It looks like things are finally coming to a head on North Avenue. According to the AJC, Chan Gailey will meet with Tech's athletic director Dan Radakovich Monday morning. I'm expecting an announcement by 10:00 am regarding the demise of the Chan Wagon.
Jeff Schultz piles on at the last minute saying it's time to move forward with a new coach. Furman Bisher, a tech man(sic) til the day he dies, sends out the call for alms in his column. The Sporting News is a little more balanced. They simply ask is Tech is better off now than before Gailey was hired.
Per ESPN's Mark Schlabach tonight on CSS Talking Football the candidates for the GT job are:
-- Skip Holtz - current East Carolina coach.
-- Will Muschamp - former UGA player. Current AU defensive coordinator
-- Terry Bowden - former AU head coach
-- Glen Mason - former Minnesota coach. UGA coach for 48 hours in mid-90s
-- Randy Edsall - current UConn head coach. Former GT defensive coordinator
Other names I've heard:
Paul Johnson - Current Navy coach. Former GSU coach
Bobby Johnson - Current Vandy Coach
Chris Hatcher - Current GSU coach. Former Valdosta coach
I have to laugh at most of those names. First off, I can't see GT going back to hire an East Carolina head coach after the Bill Lewis debacle. Plus, I can't see them hiring a former UGA player like Muschamp....much less one 32 or so years old.
Terry Bowden would be a great fit, but I wonder if they are too proud to take a guy that got fired at Auburn? The Glen Mason idea about knocked me off my chair. One thing is for sure, Tech would be able to run the ball with the Masonator. Although, he showcased a passion for Gailey Equilibrium (7 wins / year) before Gailey was even hired at GT . He averaged 6.4 wins/year at Minnesota while having the Music City Bowl renamed the Glen Mason invitational.
Edsall would make a sense culturally and experience wise. As the Georgia Tech defensive coordinator in 1998, they had a solid season. However, Edsall is a Syracuse alum, and the 'Cuse job should open within the next 24 hours.
Five years from now, Hatcher would be interesting. right now, he's another early 30s guy that may not have the seasoning.
The next few weeks will be interesting on this one.
See Also:
-- UGA vs. GT Bragging Rights T-Shirts - FootballFanatics
PWD
16 comments:
Better than some of the wish list names I read on AJC and posted over on Kyle's site.
Edsall, Bowden & B. Johnson would concern me the most.
Edsall has done a decent job at UConn, last game withstanding, and as much as Tech isn't a football school, I imagine UConn is less.
Bowden did have a decent run at Auburn and has a name that could work in recruiting, plus think of the ESPN orgy for the menage a trois Bowden Bowls.
Bobby J has put together a respectable program at Vandy and the Tech folks love to pat themselves on their backs because they is smarts or sumptin. Obviously, Vandy would fit with that MO.
Jackets would be smart to take Muschamp. The successful coaches today are younger and relate to today's youth ... Carroll, Meyer, Richt, etc. Muschamp is a motivator and a helluva of a recruiter. But sure hope that doesn't happen. Would love to see Muschamp back at UGA at some point.
PJ is the best coach on that list
I think either of the Johnsons, Paul or Bobby, would be a good fit, just don't know how "available" they are. And I'm not sure how much either is an improvement over Chan, but when in you're 0-5 versus your most hated rival, you have to make a move.
My favorite line from Furman's column:
"Taylor Bennett went down at the end of the first half. When he came back he was wilder than a left-hander they call “Rube” or “Boots” in baseball."
Snap! Where did Furman steal that snark from ? Deadspin, the 1926 version?
I would have put Paul Johnson on the my list too, but I think he ends up somewhere else.
If I were them I would admit that Tech is not going to be able to consistently line up in a pro-style offense and hang with the big boys, and thus make Paul Johnson an offer he don't refuse.
They've already got Nesbitt as a dual threat quarterback, and it seems that more and more some of the really good athletes playing quarterback in Georgia, while not skilled and consistent enough to thrive in a pro-style offense, are good enough passers to do well in an option situation.
But will their pride let them become Wake Forest South Plus?
I was just talking with a co-worker about the Paul Johnson issue, and I think that Radakovich's aspirations for Tech are too high to allow them to become a "niche team." Regardless of how they've underperformed under Gailey, Tech is still a program that can lure recruits with the prospect of prepping them for the next level, and that won't be the case if Tech becomes a triple-option team.
I'm not as impressed with Muschamp as a lot of Georgia fans seem to be, but I could see how he might be attractive to Tech given how completely opposite his personality is to Gailey's. He'd definitely bring some youthful energy to the program that it's been lacking.
One name I think Tech would be smart to look into is Todd Graham at Tulsa. He's only 43, he took Rice to a fricking bowl, and now he's got Tulsa back in the C-USA title game. The Rice turnaround was particularly stunning in that he completely scrapped the triple-option for a more pro-style attack, and an overhaul that major usually takes years before it starts paying real dividends.
I can't imagine Tech faithful being on board with a Muschamp hire. Its their worst nightmare that the best coach available to them is a Georgia grad.
per 790 the zone...2 pm press conference about Chan's status.
If Gailey is fired, is he the first Georgia Tech head coach to never beat UGA? If so, he could add a bullet point to his resume right under:
-First Dallas Cowboys head coach to not win Super Bowl.
ESPN reporting Chan is fired.
Nathan on Fanblogs says it looks like Muschamp.
As others have noted, he seems awfully young, thinly credentialed and red and black to me, but it would certainly make for six months of easy press hits about the "Anti-Chan."
Paul Johnson would be the home run for Tech (and I'm told he'd be interested in the job), but the Jackets can't afford him.
All i know is that younger hires are the way to go.....Stoops @ Oklahoma was 36.....and with the NFl hiring younger HC it would seem the way it should be. Heck even our Ad was only thirty something when he was hired, and he runs the whole Athletic Dept
the alabama crimson tide has a new song called roll with the tide by the gilmore bros, its great, what a season, and what a tribute to the tide.
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