Stansbury

[slugboy]

He is a poor communicator indeed. He answers his questions like Collins, in that he dodges or doesn’t give you a real answer at all.

They definitely are married to each other. Two peas in a pod.

I’m a young(er) tech fan as I’m only 29 but I can tell this dude is a poor AD.

I'm not saying that Stansbury is a bad AD. I'm saying he's a bad PR exec.

No one person is going to be good at all the tasks that you need coming out of an enterprise. Stansbury has done a lot of work that the AA and GT Athletics needed, and has been an improvement on his predecessors. He's not a great mass communicator, but that's why organizations have other people to put that content together. If you look at successful executives, they might get a little better at their weak spots, but mainly they get someone else to do the things they're not good at.

I do not expect Olympic weightlifters to set pole vaulting records. It's not what they train for.

Even if you're a pretty good communicator, that doesn't mean you're a good communicator in a crisis--those are different skillsets, or at least different levels of skill. Even in PR, there are PR people who specialize in handling PR disasters.

The AA has been weak in communications for years. They either don't have enough people to handle mass communications, or they're not doing it well, but this isn't new.

The AA needs good PR people right now; in fact, they need specialists.

If Stansbury has a failing here, it's a Dunning-Krueger failing. Because he doesn't understand PR, he doesn't know how hard it is, and he thinks he can do it himself. If he did understand it, he'd have brought in a specialist.

 

[lv20gt]

I like how people are pretending that there was a way of phrasing that letter that wasn't going to piss the people off who had already decided to be pissed off if Collins wasn't fired.

Sure, if only he had phrased things better then obviously twitter replies wouldn't be the toxic pile of garbage that twitter always is no matter the subject.

 

[slugboy]

I like how people are pretending that there was a way of phrasing that letter that wasn't going to piss the people off who had already decided to be pissed off if Collins wasn't fired.

Sure, if only he had phrased things better then obviously twitter replies wouldn't be the toxic pile of garbage that twitter always is no matter the subject.

Again, that's another reason why you have good PR people.

A PR person (and sometimes, a good lawyer) will gauge the situation and say "now is the time to shut up and say nothing". Sometimes, they'll say the bare minimum, such as "The past three seasons have not been satisfactory, and we are working as hard as we can to get back on track -- 'Todd'".

There are going to be people that read the worst into whatever you write, but the letter is only partially for them. The letter is for your relationship with everyone else who might support you, so that they hear more than just the mud from your detractors. But, the letter shouldn't make things WORSE with the potential supporters you're reaching out to, and I think it did.

 

[wesgt123]

I like how people are pretending that there was a way of phrasing that letter that wasn't going to piss the people off who had already decided to be pissed off if Collins wasn't fired.

Sure, if only he had phrased things better then obviously twitter replies wouldn't be the toxic pile of garbage that twitter always is no matter the subject.

I think everyone is just tired of the deflective, defensive, excuse making reasons our coach gives everyone for being a poor team. And then when his boss comes out and says literally verbatim, the same things, you can expect what you see here, or Twitter.

Him sending that letter out and saying what he said just stirred up the yellow jackets nest, pun intended.

It would be received differently if one of the two mentioned above had a backbone and said what needed to be said.

But I also know Tech fans are never collectively happy. So. I don’t know lol

 

[Vespidae]

I don’t know how college coaches think, but would they really think a job is less attractive because they fired a coach for nine wins in three years?

Here's a fact that might help. The average tenure of a college football coach at the FBS level is 3.8 years. If your goal is to keep your coaching career RISING, you don't want to coach for a team that is moderately successful (<7 wins a year) because no one will want you on the way UP. You should be looking for programs with money, good athletes (esp a QB), and a reasonably supportive university (fanbase, admin, etc.) That's why every good coach tends to go to the SEC or a select number of other schools.

That's why Tech would do better to find a proven coach on the DOWNSIDE of his career. They are no longer concerned about hopping. A good OC or former HC who is later 50's+ sounds about right. Or a coach who was good early but flamed out might be a good risk (e.g., Les Miles ... but even he is too old now.)

 

[Papa Foxtrot]

The sad thing is that so much of what posters here want to see and hear from Stansbury, he cannot do. HR matters must be private and he must appear supportive of Collins up until the moment that he announces that Geoff and the Institute have parted ways and the most that he will say after that is something along the lines that GT needed to move in another direction. That's why the famous "vote of confidence" is such a joke. Also, the search for coordinators and negotiations must be secret for reasons that should be obvious. Even then, you get things like KQ's "scoop" that had almost everything wrong about Godsey.

Gotta' have patience now. There's nothing we can do about the process....

 

[Techster]

The thing with the lettrt, is that it comes off as tone deaf especially since it was likely written before the Gibbs announcement.
Like I said before, there must be something between Tstan and Collins for him to have this much faith in him.

At this point the media and the fans really have no faith in Tstan or Collins, so I wonder how that perception is going to affect recruiting

I've pointed this out before. CGC is TStan's first ever football HC hire. Not just at GT, but anywhere he's been. He's never been tasked with making the biggest hire in the athletic program. These are the kind of hires that AD's legacies are made of. It's also the most complicated hire since a LOT of donor money is tied into it, and a LOT of outside forces (see: big money donors) want their say in the process.

