In your mind how dissatisfied is the fan base with our current coach compared to past coaching situations?
I remember when Bud Carson followed Bobby Dodd at Tech. Some fans hated him from the get go. Criticisms were that his coaching style was too hard on players, he was not affable and the warm fuzzy Dodd was, and that he was a “yankee.”
Pepper Rodgers was considered a “Hollywood showboat” by his biggest critics and some fans just didn’t like anything about him.
Bill Lewis probably soured the fan base quicker than any coach in history for a variety of reasons.
Bobby Ross was booed from the stands, got hate mail and was almost run off in 1989.
We could name others and give more details but I am interested in whether the current criticism of Geoffrey Collins is the worst you have seen in your life time and how you think it compares in intensity to past coaching controversies. I am not just talking about relative popularity but the urgency for change as expressed by the fan base.
Your introduction led me to do some back of the envelope research to see which loss would APPEAR to my untutored mind at least to have been the worst of that coach's tenure on the Flats. Whether this one will be remembered as the worst for Coach Collins remains to be seen but here is how I break it down for his predecessors
Bobby Dodd (yes even him) it would have to have been the 1960 upset by Florida at Florida Field. Not only was he facing his former assistant Ray Graves in his first year as a Gator coach but his son Bobby Junior was the alternating quarterback for the Gators. Still regarded as one of the top ten most important victories in Florida history. Tech came into the game ranked 10th and lost 18 to 17. One of several heart wrenching losses that year.
Bud Carson Could have picked several but his last game was pretty bad. 1971 Peach Bowl loss to Ole Miss 41 to 18. Tech players did not want to be there and it showed.
Bill Fulcher Fulcher was only at Tech for two years due to personal reasons. He was well liked by players, fans, and the media. Did not have any really signature losses but in his first year he lost to Duke so I will go with that. Best remembered for beating a heavily favored Iowa State team in the Liberty Bowl.
Pepper. This is easy. It has to be the infamous "Rudy Game" at Notre Dame during the final moments of the 69 to 14 shell lacking. Devine deliberately ran the score up on the hapless Jackets. In typical Tech like fashion the team lost again the next week to a pretty bad Navy team and wonder of wonders followed that up with a win over a heavily favored Georgia team.
Bill Curry He had a bunch of bad losses which happens when you play Alabama, Florida, Auburn and Tennessee with marginal talent. The loss most remembered was not against any of those powerhouses but to Furman in 1983 as part of an 0-4 streak to start the season. Collins thinks he has problems but at least the roof doesn't leak like it did then.
Bobby Ross is fondly remembered for that miracle 1990 national championship team but he had a tough row to hoe in getting there. Among a number of bad losses was a 48 to 14 whipping at Duke that tumbled Tech into the cellar of the ACC that year. The Wallace Wade score board operator kept flashing "Welcome to the basement Techies" Just three years later Tech was a national champion. Funny how these things work sometimes.
Bill Lewis Lots of bad losses to choose from but people forget that his first year Tech started out well and had FSU on the ropes in the fourth quarter when Charlie Ward led the "Criminoles" back in a loss that was so devastating that Lewis never recovered. Tech led 26-14 in the fourth quarter
George O'Leary really did not have a "definitive loss" though he inflicted a few on opposing teams. Tech did suffer an upset late in 1999 as they were ranked #12 and lost to Wake Forest in Winston Salem. Naturally, the next week was the famous "Jasper Sanks" game with the exciting 51-48 overtime win. I don't think Donnan ever recovered from that one.
Chan being Chan was as colorless and blah in defeat as he was in victory for the most part but perhaps the worst loss was the ACC Championship game to Wake in what had to be the most boring championship game in ACC history. Wake won 9-6 in a game that rivaled watching grass grow for sheer excitement.
Paul Johnson had his share of gut wrenching losses but the one that stands out to me was the 2009 UGA game. We were favored and ranked #7 with a long 8 game winning streak. Georgia just flat beat us and an opportunity was squandered.
Collins can take solace in knowing that every Tech coach has suffered losses that derailed, embarrassed, confounded, and otherwise shattered hopes and dreams. It comes with the territory. IIWII
