POLL: How do you feel about Key as HFC?

[UgaBlows]

GT doesn't need 'positive energy' from me. It needs consistent on field success. That is the only way to keep ourselves from falling even further behind then we already are. Whether I am optimistic or contribute 'positive energy' or not has zero effect on that. ZERO. This isn't some kids movie where the plucky underdog comes out on top because of the power of positivity. We're all just passengers on this ride. So let's try this: I will be a fan the way I want to be a fan while you be a fan the way you want to be a fan. It'll work out for both of us. As for the presser, I'm not interested. I generally don't watch them. Words are cheap. I'll chip in some of that positive energy once I see consistent success on the field over a decent period of time.

For the record, while I wouldn't describe myself as optimistic I wouldn't describe myself as pessimistic either. Very much in a "let's see how this goes" mode. Really weird the way people on here want to square up over something so basic as that.

By all means- you be you

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

You're right to say those four reasons are why he was hired, and you're right to say none of them are compelling.

But in my opinion, Batt lucked into the right choice, anyway, if only by default. The real reasons why Brent is the right choice are that he has shown he can motivate, organize, and lead. With some solid assistants, the only missing factor in his success will be how well he can recruit. Time will tell about that, but I think he's the right man for the job. And the job is a tough one. Essentially, it is to pull Tech up by its bootstraps.

Spot on assessment. Right now, Coach Key is probably very happy with what he might consider his "dream job". That said, make no mistake this is going to be a long, laborious process in turning this program around. There are no quick fixes. The portal is not going to help much, there is precious little funding and the roster situation is beyond any fine tuning. There is going to be a lot of hurt feelings and roster shakeups between now and fall. IIWII

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

By all means- you be you

Like Frank Sinatra, Squints did it "his way."

 

[MidtownJacket]

@Squints speaking as a Moderator here and as someone who has been known to be an optimists' optimist - I don't take issue with your perspective. There is no cause for all of us to "hivemind" and be positive just to be so. Take the current administration for example, if people didn't use the poor results of our last few years as a forcing function for the Administration to evaluate if they were happy with the direction we were going this thread wouldn't have a reason to exist.

While I personally do have enthusiasm for CBK, I get what you're saying. We could have managed messaging better as a program around the job search. There was a supreme sense of privacy about the way we got to where we are with Brent and I don't see a problem with people questioning the sausage making process. I thought the Q today in the presser asking about other offers and if we under payed CBK - was out of line for the timing and context of the day but also liked hearing PAC say essentially, "I don't acknowledge the false premise you're asking the question from". I don't know what was offered to who or when, but I do know the program has a new direction. I firmly believe CBK will have us playing a brand of football that is easy to root on, and I hope to share the Victory Bourbons with you early next season, often and merrily.

Also thanks for keeping to the topic of the thread and not spamming other topics. For what it is worth, I appreciate the way you're engaging here (colorful language aside)

 

[Richard7125]

Spot on assessment. Right now, Coach Key is probably very happy with what he might consider his "dream job". That said, make no mistake this is going to be a long, laborious process in turning this program around. There are no quick fixes. The portal is not going to help much, there is precious little funding and the roster situation is beyond any fine tuning. There is going to be a lot of hurt feelings and roster shakeups between now and fall. IIWII

This shouldn't be a long, laborious process. If it is, I think that would more likely be due to lack of HC experience (not the coaching part, but the everything else part).

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

This shouldn't be a long, laborious process. If it is, I think that would more likely be due to lack of HC experience (not the coaching part, but the everything else part).

This shouldn't be a long, laborious process. If it is, I think that would more likely be due to lack of HC experience (not the coaching part, but the everything else part).

Maybe it should not but it took Frank about 5 years to turn Virginia Tech around and it took Bill Curry 4 years just to reach mediocrity. I think we will be a pretty tough team from the get go, that other teams will not want to play but the win/loss record may not reflect that. On the other hand, being just decent can take you a long way in the ACC these days.

