Your choice for Head Coach

[CEB]

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.

Pragmatic, appropriate.

Here’s some nuance. You realize that the improved recruiting is dampened by the fact that key recruits have already left the program. What does that recruiting look like, present day? Similarly, the departures of promising assistants and coordinators (which initially looked like positive, growth opportunities for them), might now point toward leadership issues within the program. It would seem that the main issue has been addressed (removed) and what you have today looks like a more cohesive, competent program.... BUT (and this is where we agree) it’s hard as a new AD to hang your hat on something tangible/ positive in all of this, and your best interest screams for a clean slate.
Key potentially has done all that anyone can do, and it’s probably still not enough. Emotionally, I don’t like it and I want to root for the guy. Rationally, I understand it 100%.

 

[Deleted member 6494]

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.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Trying to say the wheels are going to come off for Key next year is pure conjecture. Just like saying Key will win 8-10 games next season is pure conjecture. We can say that about ANY candidate we hire. There are zero guarantees for anyone. Scott Frost was as about the most perfect hire for any situation as there has been...and he completely crapped the bed at Nebraska.

What's the point here? The point is to WIN. Period. This isn't a beauty contest. We already had a coach that tried to make this a beauty contest and he just got fired. I've said REPEATEDLY that to even be considered for the job Key would need to go 6-2 in his 8 game "tryout". That means he would have proven himself in a crucible of salvaging a disaster of a season, at one of the hardest jobs in P5. He literally would have won at GT, and under extreme circumstances. Isn't that the point? Who can you say that about with other candidates? Not. A. Single. One. None of them...even the popular Jamey Chadwell, the seasoned Bill O'Brien, or even popular Deion Sanders. Key will be the only one that can say he won at GT and have an actual record of doing that.

You keep bringing up "Key was part of the problem" without acknowledging the fact that Collins was meddling with how coaches were coaching, and our coaches had one arm tied behind their backs. There's a reason why players kept tweeting out that coaches fired last year were "scape goats". Coaches have said that Collins wouldn't allow the staff to do certain things (practice 1v1s, not always practicing full speed, not preparing backups to play in case of emergency scenarios - see Pyron, etc). If you can't acknowledge that our coaches were being limited, than you probably have never worked a day in your life. AT some point, regardless of how good you are at your job, if your boss limits the tools you're allowed to use, you're not going to be successful. The fact that Key has been able to win as many games in 5 attempts than Geoff Collins has won each of the last 3 full seasons tells us Key can coach...despite however much you're trying to diminish that.

The worst case scenario isn't keeping Key. The worst case scenario would be paying a boat load of money for a new coach and staff and watching them fail. That would be TWO coaches failing back to back and sending GT further into debt.

I’ve always wondered if there was more to the story behind Choice leaving.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I feel the same, pulling hard for Key. His love for Tech is plain to see, and I love his hard-nosed common sense approach to the HC job. Collins showed him everything not to do to succeed. Losing to uva was such a ballbuster.

One thing I remember from CPJ‘s press conferences, he used to say it was the hardest thing to get the guys to focus and practice hard when the upcoming game was against lesser competition. Coach always told reporters “ the guys think they can just roll their helmets out there and get a win.” Then he would say “we are not good enough to just roll our helmets out there and get a win.” I think that’s what happened against Virginia. And it bit us in the butt.

 

[Deleted member 6494]

I’ve always wondered if there was more to the story behind Choice leaving.

It is possible he loves Tech, saw what was going on, did not want to add to the confusion, and gracefully stepped aside.

 

[Techster]

I’ve always wondered if there was more to the story behind Choice leaving.

Nothing against GT, but from a pure coaching standpoint, accepting the RB position at USC to coach under the pre-eminent offensive mind in college Lincoln Riley was something Choice would have been crazy to turn down. Then UTexas came calling to return to Choice's 2nd home to coach under Sarkisian. Both situation were more stable than what was going on at GT, and they both were giving him a giant raise (supposedly making $500K+ at UT).

