Always Wondered Why Dodd Did Not Coach One More Year …

[IM79]

"It is said that except for Vanderbilt, Florida is the best academic school in the SEC which is like being the tallest midget in the room but that is what they claim. No matter, the Gators are a football factory, just not on the same level as Alabama, LSU, and UGA."



Per the Randy Newman song, "The SEC (It Just Means More)" :

We got no necked oilmen from Texas
And good ol' boys from Tennessee
And college men from LSU
Went in dumb, come out dumb too
Hustlin' 'round Atlanta in their alligator shoes
Gettin' drunk every weekend at the barbecues

 

[oldgold68]

Dodd reportedly preferred someone other than Carson.... would have to dig into Dodd's Luck or one of the other source books for who - prob the usual suspects - maybe Doug Dickey? IIRC Dodd had offered the job to Dickey, Dickey accepted, but by the time Dodd got back to Atlanta, Harrison had hired Carson. Harrison then told Dodd to call Dickey and tell him the deal was off.

Charlie Tate was one that really wanted the HC job. I think he was on Dodd’s staff when Dodd stepped down, but I don’t think he met the smell test. He was the architect of that 7-49 game as the HC at Miami and the score was meant to be a message.

 

[rain]

Florida is rated quite high now actually

 

[ETBee]

US News and World Report ranks Florida at #28 and GT at #38.

 

[DeepSnap]

Charlie Tate was one that really wanted the HC job. I think he was on Dodd’s staff when Dodd stepped down, but I don’t think he met the smell test. He was the architect of that 7-49 game as the HC at Miami and the score was meant to be a message.

Tate was at GT 1959-1963, but I get your point. He was HFC at Miami from '64 to '70 - As DA he fired himself as HFC after we beat them 31-21 in the 2nd game of the season.

Jim Carlen, who had burned a lot of bridges before leaving after the '65 season, was also an aspirant.

Carson, having lost the 7-49 game in '67 and the 7-10 '68 games to Ted "The Mad Stork" Hendricks-led Miami teams, was very vocal about his dislike for Miami before we played the 1970 game.

 

[oldgold68]

Tate was at GT 1959-1963, but I get your point. And he was HFC at Miami from '64 to '70.

Jim Carlen, who had burned a lot of bridges before leaving after the '65 season, was also an aspirant.

Carson, having lost the 7-49 game in '67 and the 7-10 '68 games to Ted "The Mad Stork" Hendricks-led Miami teams, was very vocal about his dislike for Miami before we played the 1970 game.

Thanks for the clarification. Your memory is better than mine and you were more closely involved than I. I always thought Carlen would have been a good hire for GT. Dodd would have been a tough act to follow, no matter who they hired.

I was always surprised that Dodd would speak to me as he rambled down the hill past the old gym. Curry, on the other hand,…

 

[Ramblin' Dan]

It is said that except for Vanderbilt, Florida is the best academic school in the SEC which is like being the tallest midget in the room but that is what they claim. No matter, the Gators are a football factory, just not on the same level as Alabama, LSU, and UGA.

I can hardly believe I'm saying it, but UF may well be one of the ten best flagship universities in the country .

 

[ronricks]

Disturbing trend isn't it? However, this has happened to any number of schools including the factories. Clemson went through an entire decade of mediocre coaches following Frank Howard. Tennessee has endured a "lost decade" following the retirement of Phillip Fulmer. Miami and UNC have managed to squander more talent with poor coaches than any other teams in the ACC. The former AD at Florida once likened hiring football coaches to a monkey throwing darts at a dart board...sometimes you hit the bullseye as with Spurrier and Urban but sometimes you end up with Champ, Ron Zook, and Mullen. IIWII

Good post. Even mighty Alabama went through an absolute mess after Bryant retired (and then died). They suffered from bad coaching hires, bad facilities, bad leadership (AD’s and University Presidents) a crumbling stadium that was‘t updated until long after Bryant was gone. It happens to a lot of programs but you have to have the stars align for leadership that wants to fix it and lots of $$$$$$$$$$$$ and support.