Your choice for Head Coach

Who is your choice for Tech's next Head Coach?

  • Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina

    Votes: 188 36.5%
  • Tyson Helton, WKU

    Votes: 5 1.0%
  • Mike Houston, ECU

    Votes: 2 0.4%
  • Charles Huff, Marshall

    Votes: 1 0.2%
  • Brent Key, Georgia Tech (IHC)

    Votes: 182 35.3%
  • Sean Lewis, Kent State

    Votes: 1 0.2%
  • Bill O’Brien, Alabama (OC)

    Votes: 21 4.1%
  • Deion Sanders, Jackson State

    Votes: 64 12.4%
  • Kane Wommack, South Alabama

    Votes: 1 0.2%
  • Other

    Votes: 50 9.7%

  • Total voters
    515
  • Poll closed .

Randy Carson

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Questions:
  1. Do you suppose ADJB has a non-solicitation agreement in place with 'Bama for 1-2 years? If I were Bama, I'd have included that clause. (If so, BOB is out.)
  2. Who else will call Chadwell for an interview? With his track record and the number of schools looking for HC's, won't he have options in his back pocket? ($>$$$)
  3. If Chadwell does have options in his back pocket, will the pro-style-offense-only fans be happy with him? (look for the humor...it's there)
 

Vespidae

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What was the third most? “Have they done it before” as a predictive metric is fairly uninteresting for all the situations where there is no candidate with perfect proven experience (not just at GT football, but for anyone who ever has to hire or promote a new manager).
Third most was “Do they have experience with the mission?” Never, ever send a newbie on a mission to blow up a bridge if he has no experience blowing up bridges.

This was my issue with CPJ. He was more successful when he surrounded himself with other coaches familiar with the flexbone. As they left, his impact diluted over time.
 

Augusta_Jacket

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Questions:
  1. Do you suppose ADJB has a non-solicitation agreement in place with 'Bama for 1-2 years? If I were Bama, I'd have included that clause. So, BOB is out.
  2. Who else will be calling Chadwell for an interview? With his track record and the number of schools looking for HC's, won't he have options in his back pocket?
  3. If Chadwell does have options in his back pocket, will the pro-style-offense-only fans be happy with him?
(look for the humor...it's there)

1. Doubtful. People pull staff from former schools all the time. BOB is in the final year of his contract anyways.
2. That's the million dollar question. As of now, he's only linked to the GT search with any real regularity. Moglia had a statement about Chadwell being a fit for Nebraska, but I think their eye is on other candidates. We seem to be the only school possibly chasing him atm.
3. No. There will always be people complaining about the offense we run.
 

lv20gt

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Is Fritz being considered by anyone as a candidate? Last time around, he was a desired candidate for us like Chadwell is this time. I would be happy with Fritz


The main appeal for taking Fritz was his experience with transitioning away from Johnson's system because of his time at Southern. That's not really relevant anymore. Otherwise, he's mostly been mediocre at Tulane hovering primarily around .500 of his tenure with a down turn last year and an uptick this year. Overall this year is only his second year with a winning conference record out of 7. That and no P5 experience would make him a very underwhelming choice.
 

85Escape

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3. No. There will always be people complaining about the offense we run.
This. If we were 13 - 1 we'd have someone on the board saying "I told you so!" about how Tech would have won more games if their...okay, let's be honest...his favorite offense/coach/player had been chosen.

That's what has me most worried about this process. As time goes on fonts seem to be moving from "I think X would be the best coach." to "Only X can win at GT, and I'm rage quitting if they don't hire him!"

We really need a fan base to get behind the hire, and I'm afraid too many people are setting themselves up for major disappointment that will cause them to be negative nellies out of the gate.
 

