The Culture is Real

[bikeseat]

Wow - that's a pretty interesting indictment of the current and previous regimes. Going 3-9 in 2019 was more fun than 2016 or 2018? The PJ locker room must've been an interesting place if going 3-9 under CGC was more fun than the 9 wins of 2016.

Well, I hope "fun" turns into "more victories" next season. 2019 sure as heck wasn't more fun than 2016 for me.

You would be surprised. A lot of guys are still pissed we never got rings from the Gator bowl in 2016. 16 was not a fun year despite being a darn good team. To me that was the beginning of the end of the PJ staff

2014 was a fun year of course but 2015 was also a good one despite sucking ***.

 

[deeznats]

All the hand wringing on here is amazing. What are the Seniors supposed to say “this was the worst, most horrible experience I ever had in my life?”

They’ve likely finished their athletic careers, are graduating GT and looking forward to a good job, etc. They have no more practices, just school work and party time. It should be one of the best times in their life.

Let the kids have a positive experience and not turn their twits into a loyalty test. Please.

Considering the OP is a former teammate of these guys and also talked to them... I'd believe it. It's certainly a more credible take than the general "of course it is positive, what are they supposed to say?"

 

[gt02]

You would be surprised. A lot of guys are still pissed we never got rings from the Gator bowl in 2016. 16 was not a fun year despite being a darn good team. To me that was the beginning of the end of the PJ staff

2014 was a fun year of course but 2015 was also a good one despite sucking ***.

Why didn't we get rings from the Gator Bowl? And curious why you think that was the beginning of the end?

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

A lot of guys are still pissed we never got rings from the Gator bowl in 2016.

I don't remember hearing this. What was the deal with that?

 

[bikeseat]

Why didn't we get rings from the Gator Bowl? And curious why you think that was the beginning of the end?

Could just tell members of the staff were burnt out. Nobody seemed into it and the team kept winning without much input.

A lot of us thought PJ would retire after 2016.

 

[gt02]

Could just tell members of the staff were burnt out. Nobody seemed into it and the team kept winning without much input.

A lot of us thought PJ would retire after 2016.

Thanks. What about the rings (or lack thereof) from the 2016 Gator Bowl?

 

[Cam]

Great post. I really appreciate input from former players. Culture is incredibly important, just look at the rise of Minnesota and Baylor football. Fleck and Rhule are huge on culture, even if their approaches to implementing it are different. Tom Allen at Indiana is also big on making a fun and cohesive culture and they're on track for a 9 win season. And it not only influences recruiting and creates an appealing atmosphere for players, but it can directly affect games. People forget this, but in 2014 the one thing that stuck out to me from listening to the players was their belief in Paul Johnson and his system. The buy-in and team bonding was HUGE that year. Offensive players were quoted saying things like, "When we took the field, we knew we were going to score one way or another." Or a player on defense said something like, "I do whatever I can to free up my teammates so that they can go make a play. We're out here playing for each other, not to pad our own stats." It was incredible hearing all of those players talk about the importance of the team and to play selflessly. Doesn't everyone remember how the whole team gathered around Snoddy when he was put on the stretcher? The love those guys had for each other was great and I think it helped a lot with building momentum and closing games when we needed to. For whatever reason, that didn't seem to persist after 2014.

Could just tell members of the staff were burnt out. Nobody seemed into it and the team kept winning without much input.

A lot of us thought PJ would retire after 2016.

This echoes The Athletic's Tori McElhaney's comments about the program when asked about the previous team vibe and culture. She just said people seemed burned out and tired. The coaching staff has commented many times that players would previously head out immediately after team meetings, but now they stick around for 1-2 hours to talk with each other and the staff. You're absolutely right, the fact that he got so many of the older players to buy in is a major accomplishment for the staff. That'll continue to trickle down.

