Potential DC for Next Year

stinger78

Helluva Engineer
Messages
4,876
This take goes to show that someone will always find fault if they are looking for it. With an important hire like this Brent screened a lot of people with virtual interviews and from that he got to his final choices. Thankfully he was able to get the guy he wanted.

What the high number indicates is a guy who will leave no stone unturned to make sure GT gets the absolute best. He didn’t limit himself to one type of candidate. He interviewed many to see if there was anything he was missing. But you go right ahead and think of it as a problem that we have a thorough coach who will stop at nothing to find only the best rather than someone who will shy away from hard work himself.
TBH, 40 is a lot of interviews. I would guess they were not all full-bore interviews, but many were phone conversations. Key has been in the business for over 20 years now. I’m sure he has contacts galore, many of whom may have recommended he talk with maybe 2-3 potential candidates. So I’d take that statement as representing a screening process. It is possible that Key and Batt were planning on Sherrer taking the position FT when he notified them he wanted a less demanding position. Perhaps with the inevitable turnover they wanted to wait to see who would be available and had time to talk to 40 people. Whatever… it does communicate great care was taken. For that I am appreciative!
 

Techster

Helluva Engineer
Messages
18,375
40 interviews is crazy. I can understand 4-6, maybe 8 but if you can't screen better than needing to do 40 interviews then you have a problem somewhere.

I learned recently is that coaches, ADs, GMs (in the NFL) interview not just for the open job...but to learn about other programs, coaches, etc. It's not just a job interview, but an opportunity at intelligence gathering and getting information about future hires, learning about the next up and coming coaches, finding different ways other programs are doing things, learning the intricacies of schemes, etc.

IMO, if Key had 40 interviews, he was probably using it for information gathering AND to find potential coaches. Coaching is a game of keeping steps ahead of your peers, and the ability to interview coaches from different staffs is something you take advantage of.
 

GT33

Helluva Engineer
Messages
2,259
This take goes to show that someone will always find fault if they are looking for it. With an important hire like this Brent screened a lot of people with virtual interviews and from that he got to his final choices. Thankfully he was able to get the guy he wanted.

What the high number indicates is a guy who will leave no stone unturned to make sure GT gets the absolute best. He didn’t limit himself to one type of candidate. He interviewed many to see if there was anything he was missing. But you go right ahead and think of it as a problem that we have a thorough coach who will stop at nothing to find only the best rather than someone who will shy away from hard work himself.
Sorry, but that's a ridiculous number. I love the hire, was frustrated because I thought we'd lost him, but there's now way Key and whoever else he had in the process interviewed 40 candidates. They'd had to have had 2 (I'm guessing here based on the significance of the position) half day or longer interviews every single day since he announced we were looking for a DC. The premise is just preposterous that it would have happened. 40 candidates total ok, but interviews no way.
 

stinger78

Helluva Engineer
Messages
4,876
Sorry, but that's a ridiculous number. I love the hire, was frustrated because I thought we'd lost him, but there's now way Key and whoever else he had in the process interviewed 40 candidates. They'd had to have had 2 (I'm guessing here based on the significance of the position) half day or longer interviews every single day since he announced we were looking for a DC. The premise is just preposterous that it would have happened. 40 candidates total ok, but interviews no way.
I think it’s probably best to read that 40 conversations. Agree, it’s a stretch to think that was 40 full interviews. Still, TIFWIW. They did a thorough job and be thankful.
 

slugboy

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
11,710
Sorry, but that's a ridiculous number. I love the hire, was frustrated because I thought we'd lost him, but there's now way Key and whoever else he had in the process interviewed 40 candidates. They'd had to have had 2 (I'm guessing here based on the significance of the position) half day or longer interviews every single day since he announced we were looking for a DC. The premise is just preposterous that it would have happened. 40 candidates total ok, but interviews no way.
There was a multi-day coaching convention, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Key interviewed ten to twenty different candidates a day for our two open positions (and it might have been three open positions at the time).

Also, he didn’t have a DC—or even a defensive coaching staff. Those are the people who might narrow the field of candidates for you.

