Last night's radio show

[takethepoints]

If you were in his shoes, would you do anything different? I understand what he is doing and why but I want to see less talk and more results on the field. If he wants to approach his team in a positive fashion, that is his business but yes I can see the danger of believing your own hype too much.

The problem can have more to do with morale over the long term. The executive I mentioned had lost the trust and support of many of the employees after a year or so. He kept making optimistic assertions about reaching goals and never pulled it off. When that happened he had a tendency to blame those in the trenches and doubt their commitment to the institution. He also began to micromanage to "be sure everything was being done correctly". That meant deactivating the employees who were ready to help and keeping decisions increasingly to himself and his close circle, who were increasingly unwilling to cross him. (This is sometimes called "mushroonming"; i.e. you keep people in the dark and you feed them <impolite term for human excerment>. He spied on people too.)

If rumors of this start to emerge, we will see the results. Again, let's hope I'm wrong and this is largely a front intended to tamp down criticism.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

The problem can have more to do with morale over the long term. The executive I mentioned had lost the trust and support of many of the employees after a year or so. He kept making optimistic assertions about reaching goals and never pulled it off. When that happened he had a tendency to blame those in the trenches and doubt their commitment to the institution. He also began to micromanage to "be sure everything was being done correctly". That meant deactivating the employees who were ready to help and keeping decisions increasingly to himself and his close circle, who were increasingly unwilling to cross him. (This is sometimes called "mushroonming"; i.e. you keep people in the dark and you feed them <impolite term for human excerment>. He spied on people too.)

If rumors of this start to emerge, we will see the results. Again, let's hope I'm wrong and this is largely a front intended to tamp down criticism.

Sounds like an empire builder of the worst sort. A really despicable human being. I trust you were none the worst for wear being exposed to him.

 

[iceeater1969]

Well, I've heard this before. And Collins is right; greatness is a process. But I'm not sure it is the one he is thinking of.

In his Prison Notebooks Antonio Gramsci, the brains of the Italian Communist Party at the time, described how he approached revolutionary activity, "Pessimism of the intellect; optimism of the will." I think that's how most successful people in almost all walks of life approach their work. They have goals and they think they will achieve them. They also are characterized by a relentless search for error and its sources, so they can explain why they (inevitably) fail and fix the problem. Scientists are the stars at this, but business people and - wait for it - football coaches are the same way.

There is one field of human endeavor, however, where relentless positivism of the kind he calls for in his radio show clip is predominant: sales and advertising. I've had experience with an executive who had this kind of mindset. I had a friend who worked for him as chief evaluator and data analyst. Every year, the executive in question would set goals, call on all around him to bend every effort to sell them to the community, and insist on "positive attitudes" about reaching them. My friend had a problem: he was all for reaching goals and trying hard, but he also had a responsibility to analyze the data and say what it was telling him. And, consistently, he found that the data showed him that the goals in question weren't achievable and that no amount of positive thinking would make them so. He kept getting accused of "not being a team player" or "being negative" and all he could do was point at the figures. (Btw, they were almost always right on the money.) He finally left his position.

Now, I need to back off a bit because I think Collins said what he did for pretextual reasons. He knows the fans are restless and the the team has looked poorly coached. I suspect that he is as ready to criticize what his team is doing as any other football coach. But I fear that he really does want "POSITIVE PEOPLE who are on the same mission as I am" around the program and that he thinks that will help him achieve his goals. He may be right, but it should be obvious that this could lead to him being surrounded by a crowd of sycophants who are afraid to tell him the truth. That's what happened to the executive described above. This attitude is the thing I have the most apprehension about. Hope I'm wrong.

in 76 - 7 years out of tech while working on a 1000 mile pipeline task force engineering project. We were set apart from rest of company and were a cash flow machine. I saw a guy like you described hired to motivate the rest of the company. He was an outside hire vp - nick named Ed" Dare to be great" Regradless of results he would stay isolated and would make wild predictions of success and demand loyalty of his tight inner circle ---- who were with him to the bitter end (4 years).

Sure cgc has to get his new staff on same page during games or it wont matter how positive he is. After that we will see if he can acknowledge but not dwell on set backs, motivate people work w eyes on prize , and weed out the dead wood.
He sure did a good job branding and quickly getting tech men to return as assistant coaches.

 

[takethepoints]

Sounds like an empire builder of the worst sort. A really despicable human being. I trust you were none the worst for wear being exposed to him.

I wasn't, but I was in a special situation that made it hard for him to effect me. After awhile, he stopped being "disruptive" (his term) and began to put his efforts behind new endeavors that didn't involve the core routines of the organization. This eased things, but a lot of ground was lost in the process. That is my biggest worry about all this. Tech can't afford to lose much more ground and stay a P5 school.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

Issue for me is that a lot of people that are complaining are complaint about stuff they really don’t know anything about. It just gets annoying seeing negativity about stuff that people don’t even know what they are talking about.

Like the 3O....I totally feel ya bud.