 

[bikeseat]

Great post. I really appreciate input from former players. Culture is incredibly important, just look at the rise of Minnesota and Baylor football. Fleck and Rhule are huge on culture, even if their approaches to implementing it are different. Tom Allen at Indiana is also big on making a fun and cohesive culture and they're on track for a 9 win season. And it not only influences recruiting and creates an appealing atmosphere for players, but it can directly affect games. People forget this, but in 2014 the one thing that stuck out to me from listening to the players was their belief in Paul Johnson and his system. The buy-in and team bonding was HUGE that year. Offensive players were quoted saying things like, "When we took the field, we knew we were going to score one way or another." Or a player on defense said something like, "I do whatever I can to free up my teammates so that they can go make a play. We're out here playing for each other, not to pad our own stats." It was incredible hearing all of those players talk about the importance of the team and to play selflessly. Doesn't everyone remember how the whole team gathered around Snoddy when he was put on the stretcher? The love those guys had for each other was great and I think it helped a lot with building momentum and closing games when we needed to. For whatever reason, that didn't seem to persist after 2014.


This echoes The Athletic's Tori McElhaney's comments about the program when asked about the previous team vibe and culture. She just said people seemed burned out and tired. The coaching staff has commented many times that players would previously head out immediately after team meetings, but now they stick around for 1-2 hours to talk with each other and the staff. You're absolutely right, the fact that he got so many of the older players to buy in is a major accomplishment for the staff. That'll continue to trickle down.

This is totally spot on. 2014 was the best year of football I have ever been a part of. But it was totally team driven. All the seniors that left gutted the team. But honestly you could have won 10 games with a few 4th graders coaching with that roster. It was unstoppable.

You could have run a pro style, 1 back UGA offense with that team and gotten to the orange bowl

 

[tomknight]

Could just tell members of the staff were burnt out. Nobody seemed into it and the team kept winning without much input.

A lot of us thought PJ would retire after 2016.

Obviously on the outside looking in, but there sure is how it looked from the cheap seats.

Seemed like the staff had lost the love.

 

[Jacket05]

Great post. I really appreciate input from former players. Culture is incredibly important, just look at the rise of Minnesota and Baylor football. Fleck and Rhule are huge on culture, even if their approaches to implementing it are different. Tom Allen at Indiana is also big on making a fun and cohesive culture and they're on track for a 9 win season. And it not only influences recruiting and creates an appealing atmosphere for players, but it can directly affect games. People forget this, but in 2014 the one thing that stuck out to me from listening to the players was their belief in Paul Johnson and his system. The buy-in and team bonding was HUGE that year. Offensive players were quoted saying things like, "When we took the field, we knew we were going to score one way or another." Or a player on defense said something like, "I do whatever I can to free up my teammates so that they can go make a play. We're out here playing for each other, not to pad our own stats." It was incredible hearing all of those players talk about the importance of the team and to play selflessly. Doesn't everyone remember how the whole team gathered around Snoddy when he was put on the stretcher? The love those guys had for each other was great and I think it helped a lot with building momentum and closing games when we needed to. For whatever reason, that didn't seem to persist after 2014.


This echoes The Athletic's Tori McElhaney's comments about the program when asked about the previous team vibe and culture. She just said people seemed burned out and tired. The coaching staff has commented many times that players would previously head out immediately after team meetings, but now they stick around for 1-2 hours to talk with each other and the staff. You're absolutely right, the fact that he got so many of the older players to buy in is a major accomplishment for the staff. That'll continue to trickle down.

After watching Fleck on College Gameday, he sounds just like CGC. He has his "row the boat" theme and said the word "elite" over and over again when talking. It took time at Minnesota to turn things around and it will take time here. I think there are still legitimate questions around CGC's coaching ability with some of his calls and in game decisions but we have to remember that he is still a new HC and will have some growing pains. I think the culture and recruiting he is bringing in is exactly what we need and if he is able to learn quickly and improve his in-game coaching he can be a program changer for us.

 

[laoh]

After watching Fleck on College Gameday, he sounds just like CGC. He has his "row the boat" theme and said the word "elite" over and over again when talking. It took time at Minnesota to turn things around and it will take time here. I think there are still legitimate questions around CGC's coaching ability with some of his calls and in game decisions but we have to remember that he is still a new HC and will have some growing pains. I think the culture and recruiting he is bringing in is exactly what we need and if he is able to learn quickly and improve his in-game coaching he can be a program changer for us.

