Why Dodd why?

[OlaJacket]

As many great things Bobby Dodd accomplished as a head coach his time as athletic director was disasterous for Tech football for years to come. We all know about his decision to leave the SEC while he was head coach/ AD but something that is rarely talked about is his handling of Frank Broyles. As a Tech fan since the early 80's I was far removed from Dodd's glory years. As I got older and really became a Tech football historian, I started wondering why Frank Broyles was never willing to leave Arkansas for Tech. It remained mostly unknown to me until recently. I'm sure there are Tech fans that know the story but there may be many more who do not. There were two times we had the opportunity to get Broyles. First was the year that Dodd retired. I can understand why he didn't take the job at that time. For one, he probably wasn't too keen on following a legend and two, he was just a couple of years removed from winning a national title. But the second time in '71 he seemed a lot more willing to listen. Tech alumni were willing to do and pay just about anything to get him and being interested in the job, he consulted with Dodd. Dodd actually told him that he already had so many connections at Arkansas that he shouldn't consider leaving for Tech. Imagine an athletic director telling the best coaching candidate to not take the job at the school he was the AD for. I know times were different and maybe he was looking out for his former player but damn. Dodd made several moves as AD that make you question if his ego had more to do with his decisions than what was best for the program. I just think it's interesting to think of where our program would have been if he had done what was best for the program back then. What's done is done but I would love to hear feedback from anyone familiar with the situation.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

As many great things Bobby Dodd accomplished as a head coach his time as athletic director was disasterous for Tech football for years to come. We all know about his decision to leave the SEC while he was head coach/ AD but something that is rarely talked about is his handling of Frank Broyles. As a Tech fan since the early 80's I was far removed from Dodd's glory years. As I got older and really became a Tech football historian, I started wondering why Frank Broyles was never willing to leave Arkansas for Tech. It remained mostly unknown to me until recently. I'm sure there are Tech fans that know the story but there may be many more who do not. There were two times we had the opportunity to get Broyles. First was the year that Dodd retired. I can understand why he didn't take the job at that time. For one, he probably wasn't too keen on following a legend and two, he was just a couple of years removed from winning a national title. But the second time in '71 he seemed a lot more willing to listen. Tech alumni were willing to do and pay just about anything to get him and being interested in the job, he consulted with Dodd. Dodd actually told him that he already had so many connections at Arkansas that he shouldn't consider leaving for Tech. Imagine an athletic director telling the best coaching candidate to not take the job at the school he was the AD for. I know times were different and maybe he was looking out for his former player but damn. Dodd made several moves as AD that make you question if his ego had more to do with his decisions than what was best for the program. I just think it's interesting to think of where our program would have been if he had done what was best for the program back then. What's done is done but I would love to hear feedback from anyone familiar with the situation.

Frank Broyles said that Bobby Dodd told him to only take a head coaching job at a State University and Frank said that Bobby told him of the problems he had at GT competing with state schools like Georgia,Tennessee,Alabama and LSU.

 

[65Jacket]

Have not heard the Broyles in 1971 story, but I have heard from many people, including directly from George Morris, that Dodd had hired Doug Dickey,then the ultra successful Coach at Tenn in 1967, and that damned Ed Harrison, GT Pres., hired Bud Carson behind Dodd's back.

 

[TromboneJacket]

Have not heard the Broyles in 1971 story, but I have heard from many people, including directly from George Morris, that Dodd had hired Doug Dickey,then the ultra successful Coach at Tenn in 1967, and that damned Ed Harrison, GT Pres., hired Bud Carson behind Dodd's back.

That’s frustrating. The Frank Broyles thing really sucks and could be seen as grounds for firing, but if we had gotten Dickey, we might never have even been in a situation where we needed Broyles. Bud Carson wasn’t cut out to be a head coach.

 

[OlaJacket]

That’s frustrating. The Frank Broyles thing really sucks and could be seen as grounds for firing, but if we had gotten Dickey, we might never have even been in a situation where we needed Broyles. Bud Carson wasn’t cut out to be a head coach.

Good point about Dickey.

 

[Jerry the Jacket]

Broyles was a good coach but nothing exceptional. I don't think we would have transformed Georgia Tech football. When you think of the greatest college football coaches ever, Frank Boyles is not top of mind.

Go Jackets!

 

[MikeJackets1967]

Broyles was a good coach but nothing exceptional. I don't think we would have transformed Georgia Tech football. When you think of the greatest college football coaches ever, Frank Boyles is not top of mind.

Go Jackets!

Coach Broyles did a great job at Arkansas which before he got there was a very difficult place to win sort of like South Carolina.

 

[OlaJacket]

Broyles was a good coach but nothing exceptional. I don't think we would have transformed Georgia Tech football. When you think of the greatest college football coaches ever, Frank Boyles is not top of mind.