Vespidae

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We really need a fan base to get behind the hire, and I'm afraid too many people are setting themselves up for major disappointment that will cause them to be negative nellies out of the gate.
It doesn’t happen automatically. Batt will have to explain it, justify it, and predict results. Standard change management.
 

leatherneckjacket

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I would still take Freeze or Mullen over Chadwell. I know Freeze is not going to happen but why not Mullen? I definitely think the recruiting stuff was way overblown by the media. Guy can coach.
I agree. Just because he did not work out at Florida, does not mean he cannot be successful at Tech. I think he would be great at Tech, but he is third behind Chadwell and BOB for me.
 

Randy Carson

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More Questions:
  1. If ADJB names BOB as HC, will IHCBK stay on in his former role?
  2. If IHCBK is named, would BOB come back as OC (since it appears that we need one!)?
  3. If Chadwell is named, does IHCBK stay?
(Hey, it's a slow news day. At least until the polls close. ;) )
 

slugboy

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I would still take Freeze or Mullen over Chadwell. I know Freeze is not going to happen but why not Mullen? I definitely think the recruiting stuff was way overblown by the media. Guy can coach.
Keep in mind that Freeze, at Liberty, may have access to a lot of funds. They’re private, so to some degree they can report what they want to. Their budget is reportedly $47MM/year, but they’ve done a lot of capital projects in the last few years—indoor practice facilities, etc. It’s a black box, but they’ve spent big visibly in some places. They have rich donors. they’re definitely outspending some of their conference competition, and it’s hard to say what money comes from where.

He may have a financial advantage where he is that he wouldn’t have here.
 

RonJohn

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More Questions:
  1. If ADJB names BOB as HC, will IHCBK stay on in his former role?
  2. If IHCBK is named, would BOB come back as OC (since it appears that we need one!)?
  3. If Chadwell is named, does IHCBK stay?
(Hey, it's a slow news day. At least until the polls close. ;) )
1. That one is tough. You don't want any confusion about who is in charge. If any different coach is hired, it would be difficult to retain Key.
2. That one is possible from an organization standpoint, but is GT going to be willing to spend the money that would take?
3. Definitely not. See #1.
 

85Escape

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It doesn’t happen automatically. Batt will have to explain it, justify it, and predict results. Standard change management.
Agree, but we both know that Batt hasn't yet earned the type of leadership respect needed to sell that consistently. While some people in the our fan base will give him the 'benefit of the doubt', a significant portion of us will automatically take a 'prove it before I'll believe it' approach.

No matter how good a job Batt does on Change Management, no matter who is selected as the new coach, this board will have several very loud voices decrying the decision and spreading FUD. It's the way these things go. :/
 

stigs02jrt

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I do like Chadwell's offense. HOWEVER, we've been here before with option offenses. Superior athletes (like UGA, Clemson, etc.) that play just a modicum of assignment football will stop this offense. It might work well in the Sun Belt where talent is somewhat equally distributed.

I liked CPJ but it's not like he was killing it at Tech. Chadwell will do well just to match what CPJ did. Is that enough to satisfy? Nah.

If we're trying to go next level and beat Georgia 4 out of 10 years, we need PLAYERS. Deion will bring them. Gruden will bring 5 star QBs.
 

RonJohn

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If we're trying to go next level and beat Georgia 4 out of 10 years, we need PLAYERS. Deion will bring them. Gruden will bring 5 star QBs.
Players won't get it done alone. To beat them 4 out of 10, we will need: Players, Coaching, and extra resources: all at the same time.
 

RonJohn

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Agree, but we both know that Batt hasn't yet earned the type of leadership respect needed to sell that consistently. While some people in the our fan base will give him the 'benefit of the doubt', a significant portion of us will automatically take a 'prove it before I'll believe it' approach.

No matter how good a job Batt does on Change Management, no matter who is selected as the new coach, this board will have several very loud voices decrying the decision and spreading FUD. It's the way these things go. :/
There will also be people to snap back at any reasonable criticism. In the current world, people see each other as either 100% FOR or 100% AGAINST whatever the discussion is about. It is almost impossible to have a reasonable discussion on the internet.
 

slugboy

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I do like Chadwell's offense. HOWEVER, we've been here before with option offenses. Superior athletes (like UGA, Clemson, etc.) that play just a modicum of assignment football will stop this offense. It might work well in the Sun Belt where talent is somewhat equally distributed.

