Roof Out as DC

Whiskey_Clear

Banned
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10,486
I think this move was best for everyone involved. I don't think Roof is either a terrible or great DC. But he wasn't likely to ever be loved or respected as a coach here. It's easiest to blame a coach for a program's lack of success. Warranted or not he received the vast majority of that and little was ever to likely change perceptions.

So I'm thankful for his hard work and the class he exemplified while representing Tech. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors. I doubt TD stays with us. I probably wouldn't if in his shoes. Which is too bad, I think he has a very high ceiling, maybe higher than BJS.
 

dressedcheeseside

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Messages
14,243
Well, I did not see this one coming. I thought Roof would stay and we would continue on with the staff in place for another year at least. Now that I have had time to digest this a bit here is what I hope happens. If I were CPJ, I would move CAM to special teams coach/recruiting coordinator. I would bring in a DC that had no previous alignment with GT and allow him to hand pick his staff to bring with him. I would also begin to change out the offensive staff and move Owens and Sewak out at minimum. I would totally turn the staff over within the next 24 months. Continuity of staff which was touted as a plus at Tech has really turned into an up and down lack of consistency. You might as well look at 2018 as a transition year with a .500 season being probably our most likely outcome. Use that time to install a new defensive system and to begin to tweak the offense. We have to develop some ability to throw the ball if we want our standard run offense to work at some level of peak efficiency.

Look for a few of the players tied to Roof to move on. We need to play more people and develop more depth. We can not continue to just play the first string and shun the other players on the team. It hurts team camaraderie and if guys are not good enough to contribute, we need to move them out and recruit better players. We need to change the culture in the locker room. The captains of the teams need to be the alpha dogs that don't mind getting in someone's grill and demanding they improve their efforts. I would look at moving out people like Derrick Moore and some of the GA's that have been around a long time and grown stale with the players.

The fans need to realize that this is going to take some time to implement and be supportive as long as they see progress and light at the end of the tunnel.

Go Jackets!
I was with you until you said move guys out who weren’t good enough. This ain’t the pros and we ain’t Bama.
 

Sideways

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1,589
Aren't all defenses in that same perilous situation? So, to be doing worse than the majority is still a major indictment, and so we should aim to be better on that side. If we're giving up 4 points/drive and 5 yards/play but everybody else is giving up 4.5 ppd and 5.3 ypp, then that means we're relatively good and probably winning a lot. It's a competition, and we were average-below average over Coach Roof's tenure. And, over the course of his career, we don't see much difference. He had two good years as a DC - his second at GT and his only one at Penn State when he had really good personnel. For us to have a defense whose success depends on great personnel is usually not going to work out for us with rare exceptions.

I think it's the right move, and I'm excited for the chance to be better. I'm excited for the chance to have a defense that will create negative plays and help our players to actually look like good players again. It might not happen, but at least now there's a chance.

I am definitely pro-Roof, because I respect him as a man. I think he was good for our kids overall (probably better than Tenuta honestly), and I hope our next DC is as well. I was hoping if something like this happened that we could keep him in another capacity, but that would've taken some drastic measures on his part, so I don't blame either side.

I think this is CPJ's thinking: I know what I have in Roof, and it's not likely to change. We're not likely to have a defense that can actually help us reach the top. I don't have a whole lot of time left in my career, so I'm going to give myself the best chance to get to the big show. With Roof, there's no chance; if I make a change, at least there's a chance. It might not work, but what do I have to lose. I have one goal and this is the last chance I have to reach it.

Some think he'll only coach for 3-4 more years. I don't think so, I'm thinking more like 10 years at least. CPJ is a football man and there's not going to be anything to change that. He's going to keep running his offense and it will continue to be successful as long as he has a few key pieces. Him getting holder won't change that either. If he retires, there's nothing else in life that will give him that satisfaction and fulfillment than doing what he's great at. Some of it will depend on what our program does. If he feels like our program just can't get over the top because of intrinsic qualities and he's still going 6-9 wins without a glimmer of hope to reach the big show, then he may retire earlier, but if he thinks there's any chance at all, then he'll keep on going until he just can't. And, I for one hope he does coach a lot longer with us and reaches some great heights as our program continues to try to push to keep us competitive, maybe even the big show.

