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

Richard7125

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This is according to Ken Sugiura in the AJC earlier today (if true, I’m even more confused and/or surprised):

“Still, while the return was expected, it was not necessarily a given. Stansbury did have at his disposal the resources to make a change if he decided it was necessary, according to a person familiar with the situation.

That meant that high-level donors had enough concern about the state of the team that they were willing to foot the bill for a buyout that would have cost $10.5 million, according to the terms of his memorandum of understanding. (The total drops to $7.2 million after the 2022 season by the terms of the aforementioned agreement.)”
Are you sure about the $10.5m buyout number? My understanding is the buyout is $14m+ if he is fired prior to the end of next year and the buyout drops to $7.2m if he is fired after next year (and it decreases $2.4m/year for each remaining year). I think it's a $7m difference between now and next year and not $3.5m as suggested. Just wondering how accurate that $10.5m number you reference is.
 

wvGT11

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So is it safe to say both Tstan and Collins careers at tech hang on next season. ? As is it seems that most of the media and fans are upset right now at the direction of the program, so unless something drastic changes within Collins staff. I don't see much changing next year
 

bobongo

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Do I hold out some hope? Unfortunately, I do. That’s where my irrationality comes in as a fan. I will listen to the hype, hear about recruits, hear about the changes during spring practice and summer practice and I’ll admittedly get a little stoked. But rationally we know what will happen because he’s not magically gonna turn into a competent coach.
Yeah, I'll no doubt be there, too - until Lucy pulls the football away. Hope, and its frequent friend Irrational Exuberance, spring eternal.
 

orientalnc

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That sounds like the absolute minimum move to expect.
Our entire D has played poorly for too much of the season. It's not just one problem. I attribute the problems on the DL to personnel rather than coaching. We need more/better players up front. Our LBs and DBs have not played well and I cannot look at them and say we need more or better athletes at those positions. The times when communication is missing or misunderstood happens far too often. Maybe it's the players, but I have serious doubts.

So, I would keep Coleman & Knight but give them some measurable results that have to be met for 2022. In spite of y earlier defense of Burton, I think he and Thacker need to find another team to coach. More than anything, the play on the field has been embarrassing at times and recruits are not going join a defensive backfield that seems so dysfunctional. The players must be embarrassed as well.

I would leave the offense intact for now, but lay done some measurables for them as well.
 

bobongo

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Our entire D has played poorly for too much of the season. It's not just one problem. I attribute the problems on the DL to personnel rather than coaching. We need more/better players up front. Our LBs and DBs have not played well and I cannot look at them and say we need more or better athletes at those positions. The times when communication is missing or misunderstood happens far too often. Maybe it's the players, but I have serious doubts.

So, I would keep Coleman & Knight but give them some measurable results that have to be met for 2022. In spite of y earlier defense of Burton, I think he and Thacker need to find another team to coach. More than anything, the play on the field has been embarrassing at times and recruits are not going join a defensive backfield that seems so dysfunctional. The players must be embarrassed as well.

I would leave the offense intact for now, but lay done some measurables for them as well.
Just a thought, but maybe the new DC should consolidate the CB and Safety coaching positions and we could use the freed-up space to add a QB coach.
The secondary needs to play as one unit with one coach.
 

Richard7125

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It's probably a good idea to have measurables for the offense, but if you think about it, I don't think it really matters. If our record is good enough next year to retain Collins, we will most likely retain the coordinators too. If we get rid of Collins next year, we won't be retaining any of the coordinators.
 

Vespidae

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Are you sure about the $10.5m buyout number? My understanding is the buyout is $14m+ if he is fired prior to the end of next year and the buyout drops to $7.2m if he is fired after next year (and it decreases $2.4m/year for each remaining year). I think it's a $7m difference between now and next year and not $3.5m as suggested. Just wondering how accurate that $10.5m number you reference is.
This is the difference. When Alabama fired Mike Shula and hired Saban, swag sales surged so much, Alabama recouped the $10M without having to pressure donors too much. We don't have that luxury.
 