If Choice wanted to be HC or OC one day, he HAD to leave GT. IMO, he should have stayed at USC to coach with Riley, but Texas is really hard to turn down given his history in that state.

 

[Techster]

I think his value is more than just on the field coaching. He’s a huge recruiter. He got Gibbs to choose tech. I bet he felt guilty for doing that, too, after the clown coach fiasco became apparent.

100% that bolded part. Choice is a natural leader of men, and an inspiration to players. Dude can flat out recruit as well.

I'm just saying Choice had to go to make the best decision for his career.

 

[Randy Carson]

And Choice will be ready for a head coaching job when?

 

[iceeater1969]

There is no upside for Gus to come to Tech. He left Auburn with $30M and apparently, is really enjoying living and coaching in Florida. He is not regarded as a great recruiter, nor as one who could develop talent. And his offensive scheme, while it can work great if you have a Cam Newton, is not taken seriously by folks in the NFL.

If you want an OC who has more of a Tech pedigree, Mike Denbrock is probably a better choice.

".... not regarded as great recruiter, talent developer, and has a innovative offense... "

His team is ranked higher than fsu, uf, miami.

Fritz has Tulane( w their mini stadium ) winning.

When we beat them in 2015, we scored 2 tds when they had 9 men on the field. The qb went to pitch then realized no one was covering him - 70yd td.

I am going to be glad we have any coach before i declare i hate him .

 

[jgtengineer]

One thing I remember from CPJ‘s press conferences, he used to say it was the hardest thing to get the guys to focus and practice hard when the upcoming game was against lesser competition. Coach always told reporters “ the guys think they can just roll their helmets out there and get a win.” Then he would say “we are not good enough to just roll our helmets out there and get a win.” I think that’s what happened against Virginia. And it bit us in the butt.

Nick Saban calls this rat poison.

 

[Gt2019]

You can stop mentioning and forget Hugh Freeze and Clawson. Both out of Tech’s reach and neither of them would leave their current jobs.

 

[MusicalBuzz]

Dan Quinn

 

[GTpdm]

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

"Nobody calls you that, kg."

The thought of a Spurrieresqe kg getting inside my head:

kg when he gets inside my head and realizes what’s there:

 

[DuckGT]

You can stop mentioning and forget Hugh Freeze and Clawson. Both out of Tech’s reach and neither of them would leave their current jobs.

How about Urban?

 

[slugboy]

How about Urban?

We’re surprising people and going for his brother, Suburban Meyer. His nephew Oscar coaches special teams.

<I don’t think this is serious >

There are maybe 5-10 jobs in college football that Urban Meyer might take. Notre Dame was always his dream job, and I’m not sure if he’d take it if they offered it today.

 

[Vespidae]

".... not regarded as great recruiter, talent developer, and has a innovative offense... "

His team is ranked higher than fsu, uf, miami.

Fritz has Tulane( w their mini stadium ) winning.

When we beat them in 2015, we scored 2 tds when they had 9 men on the field. The qb went to pitch then realized no one was covering him - 70yd td.

I am going to be glad we have any coach before i declare i hate him .

His current ranking at UCF has nothing to do with his reputation at Auburn. His SEC conference record was 38-27 and except for one year, was overall disappointing given Auburn's resources.

Doesn't matter. There is no advantage whatsoever for him to leave the gig he has. I don't see him coming to Tech or Tech even pursuing him.

 

[Deleted member 6494]

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.

I don't think any of the posters not wanting Key as head coach knows him or dislikes him. Personally, I do not hate or dislike Key; my reason is purely analytical. The sane decision is to wipe the slate clean with the eraser and delete all present staff for consideration. Since the 3 1/2 years has been total destruction in the winning column, any present staff member could be part of the past problems. A clean slate lets you start over again to make your best search among those candidates with a seemingly best chance at success at GT.

 

[NorthAvenueNation]

Trying to say the wheels are going to come off for Key next year is pure conjecture. Just like saying Key will win 8-10 games next season is pure conjecture. We can say that about ANY candidate we hire. There are zero guarantees for anyone. Scott Frost was as about the most perfect hire for any situation as there has been...and he completely crapped the bed at Nebraska.

