Your choice for Head Coach

[bobongo]

You forget the financial constraint. There may be some great coaches who are AVAILABLE but not AFFORDABLE.

We're not in a position to claim money is no object.

Also, even if we spend big on an HC, what are we then going to do about coordinators' salaries and assistants' salaries? Batt has a lot to think about other than just the HC.

 

[Randy Carson]

Well, I started following GT football on the radio (No TV) the year before Bobby Dodd became the Head Coach (Alexander was the Head Coach). I became a fan of Dodd and Tech football from that beginning until now. I am 87 years of age; Are you sure you want to tell me about Tech football?

Booyah!

 

[JacketFan137]

Also, even if we spend big on an HC, what are we then going to do about coordinators' salaries and assistants' salaries? Batt has a lot to think about other than just the HC.

also have to consider a perceived better hire may loosen the pockets of the boosters a little bit to shell out for better coordinators.

 

[Deleted member 6494]

I know this is off topic relative to your post, but does it strike anyone else as odd that Key had to recommend these coaches? All my life, I have heard that head coaches keeps lists of possible replacements should they lose one of their assistant coaches

You forget the financial constraint. There may be some great coaches who are AVAILABLE but not AFFORDABLE.

We're not in a position to claim money is no object.

If I have been just hired as the new AD, the worst thing I could do for my career is to fumble my first job of hiring a new coach. I would choose the coach with a great background and record as my first choice within the boundaries of the administration's salary specifications for a new coach. I would probably have asked that question before I took the job.

I would have already found out the status of the program, its problems and needs. The team had already had three losing seasons of only 3 wins each season and headed toward the same. I also found out the old coach had indeed recruited better athletes for the program.

If the AD assumed the problem was the players did not like the old coach, then I would study the problem from that standpoint. If I saw an assistant coach who had been there for all of those years and might have been part of the problem, I would make that notation. If that coach thought his time was running out for a head coaching position, he might think his only shot was to be promoted from within. Could he possibly have anything to do to aid in the disastrous seasons?

I would make a quick check of all the assistants; if none of them met my criteria, my first thought would be to wipe all of them off a candidate's list and start my search outside the present organization. This would be the best solution to keep any political affiliations out of the picture.

 

[Techwood Relict]

And, to be biologically accurate, the body starts to 'die' sometime in the mid-twenties.

I've been fading since my early 20s, those last few years at GT were hard.

 

[Deleted member 6494]

I've been fading since my early 20s, those last few years at GT were hard.

Funny!

 

[BCJacket]

Isn't it a problem that Key recommended the new hires on the offensive staff to Collins. A staff where both he and the OC have failed and the RB coach has left. Will Key get rid of staff that he helped get hired? If not, then there is no way we can keep Key.

I don't think it's fair to criticize Key for Collins hiring Long for two reasons:

One, Collins made the hire, not Key. We don't know what Key's role in the process was, but it was not his decision. We also don't know who else was a candidate for the job.

Two, what's the realistic metric for Long/Key this season, given the circumstances? It's not fair to compare the job Long has done against some imaginary ideal where he has different players, didn't have injuries to key players, didn't have an assistant resign, didn't inherit an offense from [the fired] Patenaude, and didn't have the HC fired 4 games into the year... and say he's failed. It's not like our offense was great last year and he's ruined it. It's just, just as bad.

I don't think you can point at Key and say: The guy Key (supposedly) recommended didn't come in and, in half a season, fix all the problems Collins and Patenaude created over three years. So, Key isn't fit to be a head coach.

Now, if in an interview with Batt for the permanent job, Key says he thinks Long did a great job, would want to keep him, give him a raise and extension. That would be a problem.

 

[jgtengineer]

it’s just really hard to convince people to take reduced roles unless you are a truly special team. maybe uga or bama off a natty but i think demoting a guy here is just gonna be on to the next.

i’m still not quite out on long cause i think the o line has been too inconsistent for us to find any groove offensively, but i question whether he puts us in positions to succeed because he ignores our deficiencies

its weird liek i don't blame him for UVa he was calling plays and gibson was just giving up on them or looking for a deep shot rather than the quick one but other times theres stuff we've abandoned that was working.
The splitback type formaiton we ran early on was a good way to get all three runners on the field. But i felt we didn't leverage the formations power by running straight ahead from it or thowing quick out of it.

 

[Gt2019]

Key was the driving force in the hires for the offensive staff. The bucket for OC’s was small. It was either Godsey, Zach Kittley or Long. Godsey got a pay raise in Miami then the whole Miami staff got canned, Kittley chose going home to Texas tech so Long was the choice.

 

[dirty foot]

Hugh Freeze is my choice

 

[Randy Carson]

If I have been just hired as the new AD, the worst thing I could do for my career is to fumble my first job of hiring a new coach. I would choose the coach with a great background and record as my first choice within the boundaries of the administration's salary specifications for a new coach. I would probably have asked that question before I took the job.

Good post. And I think we are in agreement. There may be some coaches who we would LOVE to hire but who won't consider Tech because it's NOT a step up toward an elite position (ie, legitimate NC contender). There may be others who are simply too expensive for our budget in its current state.