Go Jackets!

Well he did win a national championship at Arkansas. I think he would have fared much better than Carson or Fulcher. The inspiration for my original post came from an article in Georgia Trend Magazine entitled "Going to the Hogs."

Broyles was a good coach but nothing exceptional. I don't think we would have transformed Georgia Tech football. When you think of the greatest college football coaches ever, Frank Boyles is not top of mind.

Go Jackets!

 

[bobongo]

Dodd was right to leave the SEC and right to tell Frank Broyles the truth. He wanted Doug Dickey because Doug Dickey was the best man for the job. Carson was forced on him, instead. End of story.

 

[SolicitorJacket]

I remember reading "Dodd's Luck" many years ago and coming away with the impression that although Coach loved GT, he felt like he had been too loyal and it had hurt his coaching career.
He had an offer to go to Texas at one point before Darrell Royal and he turned it down. He seemed to regret that deeply and it colored his advice to other coaches (especially former players) about whether they should come to/stay at Tech.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

I remember reading "Dodd's Luck" many years ago and coming away with the impression that although Coach loved GT, he felt like he had been too loyal and it had hurt his coaching career.
He had an offer to go to Texas at one point before Darrell Royal and he turned it down. He seemed to regret that deeply and it colored his advice to other coaches (especially former players) about whether they should come to/stay at Tech.

Bobby Dodd i think said in the book that if he would have went 6-5 every season he could have had the GT head coaching job forever but it wouldn't have been a challenge to him. Bobby Dodd wanted to become head coach of Florida(Florida had offered him the job) in 1940 but Coach Alexander wouldn't let him and told Bobby that he was going to succeed him as GT head football coach.

 

[TooTall]

Did we try to gain ACC membership after we left the SEC? I know the end of Dodd and start of Dooley hurt Tech, but the history of independent, southern schools at that time wasn't great or even good.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

Well he did win a national championship at Arkansas. I think he would have fared much better than Carson or Fulcher. The inspiration for my original post came from an article in Georgia Trend Magazine entitled "Going to the Hogs."

Better than Carson, yes, but not as sure about Fulcher. For various reasons, Fulcher, who I thought was a great choice and fit for Tech, never really had a chance.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

Did we try to gain ACC membership after we left the SEC? I know the end of Dodd and start of Dooley hurt Tech, but the history of independent, southern schools at that time wasn't great or even good.

I don't think any attempt was made to join the ACC immediately after leaving the SEC. Dodd's ego led him to believe that Tech could reign supreme as an independent, becoming the ND of the south.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

Better than Carson, yes, but not as sure about Fulcher. For various reasons, Fulcher, who I thought was a great choice and fit for Tech, never really had a chance.

I'm surprised GT didn't interview Marvin Bass who was GT DC in 1960 and was South Carolina head football coach from 1961-1965 when the USC football program hit rock bottom. He coached QB Dan Reaves at South Carolina. I think he would have been a better head coach than Bud Carson.

 

[TooTall]

I agree about his ego. After reading Dodd's Luck, I came away feeling that for all the good he did for Tech, he started bringing down the house he built but was too set in his ways and too proud to ask for help.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

I don't think any attempt was made to join the ACC immediately after leaving the SEC. Dodd's ego led him to believe that Tech could reign supreme as an independent, becoming the ND of the south.

The ACC was a bad joke in the mid-1960s NCSU in 1964 and Clemson in 1965 won the ACC Championship with a 5-5 record.

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

If Dodd had not insisted on continuing the "traditional rivalries" with Duke and Tulane (OMG), his dreams might have been fulfilled. He could have started scheduling major nationally prominent teams to keep Tech in the limelight it had enjoyed during his tenure, but for unknown reasons, he preferred keeping Duke and Tulane, even though neither of those teams were of interest to anyone, nationally or locally.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

If Dodd had not insisted on continuing the "traditional rivalries" with Duke and Tulane (OMG), his dreams might have been fulfilled. He could have started scheduling major nationally prominent teams to keep Tech in the limelight it had enjoyed during his tenure, but for unknown reasons, he preferred keeping Duke and Tulane, even though neither of those teams were of interest to anyone, nationally or locally.

I never knew Tulane was a GT rival LSU never considered them a rival in all the years that they played them.

 

[TooTall]

The ACC was a bad joke in the mid-1960s NCSU in 1964 and Clemson in 1965 won the ACC Championship with a 5-5 record.

You mean just like those great southern independent programs like South Carolina and Miami and Florida State of the same time period? WHO CARES if we won the ACC with 6, 7, or 8 wins?? What if we joined the ACC and we become the dominate team in the ACC and keep the fan base we had in the late 50's early 60's going, just imagine where we would be now?