 

[Ponte vedra GT]

You're right to say those four reasons are why he was hired, and you're right to say none of them are compelling.

But in my opinion, Batt lucked into the right choice, anyway, if only by default. The real reasons why Brent is the right choice are that he has shown he can motivate, organize, and lead. With some solid assistants, the only missing factor in his success will be how well he can recruit. Time will tell about that, but I think he's the right man for the job. And the job is a tough one. Essentially, it is to pull Tech up by its bootstraps.

A few thoughts:

I was born in 1956, football series between GT and UGA was at almost even in wins and losses.
How many times have we won a game against that school up north ,in my l lifetime , not many ! 1999 was the last time we won in the DODD.

Did we miss on an opportunity to hire a proven winner ? Clauson ,Sanders, Fritz!
Did we as an institution want to guarantee 7 million per year for 7 years ! That would be a going rate !

Do we want to compete with UGA or Clemson ?
Or
Do we just want to go to a bowl 2 out of 5 years
Or
Do we just want to be the Vanderbilt or northwestern of the ACC?

We will know the answer in 24 months !


I love Brent Key , but I just wonder !
I am 36 year season ticket holder in football and I have never seen the DODD so empty .

Does our stadium look like the ATL metropolitan area ?
Or
Is it a bunch old want to be good again,season ticket holders that are almost 70!

Wake up GT hill, give Batt the freedom and $$.
He has witnessed the best at Alabama.

 

[Richard7125]

Maybe it should not but it took Frank about 5 years to turn Virginia Tech around and it took Bill Curry 4 years just to reach mediocrity. I think we will be a pretty tough team from the get go, that other teams will not want to play but the win/loss record may not reflect that. On the other hand, being just decent can take you a long way in the ACC these days.

That was 35 to 40 years ago. College football rosters are much more fluid now than they were then. The coaching staffs are larger and the supporting staffs are much larger. I'm not trying to be contrarian, it just shouldn't take that long to be decent. It can take longer to be championship level, but to be decent shouldn't take long.

 

[ThatGuy]

That was 35 to 40 years ago. College football rosters are much more fluid now than they were then. The coaching staffs are larger and the supporting staffs are much larger. I'm not trying to be contrarian, it just shouldn't take that long to be decent. It can take longer to be championship level, but to be decent shouldn't take long.

Be that as it may, hindsight aside, I remember the reason for Collins’ 7-year contract was that it could take at least that long to complete the greatest rebuild in the history of college sports.

Now, we find ourselves with a team that went 3-9 for 3 years, and then went to 5-7 in year 4 (under an interim HC). Which makes me wonder - had a different HC been hired, what would be the timeline we would have expected to get us back to a bowl game (& beyond)?

I imagine (but have no hard data) some who wanted an outside HC candidate would have considered 3 years a reasonable timeframe. For me, that timeframe is understandable for most new HCs, as they try and implement their systems and get their recruits in.

So a challenge for all of us - given Brent Key’s success on the field this year, are we able to give him the same timeframe as we would give a new HC hired from another program? I personally think we should afford him that same leeway, as hard as that may be, as he’s now building his own system out from under someone else’s.

If not, why not?

 

[iceeater1969]

Since i am the first to say i hate the coach , he goes.

The Previous hire promised all kinds of enthusiasm and new culture using HIS SYSTEM = solved a precieved problem of the guy he replaced.

Present hire promises all kinds hard work, discipline and dedication to getting the best assistant coaches.

I want coaches that can out smart the other coaches on game daday.

I like that key has a concept for his offense. I hope he will not be close minded.

Shan Gailey, Nix all had ideas.

So with that generalization and negative nancy blah blah out of the way , I tell you this is a great hire for gt.

We have been soft and slow for too long. Coach Key played Ol.

Key will bring in guys that will give us real depth and are loyal to gt. The portal will be Keys friend as WR DB who left Georgia and start looking to portal back. Our great big linemen and great position coaches have will be our best recruiters.

