Here is our problem on the Swarm

[LargeFO]

I was frustrated with the direction of Tech football and with Coach Gailey not being able to turn the corner (e.g., win critical, season-defining games and beat UGA at least once). The problem I had with Coach Gailey wasn't so much the on-the-field performance, (Although I think we should have beaten WF) but a lack of zest for his job. He seemed a poor fit for Tech. My initial gut reaction when he appeared at his first press conference as coach was that Tech made the wrong hiring decision and that fans would be stuck with him for five or six more years until people finally realized it. It never seemed like Coach Gailey ever truly wanted to be at Tech; it almost seemed like he was just collecting a pay check at times. Never really sold the public on the Tech program.

My thoughts on Coach Paul Johnson are different... He won more games (58 or 59 if you count the ACC title game) in his first seven years than any other coach in the storied history of the Institute. In 2014 with his recruits that team ranked 8th nationally by the Associated Press, the school’s highest ranking in 24 years. I didn't particularly want him gone. However like Gailey, his teams have a knack for losing critical, season-defining games. Like Gailey, his teams sometimes find ways to win that occasional, unlikely game they shouldn't have won.(08,14,16 in Athens come to mind) But Coach Johnson around 2015 after losing both Jeff Monken and Brian Bohanan to head coaching jobs something happened.. 2015, 2017, 2018 years something happened. So it was time for a change.

Coach Geoff Collins has shown lots of love and zest for Georgia Tech football.... But the main conclusion from this season is that the coaching staff, and especially Coach Collins, are not yet up to this job. He/they may grow into it, but not getting a team ready to play a scheme we ran for 11 years is inexcusable. Having a bad week of practice when you haven’t played 5 minutes of good football yet is inexcusable. This is what worried me from day one about Coach Collins and all the social media hype. He’s had two seasons as a HC and let’s be honest, there isn’t much track record there (it’s Temple!) so the hyperbole always felt forced and compensating for a lack of substance. Now he has to turn it down, get to basics and try to build credibility. I’m not optimistic. The sales pitch was the hype would lead to better talent, but who’s hyped to come hear now?

Give em 3 full years man. Then let's make a judgment.

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

I was frustrated with the direction of Tech football and with Coach Gailey not being able to turn the corner (e.g., win critical, season-defining games and beat UGA at least once). The problem I had with Coach Gailey wasn't so much the on-the-field performance, (Although I think we should have beaten WF) but a lack of zest for his job. He seemed a poor fit for Tech. My initial gut reaction when he appeared at his first press conference as coach was that Tech made the wrong hiring decision and that fans would be stuck with him for five or six more years until people finally realized it. It never seemed like Coach Gailey ever truly wanted to be at Tech; it almost seemed like he was just collecting a pay check at times. Never really sold the public on the Tech program.

My thoughts on Coach Paul Johnson are different... He won more games (58 or 59 if you count the ACC title game) in his first seven years than any other coach in the storied history of the Institute. In 2014 with his recruits that team ranked 8th nationally by the Associated Press, the school’s highest ranking in 24 years. I didn't particularly want him gone. However like Gailey, his teams have a knack for losing critical, season-defining games. Like Gailey, his teams sometimes find ways to win that occasional, unlikely game they shouldn't have won.(08,14,16 in Athens come to mind) But Coach Johnson around 2015 after losing both Jeff Monken and Brian Bohanan to head coaching jobs something happened.. 2015, 2017, 2018 years something happened. So it was time for a change.

Coach Geoff Collins has shown lots of love and zest for Georgia Tech football.... But the main conclusion from this season is that the coaching staff, and especially Coach Collins, are not yet up to this job. He/they may grow into it, but not getting a team ready to play a scheme we ran for 11 years is inexcusable. Having a bad week of practice when you haven’t played 5 minutes of good football yet is inexcusable. This is what worried me from day one about Coach Collins and all the social media hype. He’s had two seasons as a HC and let’s be honest, there isn’t much track record there (it’s Temple!) so the hyperbole always felt forced and compensating for a lack of substance. Now he has to turn it down, get to basics and try to build credibility. I’m not optimistic. The sales pitch was the hype would lead to better talent, but who’s hyped to come hear now?

