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November 2, 2007

Chan Gailey is so completely fired



Last night's GT vs. VT game was staggeringly bad, and barring a miracle it likely signaled the end of the Gailey Era.

Chan has been at Georgia Tech almost six full seasons. He's had four offensive coordinators including Bill O'Brien, Chan Gailey, Patrick Nix and John Bond. What's the difference in results?

He's tried four different starting quarterbacks in AJ Suggs, Bilbo, Reggie Ball and Taylor Bennett, and 11 total QBs (see list below) have come and gone under his watch. Again, what's the difference in the results?

Last night for GT fans was as bad as the UGA vs. Tennessee game was for Dawg fans. Only, Tech fans lack the track record of three divisional titles and two conference championships to fall back on for assurance, confidence and comfort. There was nothing positive to come from that game.

You know why Tech doesn't have solid QB play? Look at the 11 QBs that have passed through his system. It's like he recruits on the island of lost talent:
    AJ Suggs: UT castoff
    Reggie Ball: No other Div I offers at QB
    Bilbo: I have no idea who wanted him at QB
    Kyle Manley: Handed the ball to Darius Walker every down in HS
    Calvin Booker: AU castoff
    Josh Nesbitt: Recruited by UGA as a DB/WR
    J. Garner: Urban Meyer pulled his offer upon arriving at UF
    Byron Ingram: Other offers were Duke and Tulane
    Steven Threet: highly recruited. Transferred to Michigan
    Pat Carter: highly recruited. Transferred to Louisville
    Al Pena: Transferred to Houston
And Techies call Gailey a great recruiter? Gailey wouldn't know a big time QB if they walked up and introduced themselves as "Troy Aikman." Wait...that did happen, and he ran him into the ground too.

Don't get me wrong. I would love for Gailey to stay at Tech forever, but I think last night pretty much derailed the ChanWagon.

The bad news for UGA fans. He's probably leaving, and DRad seems like a pretty bright guy who knows what he wants and needs in a head coach. The good news for UGA fans...this off season could see the biggest turnover for head coaches in Div I since after the 2000 season. This isn't the year to go searching for a new coach when you're a program like Tech.

Also, I'm pretty sure that LSU hasn't named a successor for the retiring Skip Bertman. DRad would make a great candidate for the LSU athletic director job. If he left, who would fire/replace Gailey? And lastly, the GT athletic department is still bleeding red ink from the stadium expansion. Gailey's buyout will be north of $3 million. Hiring an interesting head coach away from another school will also involve a buyout. A proven winner could cost GT more than $4 million just in buyouts.

I think you'll see the following names get bantered around for Tech. Randy Edsall (UConn), Chris Hatcher (VSU GSU...sorry I knew better) and Jimbo Fisher (OC/FSU)...in no particular order. But really...who else could they get / want?

Viva La Gailey...just not at our expense.

See Also:
-- Gailey responding to questions about his job BEFORE the VT Game - 790theZone

PWD

28 comments:

C. Paul said...

It is interesting at the Joke by Coke.

There is an interesting subplot behind the scenes with DRad and the alumni. I'll leave it to someone closer to the GT Program to expound, but no one at GT thinks he'll be around long as moving back to LSU seems to easy. It's the polar opposite of Les Miles situation as everyone just assumes that he's gone when and if Carr leaves UM.

Tough times for GT.

Go Dawgs!!

PS - We need at least some mention of Taylor Bennett as "Tinky-Winky" for Halloween. Wow.

Josh M. said...

I heard an interesting name bandied about: Major Applewhite.

Anonymous said...

Not to pee in your Friday morning corn flakes or anything, but I think Chris Hatcher actually coaches at Georgia Southern now, where he's spent the year winning close football games and making people wonder why they hired Brian VanGorder in the first place.

blackertai said...

They've also spent the year losing incredible head scratchers, like their loss to Elon and Chattanooga. Now, I realize the BVG year was tough on the Eagles, but Elon and Chattanooga? Just plan schizo when you consider they beat Furman and App St.

Nathan said...

Well, lets just say I nearly called into work "sick" this morning ... this team is in shambles. We were coming an off week for Christ's sake and that was the best product we could put forth. Despicable.