I believe Key has great self confidence will seekbhelp from his many knowledgeable friends.

Key has committed gt to being a place where great assistant coaches can thrive. They can likely move on to better jobs and just as likely can return

I officially resign from the first to hate the new coach society.

 

[ibeattetris]

Be that as it may, hindsight aside, I remember the reason for Collins’ 7-year contract was that it could take at least that long to complete the greatest rebuild in the history of college sports.

Now, we find ourselves with a team that went 3-9 for 3 years, and then went to 5-7 in year 4 (under an interim HC). Which makes me wonder - had a different HC been hired, what would be the timeline we would have expected to get us back to a bowl game (& beyond)?

I imagine (but have no hard data) some who wanted an outside HC candidate would have considered 3 years a reasonable timeframe. For me, that timeframe is understandable for most new HCs, as they try and implement their systems and get their recruits in.

So a challenge for all of us - given Brent Key’s success on the field this year, are we able to give him the same timeframe as we would give a new HC hired from another program? I personally think we should afford him that same leeway, as hard as that may be, as he’s now building his own system out from under someone else’s.

If not, why not?

Year three is when I would have the solid expectation (barring injuries or unforeseen issues) of a bowl game. I think we could certainly out perform those expectations, but I'm not going to be calling for Key's head unless we go back to looking inept like we did under Collins (I don't think this is going to be an issue). My rationale is below

Next year's schedule include Ole Miss and UGA again. I expect to be more competitive than we were this year against Ole Miss, but expecting a win would be much. Add in Clemson and my guess is 95% chance that we are 0-3 from them

South Carolina State and bowling green: should be wins so 2-3
Boston College, UVA, Miami, Wake, Louisville, Syracuse: I would hope we at least go 3-2
North Carolina: They have been the better team on paper two years in a row, and I don't see that changing. Would be nice to get a win.

So I expect 5-7 next year, with 7-5 being not out of reach depending on how well the team gels. In 2024 we replace Ole Miss with ND, so the OOC isn't any easier. We also get Pitt and FSU which makes the non-pod schedule a bit harder.

By year three, I expect us to be bowling as it'll be year three and the schedule is (at this moment today) easier by a fair margin.
Colorado, Gardner-Webb, Temple, UGA, Duke, Lousiville, Miami, Virginia, BC, Clemson, North Carolina, Wake

 

[Randy Carson]

You remember that scene in Hoosiers when Gene Hackman was running the boys tails off to get them in shape?

Yeah, the big dogs may out-star and out-talent us, but I suspect that NO ONE is going to out-work and out-hustle a CBK team.

 

[IronJacket7]

So thankful we didn't get Deion. The way he talked to those Colorado players about the portal and expectations was poorly played imo.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Don't let the fonts here define who you are as a fan. You be you.

Unless you can be Batman. Always be Batman.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

@Squints speaking as a Moderator here and as someone who has been known to be an optimists' optimist - I don't take issue with your perspective. There is no cause for all of us to "hivemind" and be positive just to be so. Take the current administration for example, if people didn't use the poor results of our last few years as a forcing function for the Administration to evaluate if they were happy with the direction we were going this thread wouldn't have a reason to exist.

While I personally do have enthusiasm for CBK, I get what you're saying. We could have managed messaging better as a program around the job search. There was a supreme sense of privacy about the way we got to where we are with Brent and I don't see a problem with people questioning the sausage making process. I thought the Q today in the presser asking about other offers and if we under payed CBK - was out of line for the timing and context of the day but also liked hearing PAC say essentially, "I don't acknowledge the false premise you're asking the question from". I don't know what was offered to who or when, but I do know the program has a new direction. I firmly believe CBK will have us playing a brand of football that is easy to root on, and I hope to share the Victory Bourbons with you early next season, often and merrily.

Also thanks for keeping to the topic of the thread and not spamming other topics. For what it is worth, I appreciate the way you're engaging here (colorful language aside)

@Squints I agree with Midtown. I remember early in the days of the Collins hire when I said I was taking a wait and see approach to his career here. Many of the fonts had the same reaction. As long as people aren't attacking the players, coaches, and staff, differences of opinion are fine.