I liked CPJ but it's not like he was killing it at Tech. Chadwell will do well just to match what CPJ did. Is that enough to satisfy? Nah.

If we're trying to go next level and beat Georgia 4 out of 10 years, we need PLAYERS. Deion will bring them. Gruden will bring 5 star QBs.

First, I'm going to say that, in my personal opinion, the recruiting rankings are screwed up. If you go to 247 and look at their college football talent composite, Alabama is #1 and UGA is #2 and Tennessee is #19. Tennessee beat Alabama in a hard-fought game. Then, after thrashing Kentucky and resting against the Tenn-Martin Skyhawks, Tennessee got completely out-talented on the field against UGA. Georgia has more talent on the field and on the bench than Bama does, and the guys at 247 don't see it. Their defense is much more talented and athletic than Bama's.

If you think Deion or Gruden will come here in 2023 and would beat UGA 4 out of 10 years between now and 2033, I wish you well but personally find that unbelievable. If you said they could do that at Texas or Oklahoma or Texas A&M, I might listen. I don't think they could even pull it off at Auburn.
 

GT33

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I think reality is setting in and we’re going to end up with Key. We might as well get used to it. He’ll be given a short, not high $$ contract that we can axe without a lot of pain. Should he do well, we’ll extend.

That’s basically how it will go.
 

leatherneckjacket

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I do like Chadwell's offense. HOWEVER, we've been here before with option offenses. Superior athletes (like UGA, Clemson, etc.) that play just a modicum of assignment football will stop this offense. It might work well in the Sun Belt where talent is somewhat equally distributed.

I liked CPJ but it's not like he was killing it at Tech. Chadwell will do well just to match what CPJ did. Is that enough to satisfy? Nah.

If we're trying to go next level and beat Georgia 4 out of 10 years, we need PLAYERS. Deion will bring them. Gruden will bring 5 star QBs.
First of all, lumping all option offenses into giant bucket makes zero sense. Not all of them are the same and they are all not executed at the same level.

Second, how well did anyone stop our offense in 2014 when we had one of the most efficient offenses of all time? If we had any type of defense that year we could have competed in the playoff.

Third, Chadwell is dominating his conference, as well as beating others who in the P5, with 2 and 3 star athletes. Are you suggesting that he could not win as much at Tech if he recruited and developed 3 and 4 star athletes?

Finally, no one is going to recruit 5 stars to GT on a regular basis. Not Deion. Not McGee. Not Gruden.
 

stigs02jrt

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First, I'm going to say that, in my personal opinion, the recruiting rankings are screwed up. If you go to 247 and look at their college football talent composite, Alabama is #1 and UGA is #2 and Tennessee is #19. Tennessee beat Alabama in a hard-fought game. Then, after thrashing Kentucky and resting against the Tenn-Martin Skyhawks, Tennessee got completely out-talented on the field against UGA. Georgia has more talent on the field and on the bench than Bama does, and the guys at 247 don't see it. Their defense is much more talented and athletic than Bama's.

If you think Deion or Gruden will come here in 2023 and would beat UGA 4 out of 10 years between now and 2033, I wish you well but personally find that unbelievable. If you said they could do that at Texas or Oklahoma or Texas A&M, I might listen. I don't think they could even pull it off at Auburn.
You are citing one-off games and seasons. In the long run, Bama and Georgia have the best recruiting talent, and that's why they win the national titles (Georgia will repeat easily). Tennessee will likely land where they should be based on their recruiting, which is top 20 with a few top 10 finishes, because Heupel is a competent coach.

Will Deion or Gruden beat UGA 4 of 10? hmm, maybe 3 of 10? 3-4 should be our goal. They will get 5 stars here. Hell Deion got a 5 star at Jackson State, and Gruden is a QB GURU.
 
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