You pretty much summed up all of my thoughts. I am a little more optimistic on CGC (because I want to be) than you, but I realize that he is very "green", and there was/is not excuse for losing to a bad FCS team. His personality, because I have seen it over the years, lends itself to more hype than substance, but I have seen the occasional great sales pitch with actual substance too. It is very RARE, though. I realize that once he started the unbelievable "buzz" for the program, he set himself up for either limited success or tremendous failure. I am hoping he can at least get us back to about the CGC years or a little better.

 

[Coloradojacket]

I hear you and understand your concerns. Take away the Citadel game and the man is doing about all he can with the talent on the field. If he’s not doing better by year 3 I’ll be carrying the torches with you.

So this is where I get a bit edgy. We actually have quite a bit of talent in our linebackers, secondary, WR and RBs. I would say even QB after watching Graham Oh and punter. Now where are we lacking, in the most critical part of a football team, the O and D line. We can thank attrition here and why I give the current staff a pass for some of the season. The Citadel game was just an outright coaching failure.

 

[Animal02]

So this is where I get a bit edgy. We actually have quite a bit of talent in our linebackers, secondary, WR and RBs. I would say even QB after watching Graham Oh and punter. Now where are we lacking, in the most critical part of a football team, the O and D line. We can thank attrition here and why I give the current staff a pass for some of the season. The Citadel game was just an outright coaching failure.

More than just the Citadel game. Good example is not anticipating the 2 pt try by Virginia and burning a time out. (Not that CPJ never wasted TOs ) I just see too much emphasis on hype and not enough on the basics. Recruits may like the shiny new object in the room, but by next year, someone else will be the shiny new object and we will be coming off a 2-4 win season......and not looking to much better the in 2020

 

[Boaty1]

So this is where I get a bit edgy. We actually have quite a bit of talent in our linebackers, secondary, WR and RBs. I would say even QB after watching Graham Oh and punter. Now where are we lacking, in the most critical part of a football team, the O and D line. We can thank attrition here and why I give the current staff a pass for some of the season. The Citadel game was just an outright coaching failure.

Sorry my friend. Disagree big time with you here. We have average talent at DB and RB and that is about it. Everything else is well below average including the qb and ol play bring some of the worst you will see at the P5 level.

 

[GTBandman]

If all the discussion about turning over the roster happens (not saying I agree it should, but I expect it will) - we will sign 25 this year and close to it next year. That will flip nearly 2/3 of the scholarship roster with true freshman and sophomores in 2021. I don't see how all this talk of significant improvement next year or even the year after is going to happen, at least with the level of coaching we have seen so far. We are going to be "young" until 2022 at least. I'll be there to root the Jackets on as always, but I sure don't have high expectations of any near-term success at this point - and I just don't like throwing away 3 seasons.

 

[Techster]

Basically none. The Defense rests.

1 > 0

Again, we have one on our roster now.

Very few teams recruit like 'Bama or Clemson or Ohio State or UGA....but teams don't need to recruit like them to succeed. We will have double digit 4 star players on the roster next year. In 3-4 years, GT will probably have 20+ 4 stars and maybe a 5 star or two That's pretty good, that's more than enough to win the Coastal, which means a chance to win the ACC.

People need to get it out of their heads we are competing against those mega factories. We are not. Our immediate goal should always be to win the Coastal and then win the ACC...then take our chances against UGA.

If you're worrying about those mega factories then you're wasting your time. GT has ways been a good program. I don't expect that to change.

 

[stech81]

I was frustrated with the direction of Tech football and with Coach Gailey not being able to turn the corner (e.g., win critical, season-defining games and beat UGA at least once). The problem I had with Coach Gailey wasn't so much the on-the-field performance, (Although I think we should have beaten WF) but a lack of zest for his job. He seemed a poor fit for Tech. My initial gut reaction when he appeared at his first press conference as coach was that Tech made the wrong hiring decision and that fans would be stuck with him for five or six more years until people finally realized it. It never seemed like Coach Gailey ever truly wanted to be at Tech; it almost seemed like he was just collecting a pay check at times. Never really sold the public on the Tech program.

My thoughts on Coach Paul Johnson are different... He won more games (58 or 59 if you count the ACC title game) in his first seven years than any other coach in the storied history of the Institute. In 2014 with his recruits that team ranked 8th nationally by the Associated Press, the school’s highest ranking in 24 years. I didn't particularly want him gone. However like Gailey, his teams have a knack for losing critical, season-defining games. Like Gailey, his teams sometimes find ways to win that occasional, unlikely game they shouldn't have won.(08,14,16 in Athens come to mind) But Coach Johnson around 2015 after losing both Jeff Monken and Brian Bohanan to head coaching jobs something happened.. 2015, 2017, 2018 years something happened. So it was time for a change.