Finally, Key needs to meet coaches—not just for this year, but for future years. A good head coach needs to have a network of good coaches. The interview process is one of those areas. If you look at DeBoer and Leipold, they came from small schools. Key needs to meet those up-and-comers.
 

Northeast Stinger

Helluva Engineer
Messages
11,110
This take goes to show that someone will always find fault if they are looking for it. With an important hire like this Brent screened a lot of people with virtual interviews and from that he got to his final choices. Thankfully he was able to get the guy he wanted.

What the high number indicates is a guy who will leave no stone unturned to make sure GT gets the absolute best. He didn’t limit himself to one type of candidate. He interviewed many to see if there was anything he was missing. But you go right ahead and think of it as a problem that we have a thorough coach who will stop at nothing to find only the best rather than someone who will shy away from hard work himself.
What that poster also seems to fail to realize is that key had to have multiple contingency plans. This being Tech. He knew who he wanted but also had to have a plan B, and a plan C, and a plan D, etc……knowing that, like a chess game, the possible variations multiply with each move.

People should be head over heels with the fact that this is a coach who plans ahead.
 

BCJacket

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
761
40 interviews also doesn't necessarily mean 40 candidates. Could've been 2-3 conversations with some of the candidates. 20 minute phone calls, zoom meets, in person interviews, possibly multiple with staff/advisors/Batt sitting in.

This is a highly compensated executive position. In the business world, a C-level position is rounds of interviews over days or weeks and they may talk to dozens of candidates. This doesn't seem crazy to me.

If anything, I think this bodes extremely well for the program Key is building. The coaching 'fraternity' is small. Folks talk and know what the 'company culture' is like different places. If Key has a lot of people wanting to come be a part of his staff it's a really good sign.
 

MountainBuzzMan

Helluva Engineer
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1,754
Location
South Forsyth
If you can get 40 people to interview then this is a very good thing. Learning to interview and hire is truly a very hard skill to learn and takes a lot of interviews.

We used to interview 4-10 people for each new sales job as we hire and our results were lack luster for a number of reasons. Lack of a larger pool of applicants being one of them.

Now we have close to 200 initially qualified applicants (We spend a lot of money and and cast wide net to get that many per sales position) We end up interviewing about 40 oddly enough for each position. Our sales person quality has vastly improved.


A really bad hire causes so much damage and your time window to execute is very narrow. Doing that many interviews is definitely the correct thing to do instead of less than 10.
There is such a huge opportunity cost here
 

jojatk

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,612
Sorry, but that's a ridiculous number. I love the hire, was frustrated because I thought we'd lost him, but there's now way Key and whoever else he had in the process interviewed 40 candidates. They'd had to have had 2 (I'm guessing here based on the significance of the position) half day or longer interviews every single day since he announced we were looking for a DC. The premise is just preposterous that it would have happened. 40 candidates total ok, but interviews no way.
I suspect that the total number of people spoken-to or communicated with was 30-40 and that Brent didn't speak to all of them himself. Perhaps that's why we appear to be disagreeing because my assumption is that in this context I interpreted the word "interview" to include our people reaching out to some of the coaches to just gauge interest with a "hey do you think you might be interested" and a number of those responses to be "thank you but I'm not interested." What I got from the way Kelly said it was that we'd be surprised at how high up Brent was shooting in terms of guys we would think wouldn't even give GT the time of day or that we couldn't even come close to affording but that Brent wasn't leaving any leaf unturned and gave everyone he thought might be a good coordinator here the opportunity to say "no I'm not interested in talking."

And for what it's worth I never took your comment to mean you didn't like the hire or didn't like Brent.
 

5277hike

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
236
Maybe it was stated somewhere and I just missed it, but were all of the interviews with candidates, or did he also talk with associates of the candidates? Was this just for the DC position or was it the total interviews for all of the defensive openings? Without knowing these things I don‘t know if this was an excessive number or not.
 

