Report: Pepper Rodgers has passed

GTRambler

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Supersizethatorder-mutt

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I didn't want to open a new thread just for this, but two coaches with ties to Tech passed away this week....Pat Dye on Monday, and Johnny Majors today. Although neither of these men coached against Tech, they both played against the Jackets in the 50s, Dye at Georgia and Majors at Tennessee.
 
DeepSnap

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Supersizethatorder-mutt said:
I didn't want to open a new thread just for this, but two coaches with ties to Tech passed away this week....Pat Dye on Monday, and Johnny Majors today. Although neither of these men coached against Tech, they both played against the Jackets in the 50s, Dye at Georgia and Majors at Tennessee.
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And Majors, then at Iowa State, almost became HFC at NATS instead of Bill Fulcher in January 1972. The feeling, certainly among some of us seniors on the 1971 squad, was NATS absolutely did not want or need a coach with the reputed disciplinarian approach of Majors right on the heels of the little former Marine with a Napoleanic complex, Bud Carson. Fulcher was a Dodd favorite, he'd been an assistant at GT in '69 before getting the Tampa U. job & was well-liked and respected.

Majors? Not needed at NATS then. Pitt was a dumpster fire & Majors' approach worked well there with Jackie Sherrill as one of his prime Asst's & recruiters. Unlimited schollies helped not to mention getting an undersized RB out of Aliquippa named Tony Dorsett that had a fair amount of success in college and the NFL.
 
Supersizethatorder-mutt

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DeepSnap said:
And Majors, then at Iowa State, almost became HFC at NATS instead of Bill Fulcher in January 1972. The feeling, certainly among some of us seniors on the 1971 squad, was NATS absolutely did not want or need a coach with the reputed disciplinarian approach of Majors right on the heels of the little former Marine with a Napoleanic complex, Bud Carson. Fulcher was a Dodd favorite, he'd been an assistant at GT in '69 before getting the Tampa U. job & was well-liked and respected.

Majors? Not needed at NATS then. Pitt was a dumpster fire & Majors' approach worked well there with Jackie Sherrill as one of his prime Asst's & recruiters. Unlimited schollies helped not to mention getting an undersized RB out of Aliquippa named Tony Dorsett that had a fair amount of success in college and the NFL.
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Interesting. I had forgotten that Majors' name had actually been mentioned before Fulcher was hired. I for one, mainly, I guess, because he was an Augusta product (my home town), I was solidly behind Fulcher, and I still believe if he hadn't quit, for whatever real reasons he did so, he would have been an awesome coach for the Jackets. I have run into him a few times in the past 5 years, and I still like the man.
 
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Supersizethatorder-mutt said:
"......I still believe if he hadn't quit, for whatever real reasons he did so, he would have been an awesome coach for the Jackets."
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IIRC, Bill "Rock" Fulcher didn't realize how much alumni pressure would play in the job. IOW, the Lower West Stands didn't like the inevitable changing faces of GT football & tried to pressure him to turn back the clock. The flap over Eddie McAshan marked a turning point.... and toss in OC Steve Sloan leaving (and taking Rex Dockery with him) for the Vandy HFC job in '73, and it became a snowball rolling downhill. Bill quickly got a snootful of the BS & went home to Augusta where he would make a very comfortable living in Real Estate(?).

One thing to remember regarding the time - 1972 & 1973 - the HFC at Georgia Tech only made about $35K or $40K a year, a new comp'ed car every year, plus a couple of comp'ed club memberships (admittedly rather pricey - the Capital City & Piedmont Driving clubs). Bill decided it just wasn't worth the aggravation, dream job or not.

Bill wanted to leave after the 1972 season, but Dodd talked him into staying one more year - WTTE "Don't leave me in a lurch like this after only one year" - Bill stayed another year ('73) & then left coaching for good.
 

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Here is a Pepper story which is probably as mixed up as factual. It was 78, and Pepper had changed the offense. Mike Kelly was the quarterback, and he could throw it pretty well, something rare during the Pepper years. I was there when we beat Auburn at Auburn. On a key play, Kelly took a naked bootleg alone away from the blocking for a key first down. In talking about it later, Pepper told the press that he and Mike Kelly were the only ones who knew Kelly was gonna run the naked bootleg the other way. The fake was perfect because all the blockers thought the ball carrier was behind them.

Like most of y'all, the 74 Georgia game was the highlight of the Rogers years. It was physical domination. All on the ground, hardly any big plays or turnovers. We just pushed 'em back, ball carrier smashed in there, move the chains. All. Day. Long,
 

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A few more thoughts on Pepper. I was of an age where I thought it was really cool that we had such a personality as head coach. His flamboyance was such a contrast with his offense, which was as old school as was possible. I got weary of it at times, though. Defenses would stack the line and dare him to pass, foreshadowing some of what PJ faced. On the rare occasions we tried, our quarterbacks looked like right handed quarterbacks throwing lefthanded and we look like we had never practiced the play before.

