Stansbury Article

Vespidae

Vespidae

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There's a nice article about TStan in Buzz as well. His take is that there is a very strong network amongst the letterman alumni ... many of which have gone on to great success ... and a great source for donations.

He plans to double down on branding.

"The Yellow Jackets will continue to embrace, rather than run from, the unique balancing act required of student athletes to simultaneously navigate the paths of Division I sports and scholastic stress because they shape young people so well."

"You are surrounded by achievers; it's just part of the culture."
 
dressedcheeseside

dressedcheeseside

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I hope what I think I'm hearing from that article is accurate, that TS is a) happy with CPJ and b) wanting to give him what he needs to be successful.

“There’s nobody out there that wants to play us. That tells a lot about the state of the program and fear that opposing coaches have of our head coach.”
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and

Stansbury said he met with Johnson for an hour earlier this week and they discussed what he needs to continue to build the program.
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and

“My goal, what I hope to bring to the table, is to help provide him with what he needs to continue that success, build on that success, so that we can continue to compete at a highest level,” Stansbury said.
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jwsavhGT

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Jeff Schultz's take on the subject...

Stansbury’s first objective at Tech: Heal and unify
http://www.myajc.com/news/sports/college/stansburys-first-objective-at-tech-heal-and-unify/ntG8n/

Paul Johnson is not in trouble. Paul Johnson was never in trouble. It certainly seems like some folks wanted Paul Johnson to be in trouble, either because they don’t like his offense or maybe just because they had their feelings hurt in a press conference, but the juvenile, Twitter-thin narrative of, “We’re Georgia Tech! We can do so much better than this schlep with the high school offense!” has been kind of laughable.

Ask Kirby Smart about what that schlep with the high schooloffense did to Georgia last week.

One more thing about Johnson before I move on to the real issue at Georgia Tech. His resume includes one ACC title, two Orange Bowls, two 11-win seasons, three conference-title appearances, three wins in five tries at Georgia, three ACC coach of the year awards, three top 25 finishes, one top 10 finish and only one – one – bad season over nine years.

Travel back in Tech history and let me know when you find a Yellow Jackets’ football coach who has accomplished that, against this difficult academic/economic backdrop.

Take your time. I’ll wait. Waiting. Still waiting.

Moving on now.

Todd Stansbury, Georgia Tech’s new athletic director, officially started work Monday, met with Johnson for an hour Tuesday and spoke to the media on Wednesday. By now, you’ve probably heard Stansbury gave Johnson a ringing endorsement, saying, among other things: “If you win, I love your offense.”

Sometimes analysis is brilliant in its simplicity.

“I was there Saturday,” Stansbury said. “When you can go between the hedges, I don’t care who you are, and win a game down there, that tells you a lot about where you’re at.”

Agree. Here’s the problem. Since the win, while I’ve heard mostly from Tech fans rejoicing about the game, I’ve also heard from many fans who were upset their team won. They were hoping the Jackets would lose on the chance it would push the administration to make a coaching change. Some stuff, you just can’t make up.

Johnson was never going to get fired, although part of me has wondered if he would just walk away, fatigued by the criticism. But the fact Tech’s football coach remains polarizing reaffirms Stansbury’s biggest challenge at Tech: uniting a fractured fan and alumni base.

“I’ve got to do a better job of highlighting the positives of what we’re doing,” he said. “I don’t know if we’ve always done that.

“A lot of people don’t understand. They understand what happens on Saturday and what goes across the ticker but they typically don’t know what’s going on the other six days of the week.”

Stansbury spoke slowly in the press conference, as if tip-toeing through answers. He took a long time to process questions before responding, then gave long, even if intentionally vague, answers. He was just fine speaking in shades of gray and avoiding major soundbites. He knows he is stepping into a difficult situation and aimed to not rattle anybody.

Tech’s athletic department became an unhappy and fractured place under former AD Mike Bobinski, who lacked the people skills of his predecessor, Dan Radakovich.

Credit to school president Bud Peterson for understanding a healer was needed when Bobinski left for Purdue. He pursued Stansbury, who in happier times at Tech, played for Bill Curry and served as an assistant athletic director under Homer Rice, before leaving to run athletics at East Tennessee State, Central Florida and Oregon State. Peterson squeezed the budget to get Stansbury, presumably paying his near $2 million buyout at Oregon State to get him here.

Stansbury has sought early feedback from athletic department employees and acknowledged, “There is a hunger to get down to business. They’re interested, and maybe concerned, about what I want to do, what direction I want to take. When there’s a change at the top like that, there’’s a little hesitancy, as, ‘What does that mean for me?’”

Stansbury met for an hour with Johnson, who recently hasn’t been shy about venting that Tech comes up short in resources and facilities, compared to most other Power 5 programs. Stansbury oversaw major facility projects at Central Florida and Oregon State and he’ll push for the same at Tech.

But can he be a healing and unifying presence?

Responding to a question about Johnson being polarizing, Stansbury said, “Regardless of the differences or likability or all that, the proof is in the pudding. These are the results we are getting and we’ve got a lot of young men who are benefiting immensely from being in this program.”

His hope is to change the narrative. For starters, there’s this novel thought: The failure of a team to win the ACC or get to a major bowl game annually doesn’t necessarily equate to failure.

Tech can be Tech. Tech isn’t going to be Georgia in resources and it’s not going to be Florida State or Clemson and contend for a national title every year. But that it doesn’t mean it can’t beat Georgia, win conference titles and periodically have top 10 seasons.

And then there’s all that other stuff: The mission of college athletics. Remember that mission?