 

[Richard7125]

Be that as it may, hindsight aside, I remember the reason for Collins’ 7-year contract was that it could take at least that long to complete the greatest rebuild in the history of college sports.

Now, we find ourselves with a team that went 3-9 for 3 years, and then went to 5-7 in year 4 (under an interim HC). Which makes me wonder - had a different HC been hired, what would be the timeline we would have expected to get us back to a bowl game (& beyond)?

I imagine (but have no hard data) some who wanted an outside HC candidate would have considered 3 years a reasonable timeframe. For me, that timeframe is understandable for most new HCs, as they try and implement their systems and get their recruits in.

So a challenge for all of us - given Brent Key’s success on the field this year, are we able to give him the same timeframe as we would give a new HC hired from another program? I personally think we should afford him that same leeway, as hard as that may be, as he’s now building his own system out from under someone else’s.

If not, why not?

Collins was hired before the Portal and NIL. At that time it was very reasonable to believe it would take several years to transition the roster to run a different type of offense. That simply isn't the case any more, and unfortunately for coaches, they will get fired a lot quicker today than they were yesterday.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

That was 35 to 40 years ago. College football rosters are much more fluid now than they were then. The coaching staffs are larger and the supporting staffs are much larger. I'm not trying to be contrarian, it just shouldn't take that long to be decent. It can take longer to be championship level, but to be decent shouldn't take long.

Too damn fluid if you ask me. Which tends to result to the benefit of the elite factories. Our last coach was a long way from being decent even after 3 years and players shuffling in and out of the portal like an arena football team. I guess it depends upon one's definition of "decent". At one time it meant going to a bowl. At one time it meant placing in the top half of your conference. Personally, I don't think either of those apply any longer. To me, being "decent" means one thing: making the other team dread playing our team. It used to be that way. Bear Bryant once was told by an assistant after the Tide's first national championship team that Alabama "had it made". Bryant being much wiser shook his head and said: "We would have it made if it were not for that damn Dodd." My hope is that the same thing will be going through the heads of Kirby, Mario, Dabo, and the rest of the elites about Coach Key.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Collins was hired before the Portal and NIL. At that time it was very reasonable to believe it would take several years to transition the roster to run a different type of offense. That simply isn't the case any more, and unfortunately for coaches, they will get fired a lot quicker today than they were yesterday.

I'm still not convinced the portal is going to make rebuilding a team faster or easier. Other than factories poaching elite talent, and the occasional QB diamond in the rough, I haven't seen many cases where teams got better in a hurry due to transfer portal guys.

 

[A Love Supreme]

What is going to be the identity of this football team with Key as the head coach? We knew what we were good at with Paul Johnson. And we knew we weren't good at anything with Collins.

 

[slugboy]

You'd think there wouldn't be an issue but it seems the hivemind is starting to form. You didn't miss it. I haven't really said anything about the coaching search at all and you can see why I was hesitant to do so.

It sounds cool for the yellow jackets to form a hive mind. In reality, maybe less cool.

Aside from Wisconsin, no one looks like a sure bet hire. Deion won the press conference and will probably be good.

None of the poll choices fit how I feel. I think “clean slate” was way more popular than “Tech man”, and Key got hired anyway. He did good in the interim job, but the offense is a hot mess to fix. He really needs to hire good offensive coaches across the board, and that may not be easy.

I don’t think he’s a slam dunk hire, but he has potential if he gets the right assistants. Being a little worried makes sense, especially after the last few years. Getting , developing, and keeping good players will be tough.

I don’t think he was as much of a “cheap hire” as much as the other candidates didn’t justify the margin. They wanted big guarantees and we wanted to wait for proof.

This is also a seismic shift in college sports that we weren’t ready for. Key gives us flexibility that the other candidates didn’t.

I think he was the right move, all things considered. It’s not a sure bet