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

Hard to listen to. I had to stop at about 12:30 mark. Mostly sunshine and hyperbole. Most people just want the truth and I really don't have the time to fact check all 60 minutes (minus commercials). There was one kernel that stood out -"punt team is a huge part of what we do." Well, uh, yeah, no ****.

I just love how so many believe pointing out facts is “negative”. The facts don’t go away just because you don’t talk about them.

 

[Animal02]

I just love how so many believe pointing out facts is “negative”. The facts don’t go away just because you don’t talk about them.

I can't believe how many hand wave away the direct lies as "coach speak".

 

[GTFLETCH]

I’m afraid the main conclusion from all of this is that the coaching staff, and especially Coach Collins, are not yet up to this job. He may grow into it, but not getting a team ready to play a scheme we ran for 11 years is inexcusable. Having a few bad weeks of practice when you haven’t played 5 minutes of good football yet is inexcusable. Losing to Temple is bad. 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, and what if we win 0-1 more from here on?

My thought is if you wanna change the culture? WIN! Tech needs a coach not a hype man with his ridiculous ABOVE THE LINE junk! What kind of millennial "everyone gets a trophy" crap it that? The offense looks lost and the defense looked confused and its all because there's different guys on both sides of the ball for each and every down. There is no consistency from one week to another with this ATL bull and it makes it difficult for the players to grow together with a revolving door at each position. Don't try to reinvent the wheel. I've never seen a team with show so much lack of discipline. This team won 7 games last year, losing to a FCS & G5 school is not OK! Both losses are squarely on the coaching staff and thus, on Coach Collins. From rotating QBs and preventing any of them from establishing any rhythm to awful playcalling (shotgun formation on 4th and 1 with a QB who is automatic at short distance) to awful clock management, our coaches didn't prepare the team to play either game. I hope UNC game is better, but this Coaching staff seems to be struggling and may never grow into the job.

I guess time will tell

 

[Animal02]

I’m afraid the main conclusion from all of this is that the coaching staff, and especially Coach Collins, are not yet up to this job. He may grow into it, but not getting a team ready to play a scheme we ran for 11 years is inexcusable. Having a few bad weeks of practice when you haven’t played 5 minutes of good football yet is inexcusable. Losing to Temple is bad. 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, and what if we win 0-1 more from here on?

My thought is if you wanna change the culture? WIN! Tech needs a coach not a hype man with his ridiculous ABOVE THE LINE junk! What kind of millennial "everyone gets a trophy" crap it that? The offense looks lost and the defense looked confused and its all because there's different guys on both sides of the ball for each and every down. There is no consistency from one week to another with this ATL bull and it makes it difficult for the players to grow together with a revolving door at each position. Don't try to reinvent the wheel. I've never seen a team with show so much lack of discipline. This team won 7 games last year, losing to a FCS & G5 school is not OK! Both losses are squarely on the coaching staff and thus, on Coach Collins. From rotating QBs and preventing any of them from establishing any rhythm to awful playcalling (shotgun formation on 4th and 1 with a QB who is automatic at short distance) to awful clock management, our coaches didn't prepare the team to play either game. I hope UNC game is better, but this Coaching staff seems to be struggling and may never grow into the job.

I guess time will tell

On top of all that, we are paying him at a high rate on a 7 year contract ....for learning on the job

 

[billga99]

I have been following GT Swarm for a couple of years but this is my first post. I have read the battle between Paul Johnson and Geoff Collins camps. Paul Johnson is/was a brilliant Xs and Os coach and could get the most from his talent level. Put him on a reasonably close talent level and his offense will not be stopped. But those are the traits of an offensive coordinator and not a head coach. A head coach needs to be in charge of all 3 aspects of the game...offense, defense and special teams. GT defense during his tenure was only good the first couple of years when they had several d-lineman from the Gailey years who went to the NFL. Special teams were up and down but never consistently good. The other aspects of being a head coach is to be a promoter of the program. Yes being a winning program is a major help but being the face of the franchise is also key. Part of the things Paul Johnson wanted such as more recruiting budget, bigger staff, etc. are heavily dependent on revenue. So yes I think Paul's leaving was mutual.

So fast forward to Geoff Collins. He was a very strong defensive coordinator and a strong recruiter but really is an unknown as a head coach. As many have pointed out, his upper classmen were recruited by the previous coach at Temple so it remains to be seen if he can cut it as a head coach. His energy and hype level is high and he has brought attention to GT that we haven't had for years. Will it last is unknown particularly if we have a couple of really poor seasons on the field.

But here is the reality. TStan had to do something because his biggest revenue source (football) was failing to attract fans and donations. I don't think this had anything to do with Paul Johnson's capabilities as a football coach which are clearly proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. But if we don't have a way to attract some percentage of the sidewalk fans in the Metro Atlanta area, our ability to generate enough revenue to be competitive will continue to lag not only the SEC schools we are surrounded by but most of the ACC schools as well. So Geoff Collins remains an unknown in terms of ability to succeed. But if you don't think a change had to be made, I don't think you are paying attending to the current state of the GT athletic program and the desperate need to up our status versus other schools.