I think you have articulated Coach Johnson's thinking in that he knows what he has in Roof and wants to throw the dice to see if he can get to the "big show". Ten years is a long time for someone at 60 years of age but others have done it including Bobby Bowden, Bear Bryant, Joe Paterno, Woody Hayes, Bo Shembelcher, Darryl Royal. But many more have chosen to ride off into the sunset with their winnings at that age. Personally, I felt very different in lots of ways at 62 than I did at 57. In that short time, I buried both parents, a couple of uncles, suffered a slew of physical ailments related to playing tennis, etc. Things like that can change one's perspective and outlook on life in short order. Believe me, I am living proof.
 

33jacket

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Georgia
I would like to say something.

1 - I was very active to make sure he was gone. Very active. Almost a campaign.

2 - Ted is a good guy but a mediocre at best coach. Paul had enough 2 years ago and this year was the budget contract run out.

3 - Preseason, I argued with @PBR549 he would be gone this year. That no matter what he isn't a good coach and paul would make the call. We can say he joined another staff. We can talk about the go find another job discussion. Bottom line Yes I am happy and xmas is early

its funny denial about roof still exists with some of our fans. LOL. Dude was pushed along. Not left for a bigger role. You would leave your alma mater to go be a co-coord at NC state as the 10th coach and a likely pay cut. Ya'll are funny. Other coaches will be gone too. Thats called a house cleaning.

Finally. The next DC choice is interesting. and frankly, paul track record is not good. This worries the HECK out of me. So fingers crossed.
 

iceeater1969

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9,786
CPJ isn’t going to coach ten more years. He’s going to finish out the current contract and retire. He has said as much.
If he limps 7-5 &6-6 out the door, wouldn't his legacy be "started fast but football passed him bye"? A bad end could mean no more triple option at gt.

I think he wants very badly to finish strong and thus is making changes which if successful will keep him here a couple more years .
 

Vespidae

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Auburn, AL
Link to where he has said that? All I’ve ever heard him say is he will coach until he feels he can’t anylonger or something along those lines.

I’ll look for a link as he mentioned it in an interview, I think.

My gf’s dad built his vacation home. Pretty much said the same thing - doesnt plan on leaving Tech, but doesn’t plan on coaching forever either. Wants to spend time w/family, etc.
 

g0lftime

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6,052
Up here in RTP land they are saying Roof was hired as co-defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Not sure exactly what that second part means but may have been needed to get him a salary he could live with. My goodness, if you can't get by on $800K a year, you've got a problem. It may be that Huxtable is planning on retiring in a couple of years. Not sure how old he is. NCST coaching staff is fairly stable now and they want Roof to recruit Atlanta. That was his best asset.
 

jeffgt14

We don't quite suck as much anymore.
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Mt Juliet, TN
Up here in RTP land they are saying Roof was hired as co-defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Not sure exactly what that second part means but may have been needed to get him a salary he could live with. My goodness, if you can't get by on $800K a year, you've got a problem. It may be that Huxtable is planning on retiring in a couple of years. Not sure how old he is. NCST coaching staff is fairly stable now and they want Roof to recruit Atlanta. That was his best asset.
In other words, his job title is Recruiter.
 

Augusta_Jacket

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Staff member
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Augusta, Georgia
Solid find although roof didn't coach him all four years. Which proves my point you can only think of one player during roofs tenure who did get betrer. We are a very poor tackling team, not aggressive and no one is mean. We beat UVA, Miami and Tennessee if we don't play prevent.

He's not the only player who got better, just the immediate first that came to mind. But it's apparent you're letting the offense off the hook for those losses. It's pointless debating with people who have a preset opposition to Roof.

Either way, we will have a new DC for a few years, then we'll be searching for another one again. Unless we fix the bigger problems within the GTAA, this will become the norm...
 

Eli

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Messages
1,714
He's not the only player who got better, just the immediate first that came to mind. But it's apparent you're letting the offense off the hook for those losses. It's pointless debating with people who have a preset opposition to Roof.

