moving to Tuscaloosa." That's when Alabama turned to the next guy on the list, one Nick Saban.

It isn't ALL financial.
 

bobongo

Helluva Engineer
Messages
7,736
Not really. Rich Rodriguez was all set to accept the job at Alabama until his wife said, "No way in hell am I moving to Tuscaloosa." That's when Alabama turned to the next guy on the list, one Nick Saban.

It isn't ALL financial.
I didn't say it was, but it's obviously a factor.
 

Vespidae

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,342
Location
Auburn, AL
I didn't say it was, but it's obviously a factor.
Not everything that factors into a job offer and job acceptance is publicly known. For example, at Auburn ... it's not the money or resources. Those abound in spades. The key question is, "Do I want to work in an environment where Jimmy Raine selects my recruits and tells me what plays to run?" Not many will. Some will. But that's why schools need to be honest with themselves, if they are to get the best candidate.
 

kg01

Get-Bak! Coach
Featured Member
Messages
15,345
Location
Atlanta
I know exactly who we should hire. However, I’m not going to say who that is. Half of the people on this board would hate the idea and call me an idiot, and since I’m married I get enough of that home ( I’m beginning to think I’m married to Stech81’s wife’s long lost twin sister). Also, if whoever is hired doesn’t work out, I can come back on here claiming everyone should have agreed with me.

I think we should just call you an idiot anyway. We don't want you to miss out on all the fun(sic).
 

slugboy

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
11,725
A search firm is a great idea if the candidates you'd be filling a position with are not so well known. But coaches are well known, and their records are quite public. I don't see how a search firm is all that necessary or helpful in finding a head coach.
One reason is because it takes the bias out of the hiring process. One of the big reasons we hired Collins is because GOL gave him a great reference and pushed for him.

You just said "coaches are well known". The people hiring a coach know a lot about Collins. They probably know something about the other ACC coaches and nearby coaches. How much have we profiled Shawn Elliott at Georgia State, who is just a few miles down the road? We certainly don't know Pac 12 coaches all that well. Would we have made the same hire that Kansas did, that's paying off like mad, based on the small list of coaches we know?

I don't agree that we know the coaches and their fit for Georgia Tech very well at all. Fonts all over this board have complained for 3 1/2 years that our last search wasn't broad enough. This time, give me the search firm.
 

bobongo

Helluva Engineer
Messages
7,736
One reason is because it takes the bias out of the hiring process. One of the big reasons we hired Collins is because GOL gave him a great reference and pushed for him.

You just said "coaches are well known". The people hiring a coach know a lot about Collins. They probably know something about the other ACC coaches and nearby coaches. How much have we profiled Shawn Elliott at Georgia State, who is just a few miles down the road?

I don't agree that we know the coaches and their fit for Georgia Tech very well at all. Fonts all over this board have complained for 3 1/2 years that our last search wasn't broad enough. This time, give me the search firm.
Well I can see that. Sort of an unbiased filter.
 

kg01

Get-Bak! Coach
Featured Member
Messages
15,345
Location
Atlanta
One reason is because it takes the bias out of the hiring process. One of the big reasons we hired Collins is because GOL gave him a great reference and pushed for him.

You just said "coaches are well known". The people hiring a coach know a lot about Collins. They probably know something about the other ACC coaches and nearby coaches. How much have we profiled Shawn Elliott at Georgia State, who is just a few miles down the road?

I don't agree that we know the coaches and their fit for Georgia Tech very well at all. Fonts all over this board have complained for 3 1/2 years that our last search wasn't broad enough. This time, give me the search firm.

I wanna get ok with the search firm idea. Then I remember Eddie Folger and I realize some search firms are idiots too.
 

slugboy

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
11,725
I wanna get ok with the search firm idea. Then I remember Eddie Folger and I realize some search firms are idiots too.
Season 5 Nbc GIF by The Office
 

GoldZ

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
930
One reason is because it takes the bias out of the hiring process. One of the big reasons we hired Collins is because GOL gave him a great reference and pushed for him.

You just said "coaches are well known". The people hiring a coach know a lot about Collins. They probably know something about the other ACC coaches and nearby coaches. How much have we profiled Shawn Elliott at Georgia State, who is just a few miles down the road? We certainly don't know Pac 12 coaches all that well. Would we have tfirmsearchhemade the same hire that Kansas did, that's paying off like mad, based on the small list of coaches we know?

I don't agree that we know the coaches and their fit for Georgia Tech very well at all. Fonts all over this board have complained for 3 1/2 years that our last search wasn't broad enough. This time, give me the search firm.
Depends on the search firm. Who exactly runs this one ?
 

Roswellgoldmember

Georgia Tech Fan
Messages
98
We should do our due diligence, but Chadwell looks a lot different than L****. That's part of why we have a search firm.

When we hired L****, I was one of many fans saying "what? you're kidding". In contrast, Chadwell checks a lot of boxes, but we should make sure there are no fatal flaws that would keep him from thriving here. He looks like a great candidate, though.



A good search firm should lay out all the warning signs and all the potential the possible head coaches (and possible ADs) have. We're not going to see a perfect candidate--even Saban has his drawbacks. I'm more concerned about how well our people use the search firm than the work of the search firm itself.



We didn't aim at mid-level for any of those hires. Gailey was viewed as an innovative OC and a solid NFL head coach. We were surprised that his offense was so boring here, but it wasn't in Pittsburgh. He was still an above average coach.

Johnson was a disruptive game-changer. His two biggest issues are that he didn't get nearly the staffing support that Collins did, he never got the defensive coaches he needed, and that he had an AD actively trying to cut him off at the knees. He's a hall of fame coach.

Collins was supposed to be a disruptive recruiter. We were supposed to be even with UNC and FSU. He did recruit very well, and we got a lot of solid classes, but he didn't keep them together and build them. It's still silly to say that we were aiming at mediocre when we hired Collins--we were aiming at big-time, and it blew up. Collins ticked all the boxes that you have for "good" except for the "blended minors" (which aren't happening).
Agree except for Collins recruiting, he had 1 good HS class, the rest were ranked similarly to Gailey's and Johnson's classes. Most of our roster improvement on sites like 247 has come from the transfer portal with former 4 star backups transferring back to Atl/GT from out of state schools. Unfortunately, most of these are self selected as having been burried on their previous teams depth chart, it remains to be seen how much of a talent upgrade we've gotten here.
 
Top