A happier memory comes from his unorthodox coach's tv show. He showed lots of interactions with the players, and it was obvious that he loved them and they loved him back. That always counts for a lot with me.
 
Old South Stands

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I've been away from news and sports for a number of months and only just learned of Coach Rodgers' passing today. Pepper Rodgers is the reason I became a Tech fan in the first place. He coached during my elementary school years. Growing up in Atlanta, I used to watch his post-game show on TV -- much more entertaining than Vince Dooley, and so that was that. My Tech fandom became cemented after attending his football camp in '77. I was only 10 at the time, but I treated the camp like a tryout, hoping he'd remember me when I finally got to college. (I ended up getting the Best Defensive Lineman award for my age group.) Needless to say, I was devastated when he was fired. Honestly, if he were still coaching at Tech when I got there, I would have tried to walk on and maybe make the practice squad, no matter how bad I got banged up.

Many guys who've played for Pepper said he was a lot of fun, yet was a serious coach when it came to the X's and O's and capable of chewing out a player when necessary. I can vouch for this, just from attending the football camp. One of my favorite memories of Pepper was listening to him talking with my dad, holding my baby brother in his arms and reminiscing about their days at Tech in the '50s. For people of a certain age, he was a big part of Tech's history, and an integral part of the pop culture of Atlanta in those days.
 

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Old South Stands said:
I've been away from news and sports for a number of months and only just learned of Coach Rodgers' passing today. Pepper Rodgers is the reason I became a Tech fan in the first place. He coached during my elementary school years. Growing up in Atlanta, I used to watch his post-game show on TV -- much more entertaining than Vince Dooley, and so that was that. My Tech fandom became cemented after attending his football camp in '77. I was only 10 at the time, but I treated the camp like a tryout, hoping he'd remember me when I finally got to college. (I ended up getting the Best Defensive Lineman award for my age group.) Needless to say, I was devastated when he was fired. Honestly, if he were still coaching at Tech when I got there, I would have tried to walk on and maybe make the practice squad, no matter how bad I got banged up.

Many guys who've played for Pepper said he was a lot of fun, yet was a serious coach when it came to the X's and O's and capable of chewing out a player when necessary. I can vouch for this, just from attending the football camp. One of my favorite memories of Pepper was listening to him talking with my dad, holding my baby brother in his arms and reminiscing about their days at Tech in the '50s. For people of a certain age, he was a big part of Tech's history, and an integral part of the pop culture of Atlanta in those days.
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Pepper indeed could lay down the hammer on you if things weren't going as scheduled.

I was attending a spring practice in 1976 when we had a new, first time asst. Coach on the field.

When the team broke down into position groups for drills, this new coach wanted to start waxing poetic and relating about philosophies of life, as he had his group take a knee.

Pepper saw this from between the 2 fields at Rose Bowl and headed over in a sprint.

As the guys i was with were about 12 to 15 feet away, you could hear Pepper lay into this coach about (wtte) "Get these guys to work Now! We can talk to them after but start doing your Drills NOW!"

Did not want to mess with the guy.
 

Novajacket

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Yaller Jacket said:
A few more thoughts on Pepper. I was of an age where I thought it was really cool that we had such a personality as head coach. His flamboyance was such a contrast with his offense, which was as old school as was possible. I got weary of it at times, though. Defenses would stack the line and dare him to pass, foreshadowing some of what PJ faced. On the rare occasions we tried, our quarterbacks looked like right handed quarterbacks throwing lefthanded and we look like we had never practiced the play before.

A happier memory comes from his unorthodox coach's tv show. He showed lots of interactions with the players, and it was obvious that he loved them and they loved him back. That always counts for a lot with me.
Click to expand...
This is one of the reasons I think that systems are overrated. Just because you have one doesn’t make you automatically successful. Also the transition from CPR to CBC, shows how difficult the transition can be. Though I think when CPR brought in Spurrier he was planning to transition the offense anyway.
 
Old South Stands

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Novajacket said:
This is one of the reasons I think that systems are overrated. Just because you have one doesn’t make you automatically successful. Also the transition from CPR to CBC, shows how difficult the transition can be. Though I think when CPR brought in Spurrier he was planning to transition the offense anyway.
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A series of 'what ifs'... Mike Kelley had another two years under Coach Curry, if I remember right. What if Tech ended up beating UGA in '78? (Which we should have...) What if Tech took that momentum and followed that with a really good season in '79? What if -- with Mike Kelley's obvious strengths -- the offense ended up turning into an all-conference passing threat? What if, in 1983 or 1984, Coach Rodgers retired and turned the keys over to Steve Spurrier as HC? (Spurrier reportedly wanted the Tech job at one point).
 
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