HC Candidate/Rumors/Info Thread

[Randy Carson]

Remember, we haven't heard one single thing from from J Batt or Cabrera themselves about this search since it began. Everything is a rumor at this point. The story changes every day.

Agreed. But timing is still an issue, and that, I suspect, provides some clues as to what is going on.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

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.

Thanks. You have to crack a few eggs to make a good omelette.

 

[tomknight]

So you aren't looking forward to the "key would have won this game" after any loss we have next year?

Less worried about that right now than I am watching players depart. Hopefully that doesn't happen.

 

[NorthAvenueNation]

So you aren't looking forward to the "key would have won this game" after any loss we have next year?

And if Key was hired, the “Chadwell would’ve won this game” crowd and so on and so on…

 

[jacketup]

The infighting isn't any thing new. Radakovich fired Gailey to put his stamp on the program. Muschamp was the flavor of the month, and Radakovich had a tentative deal worked out to hire him. He knew he would get push back because of the Georgie connection, so he made sure he had Clough's support. When the money guys pushed back, Clough wimped out. Radakovich gave public support to Johnson, but left for Clemson after having the rug pulled out from under him by Clough.

Some people have doubted that this happened, but I know it to be true from a very inside source (who has since passed away). We then hired Paul Johnson, and we are still trying to make that transition, as evidenced in part by critical dropped passes yesterday by guys trying to play tight end.

J Batt is probably calling Alabama to see if his old job is still open. A rookie is no match for these donors. It takes a Homer Rice who has been around the block.

I'm happier with Fritz than Chadwell, whose 10 win seasons are paper tigers. I'm not happy with the way this entire situation has been handled, starting with not spending NIL money to upgrade the roster last offseason. The big donors do not understand P5 football in 2022.

 

[GTjunkie]

Here is a copy of it that isn't from inside a paywall. However, I still hope it falls flat.

Now we know what TFG is up to, these days.

 

[Squints]

Key needs to take a big dump in the head coaches office toilet and not flush before he cleans his stuff out, what a joke.

Not sure he has any big dumps left in him after the Virginia and Miami games.

 

[Jacket Bracket]

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.

I like that, IF Key is OK with being a #2. Can’t have two CEO’s

 

[TromboneJacket]

What worries me most about the rumors is the idea that Key might have been higher on the list than Fritz until the donors pushed too hard. I’m all for keeping them in check, but Batt’s job is to make the best decisions he can for the athletic department. Our athletic department can’t afford to cut off its nose to spite the face.

 

[Randy Carson]

Was Chadwell ever on the table?

His current salary is $850K and expected to earn $2.3M in bonuses ... which, based on CCU's performance, is highly likely. So Tech would have to offer a similar amount over a similar period. That's $3.2M over 6-7 years. And, because he's under contract for six more years, we would likely have to buy that out or pay a fee.

I don't see Tech going after anyone that has a buyout. BOB and Key make the most sense from a purely financial perspective.

Bigger base salary here and a step up the proverbial ladder.

 

[4shotB]

Bland hire. He'll be ok here. Has been ok elsewhere. Whatever I guess

There's a markting slogan for us to rally around! I can't believe that we have have school leaders so out of touch with the hard core fans. This is a guy who will cause everyone to step back and say "show me first" and not a guy that can rally the troops. I have a hard time believing this is even real.

 

[Sean311]

.

 

[Ramble1885]

Georgia Tech hiring Tulane coach Willie Fritz

Georgia Tech has its new football coach and all indications point to Tulane coach Willie Fritz, a person familiar with the situation told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sunday.

www.ajc.com

 

[DvilleJacket]

Not sure he has any big dumps left in him after the Virginia and Miami games.

I wonder if we got one of those wins would that have been enough?

 

[herb]

I’ll be there and support him, but honestly this is very underwhelming.

 

[kg01]

I begged folks not to get caught up in emotion with Key. Smells like folks ignored me yet again.

 

[stylee]

Would prefer Chadwell or Key (or a flexbone guy of course), but this isn’t terrible.

 

[Techster]

My $0.02 (which is worth zero) on Willie Fritz:

Fritz is a VERY good coach. The only negative I see with Fritz is his age. Talk about a guy that's had to earn his way up every rung on the ladder, and Fritz is that guy. He'd still be at GA Southern winning a lot of games if GA Southern would have just matched Tulane's offer. Fritz did not want to leave GA Southern...but he wanted security after all of the years coaching at smaller schools.

Fritz's experiment with Chip Long was his way of modernizing his offense. Will it have worked out in the long run? No one knows, but watching Long's offense here I would say GT did Fritz a favor by hiring him away. There's no way Fritz is retaining Long.

This year, Tulane's OFEI is #38, while his DFEI is #15. I think Fritz has finally gotten Tulane to hum, and now he's about to leave to coach us. Fritz has the potential to have GT finish in the top 4 of the ACC every year once he gets this program going...and if given the time, he'll get us there. Fritz is one of those coaches that is a "schematic advantage" type coach. He doesn't need the best recruiting classes to compete. Remember how he almost beat us in 2014 on our own field? That 2014 team he almost beat on our own field went on to win 11 games and ended up ranked in the top 10. That was Fritz's first season at GA Southern. That's the kind of coach GT needs.

This isn't a "sexy" hire, but it's a hire that may prove to be a VERY good one.

 

[Ramble1885]

Gonna leave this here

 

[awbuzz]

It's Fritz. Announcement tonight likely

3 days ago, sure did not think that he'd "be the one".