Question about a past coach?

[alagold]

This is probably the best answer someone could provide; as mentioned earlier, Pepper came to GA Tech with his perm and "hip" attitude, and then he installed the Wishbone Offense which was disliked by many of our alum.

I'll give you one personal example of a Pepper Rodgers experience that may give you some "insight". We were on an away game to Notre Dame, and we got back to the Team Hotel after walk throughs at their Stadium on Friday afternoon, but Pepper was invited to Dan Devine's home (Notre Dame's Head Football Coach) for a Party.

Around One AM, Pepper came stumbling back to the hotel, drunk off his ***, laughing, with a bed sheet wadded up under his arm. It turned out that bed sheet had a photo of Dan and his wife printed on it, along with some message, and Pepper absconded with it before he left for the night because he thought it would be funny. Needless to say, Dan Devine didn't find the situation so funny when the sheet was returned before the game.

yep, Pepper enjoyed life and played his position to the max as a successful fball coach--otoh he didn't seem to like to do the "non-fun things like improving the physical facilities/general program and non-glamorous aspects of coaching so when he fell,he fell fast

 

[Gtyellowjackets]

Buck Belue tells the story of when Pepper came to his house on a recruiting visit he had a woman (not his wife) in the car waiting outside the house. Bucks mother said she wouldn't allow her son to play for a guy like that.

 

[Sideways]

Odd that you mention recruiting because on one hand, it seemed that we had as much NFL talent as any coach has ever had at Tech...think Drew and Kent Hill (who both had noteworthy careers in the league), Besselieu, Lucious, Al Richardson, David Sims,Sugar Bear Simmons, Reggie Wilkes, and I am sure there are others who I am forgetting. Going into Athens in '78 (perhaps the most painful GT loss I have ever witnessed) Leonard Postoasties said that Tech would be the most physical team on the field. How often has that been the case?

OTOH, the second string guys were abysmal and should have been playing intramurals. You knew back then if a starter got injured you were in deep trouble. Pepper's top guys were as good as any Tech coach in my life but after the first 15 -20 guys there was a tremendous dropoff.

Yep, there was quality to be sure especially at running back, but the drop off was tremendous. He did have a way of relating to the athletes of that era I will give him that. With Pepper, it was generally either a home run or a strike out in recruiting. That list of names brings back memories. I think (could be wrong on this) that Al Ciraldo hung that moniker of "Sugar Bear" on Jeff Mathis. Anyway, there was talent scattered here and there, just not enough to make up for a lack of attention to details (to put it charitably) that Pepper brought to the table. He did "spice things up" to be sure.

 

[Tech93]

Buck Belue tells the story of when Pepper came to his house on a recruiting visit he had a woman (not his wife) in the car waiting outside the house. Bucks mother said she wouldn't allow her son to play for a guy like that.

Haha, I grew up 2 houses down from Buck, and his momma, Sandra, wouldn't have gone for that.

 

[Eastman]

I recall him on his talk show talking about the pass play that would be run on the first play of the mutt game and I thought he must be kidding but he ran it and it was intercepted.

 

[SolicitorJacket]

I was just a young kid, but I sorta remember his Sunday coach's show being appointment television. He would often have celebrity guests and it was generally irreverent. Definitely not Bear Bryant breaking down game film while chowing down on Golden Flake chips.

 

[Sideways]

Boy, does that list of names bring back happy memories. Unfortunately, as you said, there was a considerable drop-off between the 1st and 2nd strings. I was there for that '78 game in Athens. That one game put my ETERNAL HATRED for the mutts in me, when the mutt defenders on the field were jumping up and down and pointing to the down and injured Eddie Lee. TOTAL lack of class on their part, and I still cringe from the memories of it. THWG !!!

This is probably the best answer someone could provide; as mentioned earlier, Pepper came to GA Tech with his perm and "hip" attitude, and then he installed the Wishbone Offense which was disliked by many of our alum.

I'll give you one personal example of a Pepper Rodgers experience that may give you some "insight". We were on an away game to Notre Dame, and we got back to the Team Hotel after walk throughs at their Stadium on Friday afternoon, but Pepper was invited to Dan Devine's home (Notre Dame's Head Football Coach) for a Party.

Around One AM, Pepper came stumbling back to the hotel, drunk off his ***, laughing, with a bed sheet wadded up under his arm. It turned out that bed sheet had a photo of Dan and his wife printed on it, along with some message, and Pepper absconded with it before he left for the night because he thought it would be funny. Needless to say, Dan Devine didn't find the situation so funny when the sheet was returned before the game.

Glenn: I never heard that story before. I am really surprised that Dan Devine would invite Pepper to a party. Am I surprised at what Pepper did? Not so much. Was this the Rudy Game?

 

[GlennW]

Glenn: I never heard that story before. I am really surprised that Dan Devine would invite Pepper to a party. Am I surprised at what Pepper did? Not so much. Was this the Rudy Game?

Yes, and Rudy was offsides.

 

[orientalnc]

I thought Pepper was from Ga.

Pepper was from Atlanta and played high school football at Brown HS in SW Atlanta. At Tech he was a backup QB and placekicker on the 1952 team that won the national championship. He had just restored the UCLA program and seemed the perfect pick for Tech. I remember him telling his backs and receivers they needed to practice their TD dance because Tech was going to be scoring a lot. That flamboyance was part of the attraction at first, but soured everyone on him when the mediocrity continued.