As for Chan and his QB recruiting to be fair he's done much better in the past two classes. Nesbitt has potential, though he's very raw. Sean Renfree for '08 is an Elite 11 guy and Drew Little in the '09 class is right with him. So there's some hope for the future - IF THERE IS A QB COACH WORTH A DAMN.

Gailey basically fired himself on national TV last night, and it will be interesting to see how the candidates line up. DRad has done a good job to put the GTAA in a financial position where we aren't bleeding money every year and the buyout for Gailey will not be a problem (it's already there, signed and sealed).

The most depressing part is that GT has more talent than VT now at nearly every position except WR and CB. There's absolutely no excuse for that display we were fed last night. None. Absolutely none. Just awful.

Anonymous said...

As sure as the sun rose this morning, Major's next stop will be the University of Texas. Much to Saban's chagrin no doubt.

Not to look ahead here but if VT was able to do this to GT then I can't help but wonder what UGA is capable of...

JasonC said...

I only saw the 4th quarter, but it was horrible for GT. Both QBs were just chucking up balls without concern about all the turnovers they already had. Bennett floated a punt up down the sidelines when he had a FB open on the same side in short to medium range. But can you expect a 13 year old to do any better?

On side notes, Elon isn't the 2-9 team of the past. They actually are winning some games this year and the SoCon is a little upside down with Elon and El Cid doing well and Furman, GSU and App St, not at the top.

Applewhite is getting better, but honestly, I think he cost Bama some games this year. He is finally realizing that JPW is not Colt Brennan and that using his RBs helps his QB to be more effective. Thankfully, he didn't learn this until after UGA beat them.

Astronaut Mike Dexter said...

Last night for GT fans was as bad as the UGA vs. Tennessee game was for Dawg fans.

All due respect, I disagree. Georgia has come to expect to win games like that, whereas Tech really hasn't yet. And as bad as the Jackets looked against VT, they were at least trying . . . which is more than you can say for us against Tennessee.

But back to your main point -- firing a coach pretty much saddles you with the responsibility of finding a new one, which takes time, and if Radakovich really senses interest on LSU's part in hiring him back, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd go, "Gailey, you're fired; Tech, here's your new coach; aaaand . . . I'm outta here."

So what we Bulldogs really need to hope for is that LSU pounces on D-Rad at the first available opportunity, since that will more than likely buy Gailey one more year, maybe two, on the Flats.

Nathan said...

The Jackets looked like they were trying? WTF? Michael Johnson (who's the best college football player in the state of Georgia this year - he's going to be one very rich young man soon) looked like he was trying, but the rest of the team just sat there and got drilled by a shitty VT team.

Don't forget - that was off a bye week for GT. 12 days of preparation and healing time. 12 days to game plan ANYTHING. It's embarrassing to even be associated with that disaster in any way, shape or form.

I'd argue that it's worse for GT fans than UGa fans with the UT game - we've come to expect this, and have no confidence anything will change. UGa fans could look forward knowing that changes would be made. GT fans can look forward to Duke holding us to 215 yards in Durham or something silly like that.

Anonymous said...

Two things- first off, you actually think that Georgia wasn't trying to beat Tennessee. Just think about how stupid that sounds. That is the excuse whinners use. We just got manhandled.
Second, Nathan forgot about LBs, I would take Vince Hall and Adibi way before Wheeler. Are you kidding?

Anonymous said...

yeah anon 11:27, I'd completely agree with Doug in that by the end of the UT game, we had just QUIT playing basically. And I don't care how young ours are, what position they play or where your players are positioned to go in that "hunk of man beef ooga ooga look good with their shirt off" NFL Draft... there's no way Tech has the best CFB player in the state of GA this year. Nah, not buyin that at all pahtnuh. If you wanted to say that last year with Calvin, maybe we couldn't argue much, even if we did shut him down as usual. But not this year Nate... not with these teams. And probably not ever to be brutally honest.

Astronaut Mike Dexter said...

Hey, nobody's making excuses about Tennessee -- the players came out flat, the coaches didn't prepare them properly, we didn't do anything right. I like to think that a properly prepared team would've beaten the Vols that afternoon, but obviously I have no grounds on which to make that claim.

As for GT-VT, Mark Bradley said in a column this morning that Tech had been favored to win last night -- can that be true? I know the Hokies have fallen off a little from last year in many respects, but I find it hard to believe that the oddsmakers would've picked a Tashard Choice-less GT offense to do much of anything against the Hokies' defense.

