Let's do something different ( Who do you NOT want as a head coach at Tech)

[yeti92]

Yes I did.......

Not sure I want Fritz. He was decent at southern, but outside of the current season has been firmly mediocre at Tulane

 

[alagold]

Tennessee spent the better part of a decade wandering the wilderness, perhaps that is our fate. I hope not but its possible. Tennessee finally made the right hire as head coach and immediately found a quarterback who could make the offense go. It should not have taken so long given their resources but Tennessee remains a cautionary tale for those who think coaching does not matter.

How did Syracuse all of a sudden emerge as a power? It can be done but is difficult.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

How did Syracuse all of a sudden emerge as a power? It can be done but is difficult.

Something about lightning in a bottle perhaps?

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Forget a decade. We are in a lost decade right now. I’m worried about a lost 20-30 years. Think of all the schools around us who would love to have had our succeses over the past 30 some years. Bowl streaks, conference champs, orange bowls, and consistency. Look at South Carolina, Arkansas, Ole Miss, all the Carolina schools, Missouri, Maryland, etc. These bigger schools have been wandering for decades with nothing to hang their hat on. Sure, Ole Miss is riding an up swing right now but Kiffen is a hot commodity and will be gone at some point. This next hire will either get us back to the 7-8 win consistency or we’ll drop to the lower tier. We are teetering and could go either way to become a Vandy on one side or 8 win team on the other. I’m very concerned.

Concern duly noted. It is possible that the new college landscape will doom us to decades of mediocrity like what happened to Rice, Tulane, Duke, Vanderbilt, and others. All four of those schools were at one time respected football powers. Believe it or not, Rice under Jess Neely was a much feared football power in the old Southwest Conference in the late 50s and early 60s. Once the slide starts it is hard to stop. It should be noted though that none of those schools have the history, the fertile recruiting territory or the still formidable respect that Tech commands. We will just have to see. Coach Collins has put this program on a slippery downhill slope for sure but it can be reversed. I would not want to be in Mr. Batt's shoes in making this football coach selection. It may very well be do or die.

 

[slugboy]

How did Syracuse all of a sudden emerge as a power? It can be done but is difficult.

Babers is an interesting coach. He’s been at Syracuse for 7 years and has a losing record (0.443). Most seasons, he doesn’t hit bowl eligibility. Aside from having good seasons every now and then, his record looks a lot like Collins’.
This year, Babers got the OC from UVA and he’s already bowl eligible. They’re #16 in the AP poll right now.
I don’t know if it’s all because of the staff changes, but if it is then we don’t have to get a HC who is good at everything—we can get a HC who is good at one thing, and a really good set of coaches that cover their weak points.

That theory doesn’t always work, though—O’Leary was a defensive coach, and he never had a good defense.

Also, if Babers keeps this OC, is Syracuse good for more than one year?

 

[85Escape]

Also, if Babers keeps this OC, is Syracuse good for more than one year?

That's a great question. Or more to the point, might there be two (or three) genotypes for schools...or maybe it's just coaching styles?

It seems like some schools/coaches operate in a 'HC = CEO' model where the HC manages the stuff while the coordinators are the primary drivers of success or failure. But the coordinators move on frequently as they move up the ladder and the HC sticks around for many years for continuity of direction.

And then some schools hire the 'hero HC', who is well known as a genius in one area of football and the coordinators are actually there to implement their plan. Those coaches are often poached and turnover is frequent at the top, leading to rises and falls because genius is fickle and doesn't pay off as consistently as hard work.

 

[slugboy]

That's a great question. Or more to the point, might there be two (or three) genotypes for schools...or maybe it's just coaching styles?

It seems like some schools/coaches operate in a 'HC = CEO' model where the HC manages the stuff while the coordinators are the primary drivers of success or failure. But the coordinators move on frequently as they move up the ladder and the HC sticks around for many years for continuity of direction.

And then some schools hire the 'hero HC', who is well known as a genius in one area of football and the coordinators are actually there to implement their plan. Those coaches are often poached and turnover is frequent at the top, leading to rises and falls because genius is fickle and doesn't pay off as consistently as hard work.