What's the point here? The point is to WIN. Period. This isn't a beauty contest. We already had a coach that tried to make this a beauty contest and he just got fired. I've said REPEATEDLY that to even be considered for the job Key would need to go 6-2 in his 8 game "tryout". That means he would have proven himself in a crucible of salvaging a disaster of a season, at one of the hardest jobs in P5. He literally would have won at GT, and under extreme circumstances. Isn't that the point? Who can you say that about with other candidates? Not. A. Single. One. None of them...even the popular Jamey Chadwell, the seasoned Bill O'Brien, or even popular Deion Sanders. Key will be the only one that can say he won at GT and have an actual record of doing that.

You keep bringing up "Key was part of the problem" without acknowledging the fact that Collins was meddling with how coaches were coaching, and our coaches had one arm tied behind their backs. There's a reason why players kept tweeting out that coaches fired last year were "scape goats". Coaches have said that Collins wouldn't allow the staff to do certain things (practice 1v1s, not always practicing full speed, not preparing backups to play in case of emergency scenarios - see Pyron, etc). If you can't acknowledge that our coaches were being limited, than you probably have never worked a day in your life. AT some point, regardless of how good you are at your job, if your boss limits the tools you're allowed to use, you're not going to be successful. The fact that Key has been able to win as many games in 5 attempts than Geoff Collins has won each of the last 3 full seasons tells us Key can coach...despite however much you're trying to diminish that.

The worst case scenario isn't keeping Key. The worst case scenario would be paying a boat load of money for a new coach and staff and watching them fail. That would be TWO coaches failing back to back and sending GT further into debt.

I really like Chadwell & I am certainly not opposed to Key. This post is spot on and one of the best I’ve read in a while; thanks for the perspective. I do believe at the end of the day, it is more of a splash and sexier to go out and get another coach and just start over. However, the argument to keep Key keeps growing as he wins. IMHO, if we beat Miami and UNCheat, I think Key deserves a shot. He would make us bowl eligible and put us in a stones throw chance to win the coastal; two things most thought couldn’t happen when he took over.

Lastly, relationships are everything. Players want to play for Key and that speaks to his relationship skill set he can build with young people. ADJB can’t overlook that. Relationships are everything.

 

[yeti92]

I don't think any of the posters not wanting Key as head coach knows him or dislikes him. Personally, I do not hate or dislike Key; my reason is purely analytical. The sane decision is to wipe the slate clean with the eraser and delete all present staff for consideration. Since the 3 1/2 years has been total destruction in the winning column, any present staff member could be part of the past problems. A clean slate lets you start over again to make your best search among those candidates with a seemingly best chance at success at GT.

I'm going to disagree with you on the bolded, as a number of our current staff were only hired within the last year. While Key is not one of them, guys like Semore, Long, Turner, Tillman, Watson, Alexander, etc. are not in any way responsible for the previous 3 years. And while most if not all will probably not be here next year, getting rid of them just for being briefly associated with CGC does not seem like good reasoning. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater as they say. Tillman seems to have improved our DB play considerably, and Watson is likely the reason we have most of our current commits and still have recruits visiting despite no head coach.

 

[leatherneckjacket]

I don't think any of the posters not wanting Key as head coach knows him or dislikes him. Personally, I do not hate or dislike Key; my reason is purely analytical. The sane decision is to wipe the slate clean with the eraser and delete all present staff for consideration. Since the 3 1/2 years has been total destruction in the winning column, any present staff member could be part of the past problems. A clean slate lets you start over again to make your best search among those candidates with a seemingly best chance at success at GT.

Yeah, I am not sure people dislike him. I think it is more that they dislike the performance of the OL.

As for me, while I do blame him for the quality of the performance of the line, that is not my main reason for not wanting him for head coach. I just think there are too many very good coaches with better track records and higher probability for success that are available to pass on them for what would be an unknown commodity in Key.