Luckily for TStan, he has a LOT of backing and has done a good enough job in other areas that if he has to fire CGC, he won't lose his job. His legacy might be dented, but if he makes a really good hire to replace CGC, it won't matter. Remember, it was the big money donors that helped bring TStan home from Oregon State so they are invested in TStan as well.

 

[Techster]

The sad thing is that so much of what posters here want to see and hear from Stansbury, he cannot do. HR matters must be private and he must appear supportive of Collins up until the moment that he announces that Geoff and the Institute have parted ways and the most that he will say after that is something along the lines that GT needed to move in another direction. That's why the famous "vote of confidence" is such a joke. Also, the search for coordinators and negotiations must be secret for reasons that should be obvious. Even then, you get things like KQ's "scoop" that had almost everything wrong about Godsey.

Gotta' have patience now. There's nothing we can do about the process....

No AD will ever openly criticize their HC. Our fans just need to let it go that TStan will scold CGC. The worst they'll do is say "we are all disappointed that this season didn't turn out the way it did, but we are working hard to have a successful season next year....yada, yada..."

I pointed this out earlier, but I was actually shocked that TStan made it public that GT pulled the resources together to fire CGC THIS year if they needed to. I'm even more shocked with as many smart people on this board that like to read between the lines that a bigger deal wasn't made of that statement. TStan, by saying they have the resources to fire CGC this year, is pretty much openly saying that the option of firing CGC was on the table. I'm sure CGC, the coaches, and CGC's agent all heard that message loud and clear. For all intents and purposes, that's a message that Year 4 of CGC will most definitely be the final year for him if he doesn't get this thing turned around to TStan and "the big money's" standards.

 

[GTjunkie]

Here's a fact that might help. The average tenure of a college football coach at the FBS level is 3.8 years. If your goal is to keep your coaching career RISING, you don't want to coach for a team that is moderately successful (<7 wins a year) because no one will want you on the way UP. You should be looking for programs with money, good athletes (esp a QB), and a reasonably supportive university (fanbase, admin, etc.) That's why every good coach tends to go to the SEC or a select number of other schools.

That's why Tech would do better to find a proven coach on the DOWNSIDE of his career. They are no longer concerned about hopping. A good OC or former HC who is later 50's+ sounds about right. Or a coach who was good early but flamed out might be a good risk (e.g., Les Miles ... but even he is too old now.)

Rick Neuheisel

 

[bobongo]

No AD will ever openly criticize their HC. Our fans just need to let it go that TStan will scold CGC. The worst they'll do is say "we are all disappointed that this season didn't turn out the way it did, but we are working hard to have a successful season next year....yada, yada..."

I pointed this out earlier, but I was actually shocked that TStan made it public that GT pulled the resources together to fire CGC THIS year if they needed to. I'm even more shocked with as many smart people on this board that like to read between the lines that a bigger deal wasn't made of that statement. TStan, but saying they have the resources to fire CGC this year, is pretty much openly saying that discussions of firing CGC was on the table. I'm sure CGC, the coaches, and CGC's agent all heard that message loud and clear. For all intents and purposes, that's a message that Year 4 of CGC will most definitely be the final year for him if he doesn't get this thing turned around to TStan and "the big money's" standards.

Well, to give him credit, I guess that was Stansburys way of saying he takes full responsibility for keeping Collins. At least he's owning it.

 

[LongforDodd]

No chance on #2. If we didn’t end our relationship this year, we sure aren’t taking a huge financial hit by terminating him mid stream next year.

Let's say that our recruiting doesn't take a hit this year. But if this **** show continues five or so games into next year, isn't it conceivable that anyone, particularly key recruits, who have committed by mid-season next year might be convinced that GT/Collins isn't worth their time? And that a continual **** show into next year just might turn us into a real DII program? And that the check writers might then force Stansbury's hand mid-season?

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I'm not saying that Stansbury is a bad AD. I'm saying he's a bad PR exec.

No one person is going to be good at all the tasks that you need coming out of an enterprise. Stansbury has done a lot of work that the AA and GT Athletics needed, and has been an improvement on his predecessors. He's not a great mass communicator, but that's why organizations have other people to put that content together. If you look at successful executives, they might get a little better at their weak spots, but mainly they get someone else to do the things they're not good at.

I do not expect Olympic weightlifters to set pole vaulting records. It's not what they train for.

Even if you're a pretty good communicator, that doesn't mean you're a good communicator in a crisis--those are different skillsets, or at least different levels of skill. Even in PR, there are PR people who specialize in handling PR disasters.

The AA has been weak in communications for years. They either don't have enough people to handle mass communications, or they're not doing it well, but this isn't new.

The AA needs good PR people right now; in fact, they need specialists.

If Stansbury has a failing here, it's a Dunning-Krueger failing. Because he doesn't understand PR, he doesn't know how hard it is, and he thinks he can do it himself. If he did understand it, he'd have brought in a specialist.

I think you are right.