Either way, we will have a new DC for a few years, then we'll be searching for another one again. Unless we fix the bigger problems within the GTAA, this will become the norm...

Our Qb ran for over 250 yards against Tennessee so yes I'm letting them off the hook for that loss at least. I'm not so anti roof that I can't have an educated debate. It's like this if you have been a below average defensive coordinator your whole entire career it does not change when you turn 50.
 

Eli

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Messages
1,714
He's not the only player who got better, just the immediate first that came to mind. But it's apparent you're letting the offense off the hook for those losses. It's pointless debating with people who have a preset opposition to Roof.

Either way, we will have a new DC for a few years, then we'll be searching for another one again. Unless we fix the bigger problems within the GTAA, this will become the norm...

I really see no difference in about half our defense now then when they stepped on campus. In fact I think Step Durham may have been better 4 years ago
 

Whiskey_Clear

Banned
Messages
10,486
:ROFLMAO:
I would like to say something.

1 - I was very active to make sure he was gone. Very active. Almost a campaign.

2 - Ted is a good guy but a mediocre at best coach. Paul had enough 2 years ago and this year was the budget contract run out.

3 - Preseason, I argued with @PBR549 he would be gone this year. That no matter what he isn't a good coach and paul would make the call. We can say he joined another staff. We can talk about the go find another job discussion. Bottom line Yes I am happy and xmas is early

its funny denial about roof still exists with some of our fans. LOL. Dude was pushed along. Not left for a bigger role. You would leave your alma mater to go be a co-coord at NC state as the 10th coach and a likely pay cut. Ya'll are funny. Other coaches will be gone too. Thats called a house cleaning.

Finally. The next DC choice is interesting. and frankly, paul track record is not good. This worries the HECK out of me. So fingers crossed.

Your message board campaign was pivotal Im sure. Lmao

"I was very active. Very active. Almost a campaign." You sound like the real Donald Trump.:ROFLMAO:
 

iceeater1969

Helluva Engineer
Messages
9,786
Well, I did not see this one coming. I thought Roof would stay and we would continue on with the staff in place for another year at least. Now that I have had time to digest this a bit here is what I hope happens. If I were CPJ, I would move CAM to special teams coach/recruiting coordinator. I would bring in a DC that had no previous alignment with GT and allow him to hand pick his staff to bring with him. I would also begin to change out the offensive staff and move Owens and Sewak out at minimum. I would totally turn the staff over within the next 24 months. Continuity of staff which was touted as a plus at Tech has really turned into an up and down lack of consistency. You might as well look at 2018 as a transition year with a .500 season being probably our most likely outcome. Use that time to install a new defensive system and to begin to tweak the offense. We have to develop some ability to throw the ball if we want our standard run offense to work at some level of peak efficiency.

Look for a few of the players tied to Roof to move on. We need to play more people and develop more depth. We can not continue to just play the first string and shun the other players on the team. It hurts team camaraderie and if guys are not good enough to contribute, we need to move them out and recruit better players. We need to change the culture in the locker room. The captains of the teams need to be the alpha dogs that don't mind getting in someone's grill and demanding they improve their efforts. I would look at moving out people like Derrick Moore and some of the GA's that have been around a long time and grown stale with the players.

The fans need to realize that this is going to take some time to implement and be supportive as long as they see progress and light at the end of the tunnel.

Go Jackets!
Classy post. Very Classy.

Remember Kevin Steele who was terrible head coach at Baylor. Then pretty average dc at clemson when under cheer leader Dabo. Then to auburn underdirect supervision of gus m , steele was finalist for broyles award. Phil Bennett was ok as dc at Texas a m, then really sucked as head coach at smu. Went to Baylor as dc and under brilles developed a high speed aggressive defense . With the Baylor debacle he still got good job as dc Arizona state. Did well their and word is he could be returning to Texas a m with money bags talkie talkie jimbo . Could be a disaster.
My son is a coach and we know that coaches move around till they find a good fit. Then things get great and people leave for clearly better job. Its the life they have choosen.
Imo
Roof has been class and Roof will be very good when he finds the right spot.
GO Jackets
 
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