Jimbo Fisher was a smart offensive guy—not a genius like CPJ or Leach, but good—but seems to have moved into the CEO model and it’s not paying off at TA&M.
I’d say that he seems like a guy that needs a Heisman caliber player to make the playoffs, but Dabo and Saban and Meyer seemed to have a Heisman candidate when they were going for a title, so maybe that’s unfair.
On the other hand, Lincoln Riley is the coordinator genius plus CEO, but his defense is weak. Bob Stoops had his brother covering defense, so he was decent on both sides (and least, decent for B12).
I think it’s hard to manage the CEO model. For example, UNC has a good offense and weak defense, but I think they’ve got a prototype CEO coach in Mack Brown.
And Collins tried to be a CEO coach here, and it went badly. It’s hard not to micromanage.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Jimbo Fisher was a smart offensive guy—not a genius like CPJ or Leach, but good—but seems to have moved into the CEO model and it’s not paying off at TA&M.
I’d say that he seems like a guy that needs a Heisman caliber player to make the playoffs, but Dabo and Saban and Meyer seemed to have a Heisman candidate when they were going for a title, so maybe that’s unfair.
On the other hand, Lincoln Riley is the coordinator genius plus CEO, but his defense is weak. Bob Stoops had his brother covering defense, so he was decent on both sides (and least, decent for B12).
I think it’s hard to manage the CEO model. For example, UNC has a good offense and weak defense, but I think they’ve got a prototype CEO coach in Mack Brown.
And Collins tried to be a CEO coach here, and it went badly. It’s hard not to micromanage.

Before he retired and just before a game with Tech circa 2009 or so, Coach Bowden was asked about his coaching philosophy as it related to his success at FSU. Paraphrasing here but what he seemed to say was that he does not like to be micromanaged and so he would hire the best assistants that he could and let them coach. He had Mickey Andrews on defense and Jimbo Fisher on offense. Seemed to work for him but getting great players was pretty easy for him too.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Tommy Tuberville would be my pick not to come to Tech.

Me.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

O'Brien
Whisenhunt
Key
Godsey
Edsall
Roof

Nepotism fails. We can and must do better and I believe Batt will find the best candidate based on their independent merits and qualifications, not where they went to school, where they worked, or who their buddies are.

"Edsall" Now there is a name I have not heard in a long time.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Mullen, McGee, Chryst, Petrino, Freeze, Harsin, Edwards, Strong, Meyer, Frost, Fuente, Mendenhall, Mora, Bobo, Malzahn, Helton, McElwain.
Schiano, Satterfield, Fitzgerald, Beamer, Brohm, Monken(s) to name a few..........

Sheboygan, why don't you make it easy on yourself and just tell us the ones that are acceptable. It would make for a much shorter list. For what its worth, my Florida friends tell me that Tech does not want any part of Mullen, Meyer, or McElwain, albeit for different reasons for each one.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

I'm assuming you left off Fritz for a reason....right ?

That's a pretty good catch, I thought he had just about named the entire universe of football coaches that would be looking for a new gig.

 

[Jacket4Life]

BOB
Fritz
Leipold
Helton
Monken
T. Monken

Don't want any of these!

 

[Sheboygan]

Tennessee spent the better part of a decade wandering the wilderness, perhaps that is our fate. I hope not but its possible. Tennessee finally made the right hire as head coach and immediately found a quarterback who could make the offense go. It should not have taken so long given their resources but Tennessee remains a cautionary tale for those who think coaching does not matter.

You may remember that the very first thing that UT did was to hire the right AD- Danny White- then he made the HC hire. First things first.

 

[Sheboygan]

Not sure I want Fritz. He was decent at southern, but outside of the current season has been firmly mediocre at Tulane

Not one of my top picks for sure, but that was not the subject of the post, IMO.

 

[kittysniper101]

BOB
Fritz
Leipold
Helton
Monken
T. Monken

Don't want any of these!

Not wanting leipold is an interesting choice. I don’t think he’d come here but I’d make him say no. Any reason why?

 

[Vespidae]

If I was hiring a general manager, I would ask them if they understood our business operating model and why we make the decisions WE do, that the competitor's don't. That tells me they have thought about the environment they are entering, not just the job.

My coaching héros are the old ones ... Neyland, Bryant, Dodd, Hayes ... the list goes on. There is great similarity across all of them. "Play for field position, avoid mistakes, own the last possession in the 2nd, the first in the Third, win it in the Fourth." There are a lot of coaching decisions imbedded in that simple statement.

I don't want a gimmick coach. I want a thoughtful coach who can describe what he is trying to do and then, simply ... be the best at it. And if we win, great. If not, fix what doesn't work and get back to it.

Bear Bryant could write his entire football philosophy on one sheet of paper. Didn't care what offense he ran or what defense. All that mattered was the Bryant Way of coaching football. Dodd was the same. "Keep the game close and I'll figure out a way to win." (Dodd once tried to hire Bryant because they thought about the game the same way.) Neyland had his Seven Maxims which are still used today at Tennessee to guide the UT way of playing football.

I think JBatt needs to start with a SWOT and then, has to think about what KIND of football style will win at Tech in today's environment and then, hire the coach and the assistants who can make progress on THAT. Eventually they will be replaced. But the way of playing football really should be consistent. "This is how we do it at Tech."

Lurching from one miracle-worker to another isn't very productive in the long run. We need to recognize the weaknesses and threats we have, and decide on the HOW first. Then, we can decide on the WHO.

So, to answer the question ... I don't want any coach with gimmick.