So, we're gonna have to find a coach who considers the Tech job to be:

1. a step up (Chadwell), or
2. an opportunity to rehab his reputation (pick'em), or
3. who loves Tech and is willing to lay his life down for the program for less than market rate salary. (Key).

#1 is a risk if the young coach or OC/DC moving up doesn't pan out. And it may be a short-term solution if a bigger program comes after him in the future.
#2 is a short-term solution if someone's itching to get back to a power program ASAP. Do you give this guy 3-4 years to sort us out then hire again?
#3 is a risk if we love his loyalty but not his W-L record.

I'm betting J goes with 1 (depending on who he can get and how much he has to spend) or #3 if #1 doesn't result in an obvious home run.

 

[stech81]

They don't pay in beer, you know...

Well, who the heII wants a job you can't drink. Pull my name from the list.

 

[stech81]

Key was the driving force in the hires for the offensive staff. The bucket for OC’s was small. It was either Godsey, Zach Kittley or Long. Godsey got a pay raise in Miami then the whole Miami staff got canned, Kittley chose going home to Texas tech so Long was the choice.

It's hard to explain things on here cause too many blame Key cause they don't like him. I really feel sorry for our new AD 1/2 the fans won't like his pick.

 

[slugboy]

It's hard to explain things on here cause too many blame Key cause they don't like him. I really feel sorry for our new AD 1/2 the fans won't like his pick.

Only half?

 

[bobongo]

Hugh Freeze is my choice

Good coach:

Hugh Freeze - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

But here's the problem:

"In January 2016, the NCAA charged Ole Miss with numerous recruiting violations. An investigation turned up evidence that Ole Miss employees and boosters arranged numerous "impermissible benefits" for players, such as car loans and cash. At least one recruit was suspected of getting help on his college entrance exam.

The investigation reopened soon after star offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil admitted taking money from one of Freeze's assistants.[26] In February 2017—three months after suffering its first losing season since the year Freeze arrived—Ole Miss withdrew from bowl consideration for the upcoming season. The move came on the same day that the NCAA sent an updated notice of allegations charging the Rebels with eight additional violations. Most seriously, it accused Freeze of not monitoring his assistants, and also accused Ole Miss of not properly controlling the program.

On July 13, 2017, Freeze's predecessor, Houston Nutt, sued Ole Miss for defamation, contending that Freeze and school officials falsely blamed him for the violations. As part of discovery for the lawsuit, Nutt's attorneys filed a Freedom of Information Act request for calls Freeze made on his university-issued cell phone during January 2016. Nutt's attorneys contended that Freeze and others at Ole Miss leaked information to the press as part of an effort to smear their client.

While reviewing those records, Nutt's attorneys discovered a call to a number associated with a female escort service, and alerted Ole Miss officials about it. Freeze claimed it was a misdialed number.[28] School officials investigated, and discovered what they later described as "a concerning pattern" of similar calls dating back to shortly after he arrived in Oxford.[29] On July 20, chancellor Jeff Vitter and athletic director Ross Bjork gave Freeze an ultimatum: resign or be fired for violating the morals clause of his contract. Freeze opted to resign; offensive coordinator Matt Luke was named interim coach.

In February 2019, the NCAA punished the Ole Miss football team for the recruiting and academic violations committed under both Nutt and Freeze. The punishments included a two-year postseason ban, three years of probation, and a four-year ban on some scholarships. As well, the NCAA forced Ole Miss to vacate 33 wins from 2010 to 2016. As a result, 27 of Freeze's wins were stripped from the books; only the 2015 season was unaffected. His record at Ole Miss is now officially 12–25; it was 39–25 on the field.["

 

[gville_jacket]

They don't pay in beer, you know...

Dang. Then I’m out.

 

[TechBurn]

You guys do know that Kiffin is another Steve Spurrier,,, He deliberately pulls people‘s chains to psych them out!! Steve was the master of getting inside other coaches heads! ( i.e., Phil Fulmer, UTenn coach)
Kiffin plays that game,,,,, Actually a pretty good coach…

 

[kg01]

You guys do know that Kiffin is another Steve Spurrier,,, He deliberately pulls people‘s chains to psych them out!! Steve was the master of getting inside other coaches heads! ( i.e., Phil Fulmer, UTenn coach)
Kiffin plays that game,,,,, Actually a pretty good coach…

Some people would say kg's the Steve Spurrier of the swarm.

"Nobody calls you that, kg."

 

[Billygoat91]

I think we should narrow our search down to someone who: has never run a triple option offense ( or any derivative there of), never been fired, never been on GT staff before, not currently a G5 coach, not a coordinator who doesn’t have 100% support from the fans, never been a NFL coach (‘cause they can’t relate to college players), aren’t currently position coaches, haven’t proven to be elite recruiters, or has ever been associated with Temple. Should be easy to find a qualified candidate.

I actually agree with the no GT connection. Lets get some fresh blood in here. Every coaching tree fails to make fruit at some point

 

[bobongo]

Some people would say kg's the Steve Spurrier of the swarm.

"Nobody calls you that, kg."

I thought it was Steve Spurious.