Unknown said...

Nathan - Michael Johnson doesn't even start for GT.

How is he the best player in the state when he can't even earn a starting position on a 5-4 team?

Nathan said...

PWD - that's a very good question.

How does Jamal Evans start over Jonathan Dwyer last night? Why does Morgan Burnett not play every down? Why is Greg Smith still a starting WR? Why is Shane Bowen still starting at LB.

Michael Johnson is a game changing freak and one of the few guys on the team playing his butt off every single down. Gailey would never, ever, ever play a young guy over an established veteran though - so he comes off the bench and blows people up and then goes back to the bench.

It's beyond frustrating at this point.

Chuck said...

I believe this needs to be read:

http://www.stingtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22974

Anonymous said...

Concerning the Tennessee game...

I hadn't felt that sick about a game since the '99 Auburn game where we were down 38-0 before halftime.

But the Tennessee fans were stunned like we are now and were asking the same question...

"Where was this team the past few games?!!?"

Tennessee was just extremely pumped and we were a wet blanket.

This is the year in the SEC where all the teams are pretty close in talent with the exception probably being Ole Miss. They just don't have the depth to finish a game no matter how pumped they are.

But whoever can stay pumped up will win this thing. Our victory over Florida and that absolute gift of a victory over USC should really give Tennessee a boost.

At Georgia Tech, on the other hand, the coaching just sucks. Anybody who refuses to sit Reggie Ball or other numbskull (are you paying attention, Jim Donnan?) when they are obviously costing you the game doesn't belong on a sideline.

Universal Remonster said...

Micheal Johnson is the best football player in the state of GA?!

That is like a UGA fan saying that the most important player on the team is..... some one like Jarius Wynn.

Anonymous said...

look, the UT game was a huge letdown, sure. but to say georgia "wasn't trying" seems like a bit of a stretch.

i didn't see any tech player put forth the effort that lumpkin or goodman did in the 2nd half against UT. i DID, however, see tech just tossing the ball all over the place, results be darned.

Josh M. said...

"As for GT-VT, Mark Bradley said in a column this morning that Tech had been favored to win last night -- can that be true?"

Oh yes, it can. GT (-3). It was so juicy I placed my first real bet of the year. Verdict: winner.

Anonymous said...

Also:

"All due respect, I disagree. Georgia has come to expect to win games like that, whereas Tech really hasn't yet."

Herein we have two positions:

- Team A gets good enough to the point where a 21-point loss on the road is deemed a disaster for the ages, where coaches get badmouthed for weeks and weeks and weeks, where columnists bleat on and on and on about the state of the program, where psychoanalysis reaches the height of ridiculousness (ie- "our players don't CARE anymore!!!!", "our coaches have lost control!!!!", etc.), and where some of this still remains after Team A gave a sweet beatdown of a historic and recently very very successful rival.

- Team B declines from being the top football team in the state to being in a place where last night's game is no biggie.


Team B should be more disappointed. Team B should be insane with rage, even.

blackertai said...

If it were true that Team B were ever the top team in the state, then yes, that'd be applicable.

But when was that, the 1950's?

Anonymous said...

If Michael Johnson is the best football player in Georgia, does that mean that Taylor Bennett is the best QB?

That's awful. Try again

Anonymous said...

"- Team B declines from being the top football team in the state to being in a place where last night's game is no biggie."


i just threw up in my mouth....and now i am laughing uncontrollably.

Anonymous said...

Nathan. Son.

Have you SEEN Moreno play this year?

People don't even know who Michael Johnson is.

Anonymous said...

I listened to that interview. That was somewhat sad.

Anonymous said...

I thought Michael Johnson graduated a couple years ago, and yes he certainly had his moments vs. Auburn but to call him the best in the state?

Oh, wait. You're talking about a backup lineman down at the trade school? Seriously? Hmm.. methinks you and Reuben "How High" Houston need to cut ties.

Nathan said...

#1 - Obviously the MJ comment was a bit of hyperbole. He is a tremendous prospect though and might end up being the highest drafted player on either GT or UGa's roster. Gailey is an idiot for not starting him (or any of the other young guys better than the vets in front of them - which has been a chronic problem under his tenure).

#2 - DRad better have Paul Johnson on speed dial.

blackertai said...

I'd pay good money to see the Techies running the option. At least it would match their talent level.

 
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