“While I totally understand we’re judged on our wins, losses and graduate rates, ultimately our success is what our student athletes are doing five and 10 years after graduation,” he said. “That’s where I think Georgia Tech can own that space.”

 

Sheldon's

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jwsavhGT said:
“While I totally understand we’re judged on our wins, losses and graduate rates, ultimately our success is what our student athletes are doing five and 10 years after graduation,” he said. “That’s where I think Georgia Tech can own that space.”
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This is what I love. Changing the playing field, change the narrative, change the discussion to something we win in. That is smart.
 
John

John

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jwsavhGT said:
Agree. Here’s the problem. Since the win, while I’ve heard mostly from Tech fans rejoicing about the game, I’ve also heard from many fans who were upset their team won. They were hoping the Jackets would lose on the chance it would push the administration to make a coaching change. Some stuff, you just can’t make up.
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I kind of suspected this based on a select few individuals who would only post after a tough loss seemingly to gloat but honestly didn't want to believe it. And admittedly, I believe such fans are a significant minority here (something like < 2%) although after a loss, they seem like >98% with how vocal they are about their displeasure.

But the idea that some fans want our team to lose just because they hate the offense or the coach to me is mind-boggling and bizarre.
 
dressedcheeseside

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Sheldon's said:
This is what I love. Changing the playing field, change the narrative, change the discussion to something we win in. That is smart.
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We should be selling this to recruits (if we're not already.) Forget the 1 in 6 mess, what is the average college football player doing 5, 10, 15+ years after college? How does that compare to former GT football players?

Frankly, I'm surprised an expose hasn't been done recently highlighting the sham of a "college education" most schools provide their SA's. Most are used and dumped. They're lied to and misled all throughout the process. After college, most are no better than before they went in. Actually, they're worse off because their brains and bodies are damaged.
 
BleedGoldNWhite21

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Yeah, apparantely 92.9 had a poll about the offense and 74% of "our fans" don't like it. I'm not sure those were actually Tech fans, or mutt fans being cute, but the idea is absolutely insane to me. We've had a lot of success under coach and a successful offense is what I like, whether it runs 80 times a game or throws it 80 times a game.

It baffles me and, honestly, pisses me off. Paul Johnson is the most successful coach we can get who won't just use us as a stepping stone, mainly because his offense isn't "sexy" to other powerhouses. Let's not be mutts and run a damn good coach out of town, only to take major steps back.
 

mqpayne

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It is stupid. I had an N.C. State fan ask me when we were going to get tired of Paul Johnson's offense and get rid of it. I have to maintain a business relationship with this guy or I would have said, "Yeah, we should switch to your offense given all the success you guys have had."
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Our offense is fine. With our new pass blocking coach our passing is good. Our 50+ yard plays among the nations leaders. We need defense.
 

TheSilasSonRising

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Although not a Sewak fan, I have never cared if we gained 10 yards by throwing or running. I do think the passing game this year has helped tremendously. But, as has often been the case dating back to 1974, the D needs to be mentioned on the same importance scale as the O. Always talking about the O. I want us to have a killer D as well.

As for TStan, can he get us a true flagship station where games (regardless of where or time played) can actually be heard on the radio?
 
stech81

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BleedGoldNWhite21 said:
Yeah, apparantely 92.9 had a poll about the offense and 74% of "our fans" don't like it. I'm not sure those were actually Tech fans, or mutt fans being cute, but the idea is absolutely insane to me. We've had a lot of success under coach and a successful offense is what I like, whether it runs 80 times a game or throws it 80 times a game.

It baffles me and, honestly, pisses me off. Paul Johnson is the most successful coach we can get who won't just use us as a stepping stone, mainly because his offense isn't "sexy" to other powerhouses. Let's not be mutts and run a damn good coach out of town, only to take major steps back.
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I don't think we have 74 Tech fans that would listen to them ( 92.9)
 

BigDaddyBuzz

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when people crack on the offense they clearly don't know football and especially football at GT. This offense gives us the best chance to win. Just look at what CPJ has accomplished at GT. When others ask I just tell them to look up who leads the nation in explosive plays or TD's over 50 yards. Guess what - it's GT. Ask all the others like NC State fans -when is the last time they made the orange bowl or even an acc championship. LOL
 
dressedcheeseside

dressedcheeseside

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BigDaddyBuzz said:
when people crack on the offense they clearly don't know football and especially football at GT. This offense gives us the best chance to win. Just look at what CPJ has accomplished at GT. When others ask I just tell them to look up who leads the nation in explosive plays or TD's over 50 yards. Guess what - it's GT. Ask all the others like NC State fans -when is the last time they made the orange bowl or even an acc championship. LOL
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To pick nits, there are 4 teams ahead of us in 50+ yard plays. We rank #2 in 80 yarders!

http://www.cfbstats.com/2016/leader/national/team/offense/split01/category30/sort05.html
 

Skeptic

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At times the underlying desire to lose has been glaringly obvious, but I don't know from whom. Seems to me you either are a Tech fan or you're not, and most of us could live with either on the board. I haven't looked in 2-3 years and I won't, but there was at one time a message board set up by or run by a radio guy, and the criticism was unrelenting. At least win or lose made no difference. My impression, but an impression only, was that the radio guy was one of those given one of Johnson's curt responses, and they seem particularly easily offended. But I've always thought if he dumped the A and B designations and made them slotbacks and fullbacks it would mollify a lot of people who just don't get it. (I don't either, frankly, but don't care very much. As for a voluntary "poll", only a radio guy would think it t serious. They are like the occasional "polls" on this board: entertainment value only.
 
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