I don’t know if we’ll announce a hire tomorrow or a month from tomorrow, so it makes sense that we’ll pick our candidates and argue to our tastes. I like that some of y’all are going a little deeper on this.
There’s only so much room we can fit in a post, so I can’t reply to every post I thought was worth a reply.
Chadwell's a really good coach, IMO. I wish we had him at UVa. But for you guys, who CAN'T get it wrong, I think maybe Leipold's a little safer choice. Like, you've aleady missed badly once. The margin's a little slimmer for you than it was for us.
There are a few coaches from outside the South who have done well down here. I think Leipold is as close to a can’t-miss as I can see, but I think he’d have an easier fit in the midwest.
On the other hand, Saban is not a native southern guy at all, and he did great at LSU and Alabama. He’s never tried to fit in—he’s just been himself and it’s worked. So, maybe I’m overrating cultural aspects.
Why? I will admit, I was swayed by a crowded booth video following collins' firing. The video summarized McGee's pros as follows:
1. Very successful as a coach with UGA has an eye for talent and has gotten the most out of it.
2. Supposedly more dogs would be upset more at losing McGee than losing Monken.
3. Rebuilt Carver-Columbus from abysmal to winning state championships over 4 years.
4. Has a winning record as a college head coach (Georgia Southern as an interim)
5. Supposedly he'll open doors that Tech has never had access to before.
6. His current salary is $800k so we can give us a reasonably priced coach.
7. I have a decent feeling about the guy
What is your reasoning for so vehemently disliking him?
Number 5 is a lot to hope for. And we have to do more than open the doors—we gotta get players to come through.
It’s still a question mark to me whether being a solid position coach and a great recruiter would result in being a solid HC. I think it’s usually a mistake to say someone is just like Collins because they are a recruiter, but I’d like to know that someone can manage a team of assistants and shows the skills to run a major program. I don’t think the high school record is enough.
I also am looking for someone who builds systems that work after they’re gone. If we’re relying on his personality, we lose that when he moves on or retires.
I'll answer number 3
First he was a head coach at Carver in 2004 first year he was 4-6 then the next year 2-8 the follow year and not sure why but Donald Mack Jones was the head coach went 12-2 the follow year MeGee was head coach again ( not sure what happen) If you know much about Columbus that is a very weak area for football.
Also he only won the State Championship 1 year Lost the other 3 times.
This is good info that I didn’t have. Usually, when I see this in high school teams, it means that there were a group of players who grew up their junior and senior years. Teams like Buford that built ongoing success are the ones that I look at for building a program.
I like Chadwell for a few reasons (all IMHO of course):
1. Offensive Scheme; not as unique as the option, but brings an updated option set that would benefit Tech.
2. Affordability & Splash; he is currently making $900k per which we could offer more and also get a coach that has had success everywhere he has gone. Is P5 different? Of course! However, Chadwell has been able to hire well and build around his scheme. Part of being a good coach is who you hire around you.
3. Long Term Commitment; I don’t believe in another 67 year contract like we gave CGC, but Chadwell, to me, is a guy that could have success eventually at Tech and would continue to remain. That was the idea (IMO) behind Collins, but it just didn’t pan out, at all. If Dion comes and is successful within a couple of years, he will go to FSU or somewhere else when it opens.
4. The South; I love the fact that Chadwell has built his resume in the South. He will be able to find recruiters and coaches that understand the dynamic and build the program through the portal and recruiting.
5. Pyron Stays; I believe Pyron stays if Chadwell comes. Why? The offense.
In conclusion, I think we all could make an argument for many different coaches. For me, if it isn’t Chadwell, that’s totally fine. I just want a coach that wants Tech and wants to win and has a game plan to do so (which all of us could agree on!) I trust ADJB in making the right hire and announcing the day after the Ugag game.
Go Jackets!
I don’t think the affordability is the big hurdle. I think we’re willing to spend for a big coach. Chadwell recruits Atlanta already, so that’s a plus.
We’ve talked a lot about recruiting vs scheme, but you can have recruiting AND scheme.
If we just focus on recruiting, then we do need to look at the last four years. We’ve been using the transfer portal to bring players to our OL and it hasn’t worked. Some of them were on NFL draft scouting lists before they came here. For four years, multiple people here have been saying you can’t build an offensive line in one year. I also think we’ve put our OL athletes in a bad position, because if you keep changing out all the parts of your OL and keep getting the same results, I have to wonder if it’s the parts.
BUT, if you do think it’s the parts, how many years of recruiting is it going to take? The first year, we usually don’t expect a good class because of the “transition”. The second year, you get some honeymoon effect where you can recruit based on newness. If you haven’t had a good season by the third year, players are wondering if they want to go to your school and lose. We saw that here.
If that’s right, we need a coach to come here and have a pretty good first year, and a really good second year.
We have people arguing that we have talent, and we have people arguing that we don’t have talent. If we’re going to fix that on a recruiting-first strategy, please let me know how that works when it hasn’t worked for the last 4 years.
If it’s Deion, and he brings in 6 OL and a couple of good TEs through the transfer portal, how do they all gel after just one Spring practice? If they can, that seems like a coaching achievement that we haven’t pulled off for the last four years (which means we’re back to development and coaching discipline)