Simply put, if you really believe this is going to be the most difficult transformation in the history of college football then PR is your ONLY job. If you really believe that Tech can recruit with the big boys and eventually play at a top level on the sheer strength of adopting a “pro sensibility” in all you do then there is only ONE thing that can undercut all of it and that is PR.

I think there are lots of missing pieces in this hire but if TStan really believes he has his man then he should have gamed out ahead of time all the things that could be major PR disasters and had his responses ready. If he really thinks that it’s a matter of the fan base being patient he should have already planned for the inevitable lack of patience.

He failed at his only job if indeed everything else is perfect.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Let's say that our recruiting doesn't take a hit this year. But if this **** show continues five or so games into next year, isn't it conceivable that anyone, particularly key recruits, who have committed by mid-season next year might be convinced that GT/Collins isn't worth their time? And that a continual **** show into next year just might turn us into a real DII program? And that the check writers might then force Stansbury's hand mid-season?

Yes.

 

[Papa Foxtrot]

Well, to give him credit, I guess that was Stansburys way of saying he takes full responsibility for keeping Collins. At least he's owning it.

Pretty sure that it was meant as a message to Collins. The short term goal would be to pick up capable coordinators and, if the trajectory doesn't improve next year, fire Geoff mid-season and name the OC as interim. Then you're early in the coaching carousel cycle.

 

[BCJacket]

He is a poor communicator indeed. He answers his questions like Collins, in that he dodges or doesn’t give you a real answer at all.

Until the last few months, I thought TStan did a great job with communication. I felt like that's why AI2020 was successful. He was open and forthcoming with information. Told us what the GTAA needed and asked for it. Sent regular updates/letters on the state of the program. His appearances on media were pretty honest. If there was something he couldn't comment on, he'd say that...

All of a sudden, he's turned into a clown. I thought, maybe, it was typical AD 'vote of confidence' stuff. What's he supposed to say? Throw our coaches under the bus during the season? But this last letter is horribly tone-deaf and unnecessarily defensive. Don't say the results are unacceptable and then 'slpain to us about how they are and we're the problem. I looked for progress, I celebrated when it looked like there was some (against UNC and Clemson). But 3 wins and getting blown out 0-100 are not progress. Don't gaslight us.

All I can think is that he's feeling the pressure and he's in an impossible position. He knows he needs to fire the coach. But he feels like the money and timing will ultimately make things worse. We end up with a Hewitt/Gregory situation for football for the next 5 years. We spend too much getting rid of one guy and can't afford a better guy. So, he's trying to buy time. He's making the best case he can for the decision. But he's being dishonest and he's not a good liar.

 

[Vespidae]

No AD will ever openly criticize their HC. Our fans just need to let it go that TStan will scold CGC. The worst they'll do is say "we are all disappointed that this season didn't turn out the way it did, but we are working hard to have a successful season next year....yada, yada..."

You don't have to criticize. You can just stick to the script YOU HAVE ALREADY communicated. For example, ...

“Our goal is to achieve competitive excellence. And how we measure that is through our NCAA postseason appearances, ACC standings, team/individual records and statistics, roster retention, and NCDA College Director’s Cup Standing.

Suffice it to say that we have a lot of work to do to bring our football team up to our standards. As we shared with the GT community, we will conduct an annual review of each sport’s strategy for competitive success and make decisions as appropriate. This is one of those times.”

That's all he has to do. Set measures and milestones, monitor results, share feedback and ... repeat. Don't go off script.

 

[bobongo]

Pretty sure that it was meant as a message to Collins. The short term goal would be to pick up capable coordinators and, if the trajectory doesn't improve next year, fire Geoff mid-season and name the OC as interim. Then you're early in the coaching carousel cycle.

I've thought that there are enough capable coaches out there to go after any time of the year, but it makes a lot of sense that TStan would give himself time to line somebody up, all the while also giving the OC time to make an impression.
What a crummy spot to be in, though. I assume we still would owe him the full payout of around $14 million? But it looks like it might be the best of all the bad alternatives.

 

[bobongo]

Pretty sure that it was meant as a message to Collins. The short term goal would be to pick up capable coordinators and, if the trajectory doesn't improve next year, fire Geoff mid-season and name the OC as interim. Then you're early in the coaching carousel cycle.

Such a public message, though. He went out of his way to say it out loud.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I've thought that there are enough capable coaches out there to go after any time of the year, but it makes a lot of sense that TStan would give himself time to line somebody up, all the while also giving the OC time to make an impression.
What a crummy spot to be in, though. I assume we still would owe him the full payout of around $14 million? But it looks like it might be the best of all the bad alternatives.

My thinking too.

 

[jojatk]

I like how people are pretending that there was a way of phrasing that letter that wasn't going to piss the people off who had already decided to be pissed off if Collins wasn't fired.

Sure, if only he had phrased things better then obviously twitter replies wouldn't be the toxic pile of garbage that twitter always is no matter the subject.

I can’t speak for anyone else but my point about doing a better job phrasing the letter had everything to do with the way the leader or our athletic department sounded. It had nothing to do with it doing anything to convince anyone of anything about our coach.