 

[LadyJacket]

I think one of the big things about Pepper that rubbed people the wrong way was his flamboyant personality and habits -- as so many of you have mentioned. My father was a BME '42 graduate and season ticket holder so I remember vividly his dislike for Pepper -- not a lot of details on why other than his particular "style" just didn't mesh here in the Southern Bible belt culture. A real clash of two cultures coming together in many ways. If you just think back to that time period people were far less accepting of differing philosophies/lifestyles here in ATL than they are now. I honestly believe that is the root of the problem with Pepper and a large part of what led to his lack of success here.

 

[Skeptic]

Antics? Like what?

If you don't mind me asking?

My dad told me he was brash and rubbed people the wrong way.

Know nothing about his football tenure at GT but from friends in Washington who knew him there in social settings -- a weekly poker game -- he could be an arrogant jerk on occasion.

 

[1BearJACKET]

So it was Pepper's flamboyance instead of the delapidated facilities and almost non existent institutional support that was the cause of his mediocre performance. I am going to have call BS on that sentiment.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

I was wondering why Pepper Rodgers was really unpopular during his tenure at The Flats? I know he had a pretty mediocre record at Tech, but I have always heard that fans and alumni hated his personality.

What was the deal?

Thanks

Too much Hollywood. Too much sizzle and not enough steak. Too far ahead of his time. Should have stayed at UCLA.
Take your pick.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

So it was Pepper's flamboyance instead of the delapidated facilities and almost non existent institutional support that was the cause of his mediocre performance. I am going to have call BS on that sentiment.

Pepper was able to get good, sometimes great talent, in spite of the facilities. He just wasted it all. It wasn't his "flamboyance;" it was his cavalier attitude towards just about everything.

 

[Sideways]

So it was Pepper's flamboyance instead of the delapidated facilities and almost non existent institutional support that was the cause of his mediocre performance. I am going to have call BS on that sentiment.

Yes, there was a lot of that also. Pepper had the misfortune of being on the cusp of an extremely poor time for Tech athletics for the reasons you mentioned. Whatever problems the Institute faces now in athletics pale in comparison to the mess that was going on during the late 70s and early 80s. Bill Curry faced many of the same problems. Many posters on here are not fully aware of the challenges that faced coaches from that era. The wonder is that we won as many games as we did and managed to come out of those times with a national championship.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

Yes, there was a lot of that also. Pepper had the misfortune of being on the cusp of an extremely poor time for Tech athletics for the reasons you mentioned. Whatever problems the Institute faces now in athletics pale in comparison to the mess that was going on during the late 70s and early 80s. Bill Curry faced many of the same problems. Many posters on here are not fully aware of the challenges that faced coaches from that era. The wonder is that we won as many games as we did and managed to come out of those times with a national championship.

We can thank Homer Rice for getting us out of that mess.

 

[LadyJacket]

1Bear -- did you read my entire post? Flamboyance was a part as well as the culture clash. You brought up additional good points that were contributing factors as well. There are a lot of great suggestions and examples that a lot of folks in this thread have brought up such as Sideways, Supersize, Old Gold, etc.. You may want to go back and learn a little tact as there is a way to have a discussion without being nasty. Food for thought.

 

[redmule]

"Lost opportunity" is how I remember the Pepper years. Change one play in '76 and one play in '78, and he takes 4 of 5 from uga. With that, we don't hit rock bottom, uga's run in the early 80's never happens, the state sidewalk fans stay split between Tech and uga, lots of things change about Tech football. Another thing I remember is how he completely revamped the team in '78 going away from the wishbone when he saw that freshman qb Mike Kelly could throw the ball, or am I just confused?

Didn't Pepper have a couple of bit parts in movies while he was at UCLA?

 

[GlennW]

Yes, there was a lot of that also. Pepper had the misfortune of being on the cusp of an extremely poor time for Tech athletics for the reasons you mentioned. Whatever problems the Institute faces now in athletics pale in comparison to the mess that was going on during the late 70s and early 80s. Bill Curry faced many of the same problems. Many posters on here are not fully aware of the challenges that faced coaches from that era. The wonder is that we won as many games as we did and managed to come out of those times with a national championship.

For those unaware; the GA Tech's football facilities (dressing rooms, training room, equipment room, laundry, weight room, etc) were probably some of the worst in the Country (including Division II and Division III) during Pepper Rodger's tenure, with everything located under the East Stands (except the weight "room," which was an open air facility under the North Stands. The Coaches offices were in the old, grey, AA building, which housed all of the Administrative areas as well, like ticketing and the Athletic Director, PR, etc.

If anyone has ever been under the East Stands, you'll know that is where the original Grant Field Stadium seating still sits, but what many people didn't know was that a small "hive" was built right along the road side (a small aisle with rooms on the field side for the training room, locker rooms, equipment room, then the laundry). The hallway was so narrow, you could almost touch both sides by stretching both arms out (two guys couldn't walk side-by-side down the hall at the same time). The training room (not to be confused with a training table, which served meals), could only handle 6 or so players at a time, on tables, with a couple of ice baths. Then there were two sets of locker rooms; one large room for the varsity, which was carpeted and had a juke box, and then a series of smaller rooms that held about ten non-varsity players, and they worked their way down the hall towards the equipment room (where Sarge and the student football managers were located).

There was a small alley outside towards the road that golf carts could be used to drive tackling dummies from the equipment room to Rose Bowl Field for two-a-day practices.

 

[65Jacket]

He is still married to Janet. No one mentioned the promises, that were made to get him to come, that were not fulfilled. Tech had the worst dressing room in the Nation.
He lost interest when he got no help.