HC Candidate/Rumors/Info Thread

[GoJacketsInRaleigh]

Watching the ECU and JMU games, think JMU AD Jeff Bourne and either one of Houston or Cignetti as coach are looking good. ECU is beating up USF and JMU taking care of Texas State.

JMU has a hell of a program all the way back to Mickey Matthews coaching them. Mike Houston and Curt Cignetti are both really good football coaches.

Bourne caught a lot of crap for leaving JMU in FCS for so long but he knew what he wanted and got it in the end (division with guaranteed games against east coast schools like App State, ODU, Marshall, Coastal, Southern, and Georgia State. That Sun Belt East would be perfect if it added Charlotte and East Carolina. I doubt Bourne is looking to leave as he's in his 60's and been at JMU for almost 25 years.

 

[WreckinGT]

Can someone please explain why everyone is so high on Bill O’Brian?

He's not my top choice but he was national coach of the year in 2012 doing a pretty decent job for a team in an awful situation. He also went to the playoffs 4 times in the NFL as a HC, and went to the super bowl and the national championship game as an OC. Rarely are we going to have a legitimate chance at someone with that kind of resume. I still prefer some of the other candidates but he is pretty solid. If we don't get him, he will get a HC job at another P5 program soon, if not the NFL.

 

[whitegoldsphinx]

I know about the scandal, but Penn State was 9-4 the year before he got there. He went 8-4 and then 7-5 in his two seasons. If anything he just kept them from falling apart when they easily could have. And they didn’t have the death penalty. It had a ton of challenges, and 8-4 is a good showing under the circumstances, but I’m not sure those two years warrant making him our head coach.

In the NFL he was a .500 coach and as our OC he was meh.

He gets a pass at PSU because there was a mass exodus of free transfers that the NCAA allowed, then he was saddled with severe scholarship restrictions. They had less scholarships than even an FCS team, 60 I think it was.

He did great at Houston until he was given GM control over personnel. He was petty and traded their best players for pennies on the dollar, and his record went south. That should be your biggest concern about him. He can coach, but will there be a steady stream of players leaving through the transfer portal?

Basing what he did with us doesn't mean much. It was his first coordinator job and it was a long time ago. His jobs since then shows his growth.

 

[A Love Supreme]

I just listened to Bryce Koon talk about Dell McGee. I think he should get a look.

 

[LargeFO]

I just listened to Bryce Koon talk about Dell McGee. I think he should get a look.

Maybe a look, but I don’t think it should be a slam dunk like Bryce makes it out to be.

 

[Techwood Relict]

Penn State was given the death penalty and despite only having around 60 players on scholarship was able to win > 6 games each year. Has had proven success while being a coach, and only really struggle with Houston when trying to be the GM and head coach.

He isn’t the best candidate, but what he did at Penn State was more challenging with more success than what Collins had to deal with at Tech.

There was quite a bit of dysfunction at the top of the Houston group during BOBs time there as well. At minimum, a learning experience, at best he's learned how to do and don't better.

 

[GoJacketsInRaleigh]

Maybe a look, but I don’t think it should be a slam dunk like Bryce makes it out to be.

No one is a lock but I'd be pretty excited to have a young black coach with good relationships in the state of Georgia if he interviews and shows good organizational/management skills and has good coordinators lined up.

 

[motynes]

Maybe a look, but I don’t think it should be a slam dunk like Bryce makes it out to be.

Nobody should be a slam dunk, but given the level of ground root and GTSA alumni support he has, he’s got to get a fair look. I was totally against him (I don’t think UGA’s offense is that dynamic or imaginative) but after hearing some things and listening to him. I agree, he needs to be given a hard look. My top are him, coach from coastal, Jeff monken, and Jeff Lebby.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

FWIW, I put very little stock into a coaches NFL results when considering how he will do at the college level. Saban sucked in the NFL. So did Spurrier. Kiffin wasn't so hot then either.

If you're judging BOB, there are really two points to consider. First, he did a more than credible job at Penn State considering the hammering they were getting at the time. Turning in two winning seasons there attributes well to him, IMO.

Second, he has presided over the number 2 offense in 2021 per OFEI and is currently 4th this year. Sure, Bama gets talent, but they aren't squandering it.

There are always fans who complained based on their perceptions or opinions, but BOB has been rock solid as a P5 OC under Saban. Someone is going to hire him this year or next.

He wouldn't be my primary choice, but I wouldn't be disappointed if he was announced either.

 

[John]

Late to the Sanders interview discussion by a day but did his response about possibly going to GT rub anyone the wrong way?

Seems like we would have to overpay (not just monetarily) to get him here.

 

[GTThor]

Personal wish list.

1. Jeff Monken
2. Brian Bohannon

I know that I’m in the minority with this and I know the impact it could have on recruiting.
Both of them are solid coaches.

3. Bill O’Brian - he is better than what most give him credit for. He would do a great job here.

4. The Coastal Carolina coach.

5. The Wake Coach. I don’t think he would leave and come here.

 

[UgaBlows]

Given that the fanbase will never accept the option offense you really just need a good program manager to build a good staff and hand the reigns off to one of them. Someone like a Les Miles as an example. You just want someone to add the stability for the program not a long term hire.

That was a joke, I’m pretty sure he‘s happily retired

 

[ibeattetris]

can we hire someone whose fans will be sad when they leave? Bama fans seem ready to see him go

Alabama fans are notoriously stupid though, so there is that.

They didn’t think that much of Lane Kiffin either (and Saban treated Kiffin like dog ****).

I think Alabama fans were sad to see Kirby Smart go, but they didn't think they'd lose to him.

In general, I'd prefer a coach that did a great job and whose current fans want to keep them, but I'm also not going to lose TOO much sleep over what Bama fans think. O'Brien seems to be doing a good job, and maybe more than a good job, even if most Bama fans don't think so.

EDIT: with time to go to hire an AD, and then to hire a HC, I hope we aren’t sick of all the candidates by the time we make a hire.

Exactly.

 

[inGTwetrust]

Bama just put up 49 on a top 20 team while using the backup for most of the game … who doesn’t appear to be much of a passer. I think Bama fans are a little unreasonable with their expectations.

 

[gtme2000]

Bohannon would be the least exciting hire I could ever imagine. We need someone to cure the malaise infecting this program. I vote that we cannot hire any coach from one of the 10 teams Geoff beat.

Flame suit is on...come at me!!!

So citadel’s veer coach it is? Too soon? I kid I kid.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

I vote that we cannot hire any coach from one of the 10 teams Geoff beat.

Collins only beat 9 teams.

 

[dcall]

Brent Key.

 

[takethepoints]

I'd go with Bohannon because he knows how to develop a program, he knows how to run the spread option, and he knows how to win. Yes, this would mean "an historic transition", but my guess that we would keep most of the players. And we have a BB already: Smith.

But … there are too many people who don't want this. So - again - Chadwell, if he'll come. That will depend on money and what the Hill is ready to do. Or Mullen because he'll come, we can afford him, and he knows how to develop QBs. I could live with BOB, however.

Btw, I watched TCU destroy Oklahoma today. They were running the same O (roughly) that Coastal does. They had a QB - Duggan - who runs. Sorta like Sims tonight. Sims could learn and he'd be very bad. And, yes, in the 247 "talent ranking" TCU is at 32, Tech is 30.

 

[TooTall]

Just wondering if Todd Monken is already our coach and sabotaging the mutts tonight?

 

[laoh]

Can someone explain why everyone is enamored for Chadwell when we'll see the Bob Davie style of triple option out of the gun at New Mexico. I thought many people here were done with the option.