Mostly “Fire Geoff Collins”, some reminiscing, maybe bourbon or other distractions

[Techster]

I would love for someone to interview Paul Johnson. I'm interested in hearing his thoughts about his time at Tech and what he thinks about the program now.

I actually run into CPJ a few times a year at a local watering hole. Out of respect for his privacy, I won't name the place. I've never approached him because it's creepy to me to approach someone during their private time, but everyone says he's extremely nice and affable if you do talk to him. The staff there really like him.

I highly doubt CPJ would say anything negative about CGC or GT in public. He'll probably say something to the effect of "Coaching football is hard, and I support GT." Get a few drinks in him in a private setting and I'm sure he his opinions will come out. I do know that CGC saying the "cupboard was bare" and "we're going through the greatest transition in college football" really rubbed him the wrong way.

 

[Tech93]

Collins reminds me of Vanilla Ice...dresses like him and acts like him. Dresses like a rapper (wouldn’t know he was a head coach when I see him on tv if I didn’t know better). He does his song and dance and has the juice crew behind him doing the choreography. Sad part is we will have to all suffer through this while he spins his one hit wonder (which is no hit for GT football).

 

[Northeast Stinger]

The very thin recruiting budget held Paul's recruiting back, but also I didn't get the impression he was personally a very good recruiter. I think his offense was also a factor, but a smaller one than the other two. We should keep in mind that personnel-wise, we were at a nadir when he left.

But I do think that someone who runs his type of offense and is is a better recruiter personally, and with a better recruiting budget, could make a go of it and be very successful as long as he matched Paul's gameday coaching skills. I think too much blame for our recruiting woes was put on his offense, although as I said, I do think it was a factor.

I would like to have seen how much more successful Paul could have been with a good recruiting coordinator and a decent recruiting budget.

Money makes a difference and for reason the AD was starving CPJ of the money he needed for recruiting.

 

[swampsting]

I actually run into CPJ a few times a year at a local watering hole. Out of respect for his privacy, I won't name the place. I've never approached him because it's creepy to me to approach someone during their private time, but everyone says he's extremely nice and affable if you do talk to him. The staff there really like him.

I highly doubt CPJ would say anything negative about CGC or GT in public. He'll probably say something to the effect of "Coaching football is hard, and I support GT." Get a few drinks in him in a private setting and I'm sure he his opinions will come out. I do know that CGC saying the "cupboard was bare" and "we're going through the greatest transition in college football" really rubbed him the wrong way.

I've known PJ a long time. Used to spend a lot of time with him. Haven't in the last several years but that's just life and circumstances getting in the way.
I'm here to say, PJ is a much, much better guy - and laugh out loud funny - than his detractors would want to believe. I owe him a lot too. He made my job a helluva lot easier.
Is he still around town? I thought he was spending most if not all of his time in NC now.

 

[Techster]

I've known PJ a long time. Used to spend a lot of time with him. Haven't in the last several years but that's just life and circumstances getting in the way.
I'm here to say, PJ is a much, much better guy - and laugh out loud funny - than his detractors would want to believe. I owe him a lot too. He made my job a helluva lot easier.
Is he still around town? I thought he was spending most if not all of his time in NC now.

CPJ is hilarious...never talked to him personally, but I listened to him talk during his radio shows and that man definitely knows how to make a room laugh. Also, it was one of the things most GT fans found odd. How personable he was in a smaller setting, but how it quickly changed with a bunch of reporters around him.

Last time I saw CPJ was before the pandemic. He was playing pool with a couple of guys in the back room of the watering hole. I couldn't tell you where he is or what he's doing now. Wherever he is, I hope he's happy and at peace with things. I've always wanted him to coach HS football somewhere in Metro Atlanta because he's just a d@mn good coach, and it would give me a reason to go watch HS football on Fridays. He still has a lot to offer this game and young men.

Also, GT needs to honor CPJ at some point. He deserves it.

 

[ballground jacket]

I have talked to CPJ at a few Coach's shows. I always seemed to wait for the valet at the same time he was and ended up standing next to him a ton. I had a liver transplant 10 years ago and my wife asked Coach Heppler to get CPJ to sign a helmet for me. Heppler's wife was my wife co-teacher. Anyway, I wanted to tell him thank you and it turned into a 20 min conversation on how I was doing and about my experience. Every time I saw him on a Yellow Jacket alley he would point at me to say howdy. I would love to see him coach again somewhere. GT does need to honor him at some point and the 2014 team.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

Well said, I think this should be required reading. That has been my belief since we started down this path. I think some people get all wrapped up in where we are ranked in recruiting. We even saw an uptick when they double the staff by adding 2 people to the recruiting staff.

