Best Ga Tech coaches since Dodd Poll

[GTFLETCH]

Basically there have been three tiers since Dodd:

HOF Level:
Ross-O'leary-Johnson

Mediocre:
Carson-Fulcher-Rodgers-Curry-Gailey

Dumpster Fire:
Lewis-Collins

 

[JJacket]

FSU was top 5 in all of college football in the 90s. NC state (1998-00), Clemson (early 90s), UNC under Mack Brown, and especially UVA under Welsh, all had solid runs in the 90s (Including Georgia Tech). I agree with your sentiment but don't agree that the ACC schedules were somehow weaker or stronger, especially without playing FSU every year (and we caught them on Bowden's downhill in 08 and 09).

FSU was on top of the football world through the 90's and early 00's.

Joe Ham had the best GT QB game ever when we played FSU and we still managed to lose the game. Win that game and he might win the Heisman.

 

[The Champ]

FWIW PJ played much softer schedules than oleary or Chan. Strip out a dozen FCS games and the total win % isn’t even close

 

[Tampa Jacket]

FWIW PJ played much softer schedules than oleary or Chan. Strip out a dozen FCS games and the total win % isn’t even close

He beat UGA 3 times too. That’s better than winning the sorry ACC. An ACC title means less and less. I really hope we go to The B1G.

 

[aeromech]

He beat UGA 3 times too. That’s better than winning the sorry ACC. An ACC title means less and less. I really hope we go to The B1G.

He beat Donnan and then quit after Richt showed up. Gailey probably would have went .500 against Donnan.

 

[aeromech]

FWIW PJ played much softer schedules than oleary or Chan. Strip out a dozen FCS games and the total win % isn’t even close

FSU was legit when O'leary was here and those were some great games. The rest of the ACC was pretty weak; UGA had Donnan.

 

[flushed 01]

There are too many factors involved to judge this situation.

 

[GoldZ]

He beat Donnan and then quit after Richt showed up. Gailey probably would have went .500 against Donnan.

Gailey's chances of going halfsies vs Donnan are less than Cincy's chance of winning the MNC. Running up the middle against teams built specifically for stopping runs up the middle, is futile, even against the swindler.

 

[Olgoldandwhie]

Is this really up for debate? Ross-O’Leary-Johnson. Gailey would be #4, the rest are also-rans.

JRjr

That’s the order I voted, but I really liked Pepper and Curry. They brought some good talent in.

 

[Olgoldandwhie]

Basically there have been three tiers since Dodd:

HOF Level:
Ross-O'leary-Johnson

Mediocre:
Carson-Fulcher-Rodgers-Curry-Gailey

Dumpster Fire:
Lewis-Collins

Pretty much nailed it.

 

[Tampa Jacket]

He beat Donnan and then quit after Richt showed up. Gailey probably would have went .500 against Donnan.

Gailey couldn’t score a TD and beat WF with Calvin Johnson.

 

[Vespidie]

Bobby Cremins, Jim Morris , Danny Hall.

 

[GoldenIsle]

I think Ross by far was the best … talking about a rebuild …. I went to the 1987 UGA game and when Tech took the field I thought it was a high school team. What Ross was able to do from 1989 - 1991 was remarkable, and the coaching staff of Ross, O’Leary, and, Fridgen may be the best in the last 50 + years.

 

[gtchief]

I think Ross by far was the best … talking about a rebuild …. I went to the 1987 UGA game and when Tech took the field I thought it was a high school team. What Ross was able to do from 1989 - 1991 was remarkable

Let's hope this timeline plays out 30 years later because it sounds extremely familiar.

 

[GT flunkout]

NC State fired O'Cain in 1999 and hired Chucky the Chest. UVA had a lot of 7-5 runs. UNC was 3-8 in 1999 (Mack Brown left in '97). Clemson was under Tommy West, who they fired in '98 after he went 3-8. O'leary got here at a good time, his good years were 1998-2000.

My response was about the ACC being less in the entirety of the 90s. You could say the same thing about PJ's first couple years when FSU and Clemson weren't anything special and VPI was the only legit contender.

 

[GT flunkout]

He beat UGA 3 times too. That’s better than winning the sorry ACC. An ACC title means less and less. I really hope we go to The B1G.

Yeah yeah we get it already you hate the ACC. Keep it in the other thread. Being upset by an unranked UGA in 2009 sucked bad, but we also beat five top 25 teams in the ACC including #4 VPI, and an unranked FSU.

The ACC sucks so bad and means so little we haven't won it in 12 years...and the ACC Champion has won the national title three times in the past decade

 

[DeepSnap]

I do not understand why Pepper was treated so poorly by Dodd and the Hill given what he accomplished as a player. He gave up a good position at UCLA to return and coach Tech. Then they fired him even though his teams performed well. Finally they blackballed him so he never got another college coaching job.

Pepper was not fired by Dodd, but by Doug Weaver, a former assistant of Pepper's at Kansas & UCLA. Weaver, a very unsuccessful (11-78-1) HFC in a couple of stops, was brought in when Dodd retired with Pepper's recommendation. The "real AD" from the late '60s til he retired in '79 was John McKenna. From personal experience seeing McKenna around the GTAA from 1968-1972, I can see McKenna not exactly being a Pepper Rodgers fan.

Weaver fired Pepper in '79 & promptly left to go back to Michigan State.

Also during the late '70s, the "Program Killer" Joe Pettit was President of The Institute.

Pepper's persona was always going to have him in hot water with the Piedmont Driving Club & Capital City Club sets, so it's not too surprising the conservative business-types (even some of the ex-HFCs) that run university AAs would shy away from him in that era.

 

[donsue]

Pepper was not fired by Dodd, but by Doug Weaver, a former assistant of Pepper's at Kansas & UCLA. Weaver, a very unsuccessful (11-78-1) HFC in a couple of stops, was brought in when Dodd retired with Pepper's recommendation. The "real AD" from the late '60s til he retired in '79 was John McKenna. From personal experience seeing McKenna around the GTAA from 1968-1972, I can see McKenna not exactly being a Pepper Rodgers fan.

Weaver fired Pepper in '79 & promptly left to go back to Michigan State.

Also during the late '70s, the "Program Killer" Joe Pettit was President of The Institute.

Pepper's persona was always going to have him in hot water with the Piedmont Driving Club & Capital City Club sets, so it's not too surprising the conservative business-types (even some of the ex-HFCs) that run university AAs would shy away from him in that era.

Spot on, as usual, Deep! Pepper was one of Dodd’s boys. I doubt he would have been eager to crap on him. He brought some innovation to the program, but brought Hollywood as well. It didn’t set well with many of the old guard

 

[CiraldoForever]

interim coaches excluded. GT W-L accuracy not guaranteed .wikipedia appears to include postseason.
Pick 3.

When I voted, Coach Collins was one vote behind Coach Gailey and ahead of Coaches Carson, Fulcher, Rodgers and Curry. I personally saw Carson, Rodgers and Curry beat Georgia and go to bowl games. I was living far out of state during Fulcher's tenure, but remember him winning the Liberty Bowl. Gailey had some great games, including the miracle in Clemson, and went to bowls. How anybody could rank Collins about even with Gailey and ahead of Carson, Fulcher, Rodgers and Curry is incomprehensible to me.

 

[smokey_wasp]

1. Ross
2. O'Leary
3. Johnson

Ross is clear # 1 to me because he got our only modern era natty. People have valid arguments for flipping 2 and 3, but everything else seems obvious.