slugboy

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Are you sure about the $10.5m buyout number? My understanding is the buyout is $14m+ if he is fired prior to the end of next year and the buyout drops to $7.2m if he is fired after next year (and it decreases $2.4m/year for each remaining year). I think it's a $7m difference between now and next year and not $3.5m as suggested. Just wondering how accurate that $10.5m number you reference is.
Ken Suguira and the AJC editors put that in the article. He might not have great insight about X’s and O’s, but you would thing a newspaper would at least check those numbers before printing them
That meant that high-level donors had enough concern about the state of the team that they were willing to foot the bill for a buyout that would have cost $10.5 million, according to the terms of his memorandum of understanding. (The total drops to $7.2 million after the 2022 season by the terms of the aforementioned agreement.)

Also, this sentence is kind of vague, but I’d expect some announcements over the next few weeks for something.
"I know he's going to review kind of what it is that we need to do, where we are falling short, where there are holes in what we're doing, and we're going to work together to get those things fixed," Stansbury said.

If there are staff changes, I wonder if they’re only replacement coaches, or if they’re O’Leary-type hires where “you fix this, or that person will take over”.

Well, I don't think TSTAN is going anywhere. I do hope Geoff gets the memo to can the gimmicks and start acting like a head coach. Or else.

That’s not what I meant, but if Saturday is bad enough then it could be in the realm of possibilities. Like you said earlier, if this becomes (more of) a Cabrera problem, then circumstances change.

I think Stansbury has done a better job in a lot of areas than his predecessors, and the AA is a reclamation job that needs a lot of time to turn around, but you can’t let a major structural problem go unaddressed, and plaster doesn’t solve everything.

I mean, based on “we’re going to work together to get those things fixed” that
  1. There are no changes or more minor changes in staff, and we see only superficial changes. In that case, we’ll have a number of upset donors and fans…OR
  2. There are some major changes, but different than we expect….OR
  3. There are the changes we expect in staffing, but the general processes stay in place (“Money Down”, etc.)…OR
  4. We have a lot more changes under and around Collins than expected
I also have to wonder if contract renegotiations like Frost and Harbaugh happen; I think that’s unlikely, but it seemed unlikely when Frost and Harbaugh agreed to them, too.

There’s also the question of Stansbury’s statements over the last few months—how much are just talking points and spin, vs how much does Stansbury believe in them? For example, does he really see progress that hasn’t turned into wins? Or is that what he is saying to stabilize fan interest and season ticket sales? If it’s the latter, would he be better off saying something more earnest and making major promises of change?

With the old “three letters” coaching story, Stansbury is reusing the first letter a lot, instead of realizing that he’s hit letter #2 by now, at least.
 
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smokey_wasp

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Maybe or they will wait till after signing day.

I imagine recruits know what is going to happen, so there is probably no need to wait. I expect the replacements to be announced right away. Recruits should get a chance to touch base with any coaches, I think.
 
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RonJohn

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Ken Suguira and the AJC editors put that in the article. He might not have great insight about X’s and O’s, but you would thing a newspaper would at least check those numbers before printing them
I have nothing against Ken, but he does better on human interest type stories than stories that rely on hard facts. I enjoy reading his articles about players and their issues/achievements. I am always skeptical of information that he publishes based on verifiable numbers.
 

Buzzbomb

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I’m staking my bet right now that there will be no changes to the staff this year. We I’ll run it back for a 4th year straight with no adjustments just blame shifting.
The beat writer Ken S., claims that staff changes could be coming as soon as Sunday.
 

AlabamaBuzz

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If you think about it, TStan would have to get the msg out that the $$ were available for the buyout for the sake of the program validity going forward. My spidey senses tells me the $$ were not there. Maybe, someone is committing a million more to help with staff changes, but I doubt 10 million was available for HC buyout. But, it is just an opinion.
 
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Techwood Relict

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They both will be looking for jobs if next year is not demonstrably better and if he’s speaking truth that the money is there right now. Stans is rolling the dice with Collins after hitching his wagon to him.
In a sweeping generalization reply, the AD usually gets two swings at hiring at his weak program. I think TStan outlives Collins because of solid programs elsewhere and his relations with the donor class. That said, I can't speak to the quality of his relationship with the $$, I don't have enough to give a proper perspective.
 
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