Agree. Missed that post somehow.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

Money makes a difference and for reason the AD was starving CPJ of the money he needed for recruiting.

Plus working for different AD’s didn’t help. And I’m sure the Hill did him no favors.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

What is so unbelievable is how much less this team is than the sum of its parts.

So this was the big challenge switching away from the triple option. Can we compete if we do what everybody else does by trying to out-recruit them. Well we have improved recruiting some, but we still can’t out-recruit them and we sure as hell can’t out-coach them. We can’t even beat the teams we have out-recruited by a long shot.

 

[Deleted member 4558]

Please someone name one player who has progressed from last year based on this game? Recruiting is first step, player development is step two, motivating the player step three, game plan, step four.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Please someone name one player who has progressed from last year based on this game? Recruiting is first step, player development is step two, motivating the player step three, game plan, step four.

Jordan Yates. The progress in him is huge. CDP gets a LOT of credit from me for getting him ready to come in as a backup and run the offense.

 

[stech81]

Please someone name one player who has progressed from last year based on this game? Recruiting is first step, player development is step two, motivating the player step three, game plan, step four.

Listen to his interviews can't answer a question but rambles on if he does this coaching the players then they can't be coached up.

 

[Deleted member 4558]

Absolutely correct. Thank you.

 

[Vespidae]

So this was the big challenge switching away from the triple option. Can we compete if we do what everybody else does by trying to out-recruit them. Well we have improved recruiting some, but we still can’t out-recruit them and we sure as hell can’t out-coach them. We can’t even beat the teams we have out-recruited by a long shot.

No, we will not beat them. Every organization needs an advantage to win consistently. We don't have an advantage. We are simply playing to stay in the club and not drop down, permanently ... to Bowling Green status.

 

[Vespidae]

Please someone name one player who has progressed from last year based on this game? Recruiting is first step, player development is step two, motivating the player step three, game plan, step four.

If what you are saying is accurate, Geoff should be able to articulate where he is in the journey and cite facts and metrics that confirm he is on track. He is stuck in platitude land.

 

[Vespidae]

Jordan Yates. The progress in him is huge. CDP gets a LOT of credit from me for getting him ready to come in as a backup and run the offense.

One of my local colleagues went to all the games at Milton and knows Jordan. He said he is a helluva competitor but ... too small. Geoff doesn't like him because he doesn't see how he fits in the offense. I think he is fantastic because he's got enormous heart and a will to play.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I have always thought it remarkable that we are the only highly regarded stem school still playing big boy football. Maybe the winds of change in college football are finally blowing us out of that ocean.

 

[Vespidae]

I have always thought it remarkable that we are the only highly regarded stem school still playing big boy football. Maybe the winds of change in college football are finally blowing us out of that ocean.

That's one of the reasons I liked the TO. Tech is the Milwaukee Brewers of college football. We don't have the $100M budgets, the huge fanbases, the swag sales. We're a small, niche school and we need a Moneyball approach to playing the game. The Brewers don't pay big salaries, they can't. They have developed an approach that works for them and they are disciplined enough to manage it.

We talk about winning the ACC or being Top 20. Go check out all of the other programs that are saying that and see how we stack up. It isn't pretty. Without an advantage, it will be very, very difficult to be relevant.

In today's world, I'm fine with being competitive in basketball, baseball and golf and at least have fun in football. The gap however, is growing by leaps every year.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

That's one of the reasons I liked the TO. Tech is the Milwaukee Brewers of college football. We don't have the $100M budgets, the huge fanbases, the swag sales. We're a small, niche school and we need a Moneyball approach to playing the game. The Brewers don't pay big salaries, they can't. They have developed an approach that works for them and they are disciplined enough to manage it.

We talk about winning the ACC or being Top 20. Go check out all of the other programs that are saying that and see how we stack up. It isn't pretty. Without an advantage, it will be very, very difficult to be relevant.

In today's world, I'm fine with being competitive in basketball, baseball and golf and at least have fun in football. The gap however, is growing by leaps every year.

When is the last time we had fun in football and when will it happen again? I’m serious.

 

[Vespidae]

When is the last time we had fun in football and when will it happen again? I’m serious.

2014