LongforDodd
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This is the same Schultz who says he can see ugag stuff all over downtown ATL from the GT press box?
HC Candidate/Rumors/Info Thread
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Ramble1885
proud sidewalk fan
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Uh.
Techster
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I have a business client that donates a LOT of money every year. He's friends with a lot of the donors that were privy to high level decisions...BEFORE Batt was hired. Batt and Cabrera have put the clamp down on information. The only information leaking out is negative info because the old boys club, the same group that led to Collins and Stansbury getting hired, have been pushing back on everything Batt and Cabrera want to do. Make no mistake, there's a culture change happening inside the GTAA and a small, but very powerful (i.e. RICH) group are not very happy. Things are messy right now inside the GTAA.
He would never give me any names of candidates, and I would never ask. I just won't go there. He didn't tell me who, but he did say Batt had an "understanding" with his first choice (from reading between the lines, I'm guessing Chadwell), but the old boys club made a power play to send Batt and Cabrera a message. I'm not sure Key ever had a chance because Batt, under the direction of Cabrera, wants to clean house and start fresh for Batt's tenure...and the way a certain group has operated since Batt was named AD has made Cabrera dig in even harder.
Everyone understands the infighting has made GT unattractive, right? It appears we had a very popular coach committed, but the infighting scared him off. This is on Batt/Cabrera and a group of donors. There has been meddling going on with donors, and Batt/Cabrera have been hard headed about changing the culture inside the GTAA from the old boys club that has had free run of the GTAA for a long time now. GT is a tough job, and doesn't pay as well as other P5 jobs, the last thing a new coach wants is infighting and the threat of resources being withheld because the GT family can't get along.
If Fritz is indeed the choice, it will be Batt and Cabrera telling a certain group we're about to do this without you. There are also other donors, who collectively have more money than the "old boys club", but they are apolitical and will not get involved and choose sides. Also, Cabrera and Batt are currently working on a way for GTAA to become less dependent on donors, but inconveniently he hasn't crossed the line yet and it's affected our coaching search. Fritz looks like the "bridge" to get GT across the line where GT is less dependent on a small group of donors.
You know the saying "it gets harder before it gets easier"? Well, we're about to live through that. If you're a GT fan, you better hope Fritz starts winning soon. If Fritz start winning like he did at GA Southern, it will have proved Batt and Cabrera can do this without a certain group, and that will embolden other donors to start helping out more.
One thing I've learned in the past 2 months is GT's issues are REALLY deep. It's just not a structural issue of the school versus the GTAA, nor is it just an issue of two bad hires at AD and HFC (Stansbury + Collins). Way too many egos are in the kitchen right now trying to cook at the same time.
LongforDodd
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brian22
Ramblin' Wreck
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Would be concerning if he was coaching at a P5 school.
calvin forever
Georgia Tech Fan
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I'm completely pulling this from my arse, but he hired Dell McGee at Southern and recommended him to be his successor when Fritz left for Tulane. Bringing McGee into the fold (OC maybe?) would make me, for one, much more excited about this hire. That would give us a nice combo of solid, if unexciting, coach and an ace Georgia recruiter.
NorthAvenueNation
Jolly Good Fellow
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This is a very realistic response and I believe it to be very true myself. Fritz isn’t the sexiest hire, but to build something even better, Fritz could be a good reset financially over the next few years and lay a good foundation. I’d be even more for Fritz personally if we retained Key and Thacker.
malak05
Jolly Good Fellow
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Where can I go to help push!!!!
Wrecked
Ramblin' Wreck
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So he is Brian Gregory as I said on another board. Key could have been Brian Gregory.
Wrecked
Ramblin' Wreck
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Why would Key stay and work for the guy he lost the job to?
NorthAvenueNation
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rfjeff9
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My main goal is to get the best coach you believe you can get, who you think can win the most games for you. That means you have to understand who is interested in your job, and who you can afford.
I don't know whether Fritz will succeed but I plan to support him.
If you compare his tenure at Tulane to pretty much any coach they had before him it is quite positive. He is leading them to their 4th bowl game in 5 years, he has them in the AAC Championship game this year - ranked in the Top 25, and Tulane moved up from C-USA to the American in 2015, so he came in at a time they were transitioning to a higher level conference. Tulane had 1 winning season, 1 bowl game and a 29.7% winning percentage in the 13 years before he became their coach.