 

[iceeater1969]

I hope but I dont know if he can coach . Ditto I hope but I dont know that the unexpected injuries of senior ol players has been a big part what has happened this year.


I do know that cgc and t stan have nothing to do with past financial failures and recruiting failures.

As we "" know"" the nfl will find u if u are good
NFL
Harvard 9 Gt 11, Temple 19 , UNC 23. Blame cgc ??

Looking at the money - we have been a dumpster fire the previous ads did not disclose. The fire is in faikure of tech grads to donate or buy tickets at a pace near our competition. ALA, UGA, CLEMSON R OUT OF OUR LEAGUE. Let's look at unc vs gt
Total Unc 96 Gt 81
Ticket sales unc 24 gt 12
Donations unc 21 gt 11
(Fees on students gt is ahead)
unc has ts and donations account for 47% of there 96 million budget.
Gt has ts and d account for 28% of our 81 million budget.).

Until cpj stomped his feet gt had virtually no recruiting support.

We are stem, have no college course diversity but we dont give more.

I hope t stan swing for the fences hire works. imo, cgc has proven to future GREAT recruits that they ( like the 3 rookie qbs lj, TO and Graham) will get their chance. This hail merry is our only chance.


Now he can settle down and try to coach around a decimated ol with a low paid group of assistant coaches.
( Note - no DT recruits in 2020 because the dl coach played lb 3 years ago- Yea, we are serious about winning.)

Back to the ranting engineers without numbers or facts.

 

[jayparr]

I’m afraid the main conclusion from all of this is that the coaching staff, and especially Coach Collins, are not yet up to this job. He may grow into it, but not getting a team ready to play a scheme we ran for 11 years is inexcusable. Having a few bad weeks of practice when you haven’t played 5 minutes of good football yet is inexcusable. Losing to Temple is bad. 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, and what if we win 0-1 more from here on?

My thought is if you wanna change the culture? WIN! Tech needs a coach not a hype man with his ridiculous ABOVE THE LINE junk! What kind of millennial "everyone gets a trophy" crap it that? The offense looks lost and the defense looked confused and its all because there's different guys on both sides of the ball for each and every down. There is no consistency from one week to another with this ATL bull and it makes it difficult for the players to grow together with a revolving door at each position. Don't try to reinvent the wheel. I've never seen a team with show so much lack of discipline. This team won 7 games last year, losing to a FCS & G5 school is not OK! Both losses are squarely on the coaching staff and thus, on Coach Collins. From rotating QBs and preventing any of them from establishing any rhythm to awful playcalling (shotgun formation on 4th and 1 with a QB who is automatic at short distance) to awful clock management, our coaches didn't prepare the team to play either game. I hope UNC game is better, but this Coaching staff seems to be struggling and may never grow into the job.

I guess time will tell

Man, right out of my manuel play book!!!!!

 

[Animal02]

I have been following GT Swarm for a couple of years but this is my first post. I have read the battle between Paul Johnson and Geoff Collins camps. Paul Johnson is/was a brilliant Xs and Os coach and could get the most from his talent level. Put him on a reasonably close talent level and his offense will not be stopped. But those are the traits of an offensive coordinator and not a head coach. A head coach needs to be in charge of all 3 aspects of the game...offense, defense and special teams. GT defense during his tenure was only good the first couple of years when they had several d-lineman from the Gailey years who went to the NFL. Special teams were up and down but never consistently good. The other aspects of being a head coach is to be a promoter of the program. Yes being a winning program is a major help but being the face of the franchise is also key. Part of the things Paul Johnson wanted such as more recruiting budget, bigger staff, etc. are heavily dependent on revenue. So yes I think Paul's leaving was mutual.

So fast forward to Geoff Collins. He was a very strong defensive coordinator and a strong recruiter but really is an unknown as a head coach. As many have pointed out, his upper classmen were recruited by the previous coach at Temple so it remains to be seen if he can cut it as a head coach. His energy and hype level is high and he has brought attention to GT that we haven't had for years. Will it last is unknown particularly if we have a couple of really poor seasons on the field.

But here is the reality. TStan had to do something because his biggest revenue source (football) was failing to attract fans and donations. I don't think this had anything to do with Paul Johnson's capabilities as a football coach which are clearly proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. But if we don't have a way to attract some percentage of the sidewalk fans in the Metro Atlanta area, our ability to generate enough revenue to be competitive will continue to lag not only the SEC schools we are surrounded by but most of the ACC schools as well. So Geoff Collins remains an unknown in terms of ability to succeed. But if you don't think a change had to be made, I don't think you are paying attending to the current state of the GT athletic program and the desperate need to up our status versus other schools.

Lol.....if you think football ticket sales is the biggest revenue source....then you are the one not paying attention.....free hint....."Ticket sales" is #3 wrt revenue sources.