So CGC could either be dud or another Fleck. Fingers crossed.
Fleck went 1-11 his first year at Western Michigan and 5-7 his first year at Minnesota. Let's not forget what Monken had to endure at Army his first two years (4-8, 2-10) before finally having a winning season (tho this year having issues again, but then Navy and Air Force are kicking ***!). I'm willing to overlook the Citadel loss as that was a win if that last second timeout didn't go through (Tobias did run into the end zone)... so if Citadel's a win, we're looking at 4-8, which is only off by 1 compared to Fleck's first year at Minn...

 

[Buzztheirazz]

It was only seniors that they were "interviewing". Dont get me started about TO...

So we can expect a transfer?

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

You would be surprised. A lot of guys are still pissed we never got rings from the Gator bowl in 2016. 16 was not a fun year despite being a darn good team. To me that was the beginning of the end of the PJ staff

2014 was a fun year of course but 2015 was also a good one despite sucking ***.

I thought it was the bowl people who provided the rings, along with all the other swag they provide for the teams.

 

[LibertyTurns]

Considering the OP is a former teammate of these guys and also talked to them... I'd believe it. It's certainly a more credible take than the general "of course it is positive, what are they supposed to say?"

Your point about the genuine comments is most likely highly accurate. A malaise had seemingly infected the program and I’m sure it took its toll on our athletes. It’s leadership’s job to keep the momentum when times are bleakest and we had trouble even when they weren’t.

 

[Jmonty71]

Not sure if anyone follows GT FB on instagram, but they posted reflections from some of the guys who finished out their senior years. As a CPJ player and former teammate to these guys, it was quite interesting to hear their views. I spoke with a few other guys that I played with and all of us think this new culture change is going to be thoroughly refreshing to the program.

So many people keep saying Collins is all talk or a used car salesman...that's BS. College recruiting is all about managing the emotions and needs of 17 year old kids that are pretty savvy. They see right through phony ****. Collins is not a great recruiter because of what he says or tweets or wears, but because he is selling his ability to make kids feel valued and at home at GT. For me recruiting was total BS, with shady folks at every turn, meeting CGC would have been a breath of fresh air.

The hardest part of of a new coaching staff is getting the old staff's upper classmen to get on board. One only needs to look at Fuente (had guys trying to lose to avoid going to a bowl game) and Frost's to see how tricky that is.

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Kind of looks like a typically Marketing program. Just coming from a business point of view. Not saying that the kids rally behind the coach. But looks like a great Marketing ploy.

 

[JasonJ]

Jared Southers, the Vandy transfer senior on the OL, said it might not be his best year in regards to wins and losses but he always consider this his best year in college.

 

[LibertyTurns]

This is totally spot on. 2014 was the best year of football I have ever been a part of. But it was totally team driven.

Something the military has known for a long time. When you got the troops running the show it always works a lot better. Yes, leadership provides direction and oversight but when every last man buys in you got a winner.

 

[stinger 1957]

This is just me, but from early on I've always taken the "long" mental approach to this new staff and system. It was said we're going to be doing things different here, for some reason I have always believed it to be true. I remember Toni Dungi doing it different than it had ever been done before and many questioned that it could work, but in time, again in time it did work and he won a super bowl. I believe this is going to work and it is especially going to work in connection with GT and the 404 and Atlanta area. I think the day is coming, although a few years out, that we will see BDS full for many games, we will pick up a lot of new sidewalk fans. Long over due, but we have a man on a mission and I've always done well getting on board with a man on a mission. Again that's just me, I'm going to sit back and watch and enjoy and not worry about our W/L first 2 or 3 seasons, for me that would be being extremely short sighted and not enjoying the ride to the top. The real pressure gets on when you get to the top. Again that's just me and i get it that there are many, many on here that think very different from this and maybe they turn out to be right. We shall see, I just wish those that think it should be right now would leave it alone for at least CGC's first 2 years. It seems useless and selfish driven to me.

 

[33jacket]

I am guessing there are people wondering how Saban could put 12 men on the field versus Auburn when the game was hanging in the balance.

What was it. 14 penalties too? Worst ever under him. He is a crap coach as we all know

 

[33jacket]

Could just tell members of the staff were burnt out. Nobody seemed into it and the team kept winning without much input.

A lot of us thought PJ would retire after 2016.

I posted in 2016, got laughed at, he would or was close to being gone. Turned out that way. I too heard 16 he was burnt. There was little direction like the past