His 2 years at GSU were excellent. He managed to keep the same winning percentage as Jeff Monken at GSU while transitioning from FCS to FBS. He coached the first team in NCAA history to go undefeated in its conference in its first year in FBS and made a bowl game in year 2 (GSU was ineligible to go to a bowl game in Yr 1 in the FBS or he would have made bowl games both years). Being coach at GSU also means he has contacts within GA.
At Sam Houston State he made the NCAA FCS Championship game in 2 of his 4 years there.
The main takeaways that I have from the coaching search are the same two I had coming in - first, GT is not exactly the most attractive job in FBS, and second, GT doesn't have the finances to compete at the upper echelon, which shouldn't be a surprise to any GT fan who has paid any attention to GT's AA finances the last 15 years.
If Fritz can build a program as good as NCST I would be thrilled with that.
My belief is that the ceiling for GT football is winning an avg of 8-9 games per year (over a 5 yr period) with bowl games most seasons and the occasional ACC Championship game appearance (once every 4-5 years). Given where FBS football has moved and where GT is within that I think that is where GT sits.
Honestly, I was surprised his name hadn't come up in the rumors before, I had assumed it was due largely to his age.
It will be interesting to see what happens to Long if he is the hire - Long was his OC for his worst season of his coaching career - have to wonder if he will want to look somewhere else for an OC, or bring his current OC with him.
I don't know whether Fritz will succeed but I plan to support him.
If you compare his tenure at Tulane to pretty much any coach they had before him it is quite positive. He is leading them to their 4th bowl game in 5 years, he has them in the AAC Championship game this year - ranked in the Top 25, and Tulane moved up from C-USA to the American in 2015, so he came in at a time they were transitioning to a higher level conference. Tulane had 1 winning season, 1 bowl game and a 29.7% winning percentage in the 13 years before he became their coach.
His 2 years at GSU were excellent. He managed to keep the same winning percentage as Jeff Monken at GSU while transitioning from FCS to FBS. He coached the first team in NCAA history to go undefeated in its conference in its first year in FBS and made a bowl game in year 2 (GSU was ineligible to go to a bowl game in Yr 1 in the FBS or he would have made bowl games both years). Being coach at GSU also means he has contacts within GA.
At Sam Houston State he made the NCAA FCS Championship game in 2 of his 4 years there.
The main takeaways that I have from the coaching search are the same two I had coming in - first, GT is not exactly the most attractive job in FBS, and second, GT doesn't have the finances to compete at the upper echelon, which shouldn't be a surprise to any GT fan who has paid any attention to GT's AA finances the last 15 years.
If Fritz can build a program as good as NCST I would be thrilled with that.
My belief is that the ceiling for GT football is winning an avg of 8-9 games per year (over a 5 yr period) with bowl games most seasons and the occasional ACC Championship game appearance (once every 4-5 years). Given where FBS football has moved and where GT is within that I think that is where GT sits.
Honestly, I was surprised his name hadn't come up in the rumors before, I had assumed it was due largely to his age.
It will be interesting to see what happens to Long if he is the hire - Long was his OC for his worst season of his coaching career - have to wonder if he will want to look somewhere else for an OC, or bring his current OC with him.
inGTwetrust
Ramblin' Wreck
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This makes me happy to read. It had to be done. Glad Batt is holding firm and ripping the bandaid off. I like an ad with a vision.
RonJohn
Helluva Engineer
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If that gains traction, we will look like Tenn a few years ago. Thankfully, it is very very unlikely to gain traction.
BainbridgeJacket
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There's a lot true about this.
SandySpringsJacket
Jolly Good Fellow
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Understand your point but we made the exciting hire to get the fan base back last time, and we can all see how that worked out. Also, fans did not even come back once Key had us looking good after Collins got fired. The crowds the last two home games were pitiful. I think it is going to take winning to get the fans back. I am not excited about the hire either yet but let’s give the guy a chance. Was Bobby Ross an exciting hire?
Lotta Booze
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CPJ went 6-2 or better in the ACC twice his whole time at GT and I think he was a pretty damn good coach. It ain't easy
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I deleted it because it came from a paid site and I didn't realize it when it was texted to me.
Gist of it for those who are confused is people are attempting to organize an on campus protest of the hire.