Coach Geoff Collins has shown lots of love and zest for Georgia Tech football.... But the main conclusion from this season is that the coaching staff, and especially Coach Collins, are not yet up to this job. He/they may grow into it, but not getting a team ready to play a scheme we ran for 11 years is inexcusable. Having a bad week of practice when you haven’t played 5 minutes of good football yet is inexcusable. This is what worried me from day one about Coach Collins and all the social media hype. He’s had two seasons as a HC and let’s be honest, there isn’t much track record there (it’s Temple!) so the hyperbole always felt forced and compensating for a lack of substance. Now he has to turn it down, get to basics and try to build credibility. I’m not optimistic. The sales pitch was the hype would lead to better talent, but who’s hyped to come hear now?

Coach Gaily got on 1/2 the fans bad side with flunk gate and some blamed him for playing an injured running back and losing him for the year. His so called pro offense was just plain boring. If he had any lead 1 point he was going to be more conservative and try and let the defense win the game. And he wanted to finish his job in the pro's before coming and recruiting.

 

[Skeptic]

No coach is beyond second guessing and criticism. But yes, we should be behind our team 100% and let our guys have time and runway. We also do need to keep things in perspective. We don't have the money that schools like FSU have where they can fire people every few years and spend $10m-$20m on a coaching carrousel. I think what you've seen is not unusual to other teams though. Look at Ed Orgeron and before him Les Miles. LSU has to play Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Texas A&M every year. At least 3 of those 5 teams are highly ranked every year...sometimes 4 or 5 of those teams are ranked. Les Miles averaged about 10 wins per year for well over a decade, but look at what happened to him. The man never had a single sub 8-win year. And they were about to run Ed out of town too despite the fact they won 8 his first year, 9 the next year, 10 last year, and already have 9 wins this year.

What I'm getting at is that I'm not trying to say anybody should be fine with mediocrity or to set your expectations too low. But at the same time, every team can't win 12-14 games. And there are always costs to turning over the coaching staff (both in recruiting, continuity, experience, money). Its not just getting rid of someone, there's always a risk of who you're going to hire next. A lot of folks like Will Muschamp say hello.

The SEC schedule might be the most overhyped thing since Trump University. Or before maybe. Some very good teams and some really awful teams MSU and Mississippi are up and down and mostly down of late, and A&M is ranked every year until they suddenly have to play an actual game. Miles' problem as I recall was some astonishing game day decisions. Maybe it was his recruiting?

 

[GTNavyNuke]

I've got no problem with Swarm. Ignore makes it much better. Some people just want to vent. Finding something enjoyable to them would seem to be reasonable.

Win and things will get better. For baseball, the posts are less contentious since we had a good season and things are looking up. Of course I'm probably projecting.

 

[ibeattetris]

if we're good enough to win 8+ games outside of Clemson and Georgia, we'll occasionally beat them too. May only be 1 of every 5 years or something, but it will naturally happen because that's how football is.

Not trying to single you out. I have been toying with with a thread idea for a while, and this statement is a good chance to tease part of it.

I have seen other posters mention that we will do better against UGA when we recruit better. I am not sure I agree.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan–Ohio_State_football_rivalry

In the past 20 years, Michigan has only beaten Ohio State 4 time (and 2 of those wins were 19 and 20 years ago. In the last 15 years, OSU has gone 14-1.

Since 2000, Michigan has had better overall average recruiting classes (which might be negatively swayed by a rough stretch for OSU from 2003-2007), yet despite this, OSU has overwhelmingly dominated the series.

This is just one example, and if I find some free time I plan to look into some more rivalries, but based on this data alone, I see nothing that leads me to believe that an increase in recruiting is what is needed for us to win at a higher frequency against UGA.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

Not trying to single you out. I have been toying with with a thread idea for a while, and this statement is a good chance to tease part of it.

I have seen other posters mention that we will do better against UGA when we recruit better. I am not sure I agree.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan–Ohio_State_football_rivalry

In the past 20 years, Michigan has only beaten Ohio State 4 time (and 2 of those wins were 19 and 20 years ago. In the last 15 years, OSU has gone 14-1.