GT33

Helluva Engineer
Messages
2,259
I suspect that the total number of people spoken-to or communicated with was 30-40 and that Brent didn't speak to all of them himself. Perhaps that's why we appear to be disagreeing because my assumption is that in this context I interpreted the word "interview" to include our people reaching out to some of the coaches to just gauge interest with a "hey do you think you might be interested" and a number of those responses to be "thank you but I'm not interested." What I got from the way Kelly said it was that we'd be surprised at how high up Brent was shooting in terms of guys we would think wouldn't even give GT the time of day or that we couldn't even come close to affording but that Brent wasn't leaving any leaf unturned and gave everyone he thought might be a good coordinator here the opportunity to say "no I'm not interested in talking."

And for what it's worth I never took your comment to mean you didn't like the hire or didn't like Brent.
Sorry, I started the sniping over nothing. Yes, GT staff or search committee probably talked to dozen of candidates, Key interviewing a far smaller number. It's a very good hire, in fact I think he was our #1 target.. I like the full defensive staff being assembled. I am concerned with the lack of depth. We need help in a bad way and need full effort on the portal. Hope these guys got it in them to make a big impact fast.
 

gville_jacket

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
774
If you can get 40 people to interview then this is a very good thing. Learning to interview and hire is truly a very hard skill to learn and takes a lot of interviews.

We used to interview 4-10 people for each new sales job as we hire and our results were lack luster for a number of reasons. Lack of a larger pool of applicants being one of them.

Now we have close to 200 initially qualified applicants (We spend a lot of money and and cast wide net to get that many per sales position) We end up interviewing about 40 oddly enough for each position. Our sales person quality has vastly improved.


A really bad hire causes so much damage and your time window to execute is very narrow. Doing that many interviews is definitely the correct thing to do instead of less than 10.
There is such a huge opportunity cost here
Keep it mind it’s also for four positions. So 40 interviews is 10 per position. And as others have said, not all were serious and some could be multiple interviews with same candidate.
 

TechPhi97

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
832
Location
Davidson, NC
40 interviews is crazy. I can understand 4-6, maybe 8 but if you can't screen better than needing to do 40 interviews then you have a problem somewhere.
Maybe it was at that coaches’ event, so with everyone there it’s a great opportunity to interview people AND expand your network of like minded coaches. Talking to more coaches during this process gives you a better Rolodex for future hires. The lifespan on a coach in college, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, is about 2-3 years. Especially for coaches that have a good reputation. If I’m coaching for a school that doesn’t have unlimited funds, I want to have a succession plan in mind and a list of coaches who I can call.

I have been saying this for awhile, but I really feel that the most important thing Key learned at Alabama was how to run a program. Saban didn’t just luck out in his “rehabilitation” projects, he had a plan and approach that allowed him to bring good coaches into the fold and leverage their abilities, even when they were tainted and working off-field. The hiring of high school coaches into staff roles, potentially Scherrer staying as an analyst, things like that. I feel like Key knows what it takes to align the program towards success, and honestly we got lucky with the J Batt hire because he gets it too.

I’ll jump off of my soap box now!
 

stinger78

Helluva Engineer
Messages
4,876
TBH, it seems like the main thing J Batt knows is to hire coaches, let them coach, and support them to the best of his ability. You just don’t hear much about the AD’s office at Bama. It seems they provide high-level direction, stay out of the way, and work to fund their athletic programs.
 

forensicbuzz

21st Century Throwback Dad
Messages
9,020
Location
North Shore, Chicago
Sorry, but that's a ridiculous number. I love the hire, was frustrated because I thought we'd lost him, but there's now way Key and whoever else he had in the process interviewed 40 candidates. They'd had to have had 2 (I'm guessing here based on the significance of the position) half day or longer interviews every single day since he announced we were looking for a DC. The premise is just preposterous that it would have happened. 40 candidates total ok, but interviews no way.
This depends on what is considered an interview. As part of the screening process, I could see CBK having a telephone conversation/video call with anyone who expressed interest. That doesn't need to be more than 20-30 minutes, if even that. So, depending on what an "interview" meant, 40 is an easy number to reach. As a hiring manager, we've screened well over 40 candidates for positions. As the hiring manager, I didn't do the screening, but in a smaller community like college football, I could easily see CBK doing this as a sign of respect for those showing interest in the position.
 
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