Since 2000, Michigan has had better overall average recruiting classes (which might be negatively swayed by a rough stretch for OSU from 2003-2007), yet despite this, OSU has overwhelmingly dominated the series.

This is just one example, and if I find some free time I plan to look into some more rivalries, but based on this data alone, I see nothing that leads me to believe that an increase in recruiting is what is needed for us to win at a higher frequency against UGA.

Well we beat Georgia in 2014 and 2016 with vastly inferior recruits, so I’m kind of just assuming...

 

[ibeattetris]

Well we beat Georgia in 2014 and 2016 with vastly inferior recruits, so I’m kind of just assuming...

Definitely. And I don't think anyone who thinks recruiting better won't help is necessarily wrong. I just think there is a lot more to college football than how well some scouts think a high schooler projects into the NFL. The OSU/MICH series fascinates me and seems to be a good indicator that having better coaching can be a tremendous advantage.

I do look forward to seeing what other rivalries show. The VT/UVA rivalry is another one that makes no sense. UVA has won only ONCE since 1999! We are miserable fans because we typically have won 3 per decade on average. I can't imagine 1-19.

 

[GTRX7]

Definitely. And I don't think anyone who thinks recruiting better won't help is necessarily wrong. I just think there is a lot more to college football than how well some scouts think a high schooler projects into the NFL. The OSU/MICH series fascinates me and seems to be a good indicator that having better coaching can be a tremendous advantage.

I do look forward to seeing what other rivalries show. The VT/UVA rivalry is another one that makes no sense. UVA has won only ONCE since 1999! We are miserable fans because we typically have won 3 per decade on average. I can't imagine 1-19.

Don't forget that Florida beat UGA 18 of 21 from 1990 to 2010 : )

 

[herb]

Miles' problem as I recall was some astonishing game day decisions. Maybe it was his recruiting?

If by recruiting you mean qb, then yes.

 

[Coloradojacket]

Did I read someone here say we will soon be recruiting double digit 4 star recruits........there aren't that many 4 stars out there that can pass calculus. We will never win with recruiting alone......lol

 

[Techfan02]

I'm one of the younger tech fans here only a senior in high school and been watching tech heavily since 2013 and been mostly around CPJ and was a fan and glad we were winning but it was boring and only times i got exited was when we had a big pitch play or dive that would go the distance but last 2 years i didn't like the loosing and it was going worse so i did want him gone but i didn't know who i wanted but hearing CGC has restored my faith and not had me as pissed as CPJ made me with some questionable calls but i'm still for CGC and will be until he proves me otherwise and with all the injuries and players learning the schemes and formations i'm more optimistic for the future but i can't deny i do miss going for it on 4th and 1

 

[Coloradojacket]

Now I am not going to pull all the stats but when comparing recruiting. I was looking back at the 2009 and 2010 recruiting classes and there are a lot of big players for us on those classes. And if you simply go by star average, in 2010 we had the 23rd ranked class that year. And that was the class that was the 2014 squad.

 

[Vespidae]

Did I read someone here say we will soon be recruiting double digit 4 star recruits........there aren't that many 4 stars out there that can pass calculus. We will never win with recruiting alone......lol

Someone should just ask CGC if this is what he’s doing. TStan has said Techs strategy is NOT to recruit 4 and 5 stars but to find good 3 stars and develop them internally.

 

[Coloradojacket]

I'm one of the younger tech fans here only a senior in high school and been watching tech heavily since 2013 and been mostly around CPJ and was a fan and glad we were winning but it was boring and only times i got exited was when we had a big pitch play or dive that would go the distance but last 2 years i didn't like the loosing and it was going worse so i did want him gone but i didn't know who i wanted but hearing CGC has restored my faith and not had me as pissed as CPJ made me with some questionable calls but i'm still for CGC and will be until he proves me otherwise and with all the injuries and players learning the schemes and formations i'm more optimistic for the future but i can't deny i do miss going for it on 4th and 1

LOL...I like your enthusiasm. But you point out how the game of football has changed. A boring offense, it wins and keeps the defense off the field but it is boring....lol. You would never survived the 70's 80's and much of the 90's. The wishbone, Veer....you need to watch remember the Titans.......