Coach Collins Press Conference

jacket67 said:
The exchange between CGC and KQ seems to be getting a little overblown. The question did not seem to be posed as a criticism, but rather a fair question about coaching style, specifically sideline interactions with players during the game lacking the hostility of some other coaches. CGC was very opinionated about the idea that demeaning players on the sideline during the game was not productive and was done mostly by coaches who want to act out to satisfy disgruntled fans and to deflect blame away from the coaches. He said that the Tech coaches are more energized in their interactions on practice days, but doing it on TV is degrading to the players and ends up being counterproductive. I didn't get the feeling that his emotional response was an attack against KQ's question, but rather just an answer he feels passionate about. Reporters love to ask questions that get the coach emotional, so I think everyone was happy with how it turned out.
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Yeah, I just think the question struck a nerve because of criticism he has seen elsewhere. I swear he reads message boards.

And he said he is keeping score!
 
It was kind of weird how he circled back to Quinlan as an example of people who don’t have a positive attitude (or whatever) with the next question.

I’m glad he’s passionate and I hope it works out. But if some things continue to get worse instead of better, these questions will intensify. “Coach, we know you love your players but what are you doing to improve this football team?”

JRjr
 
smokey_wasp said:
He went out of his way to say that it isn't about one way being good or bad, just that what he is trying to build is a polar opposite (which is, in fact, what his boss hired him to do). I do get why people are annoyed with how he doesn't talk many specifics, but we get that from the coordinators.
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Yea. CPJ poor-mouthed roster composition and acknowledged that current players were having to do something entirely new when he got here as well, specifically on the offensive side. And he and 5 NFL players on that offense.
 
smokey_wasp said:
Yeah, I just think the question struck a nerve because of criticism he has seen elsewhere. I swear he reads message boards.

And he said he is keeping score!
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Coaches definitely read message boards; Paul did, Geoff does
 
The comment he made about keeping score (I just heard it) is the first thing he's said since he's been hired that troubles me .. because it's incongruent. He's saying he's concentrating on what's going on inside the locker room but at the same time he's "keeping score" outside of the locker room. I dunno. I'd rather his total concentration just be on getting better. But it could be that he's so passionate about his players he takes it personally when there is any criticism. Ala Mike Gundy "I'm a man im 40!" If that's the case then I get it.
 
I still don't understand why y'all want to disparage Kelly Quinlan so much. His site is easily the best reporting on GT football that I have seen. If not for him and the 247 site (Rivals is better, IMO) we'd be reliant on sources like the AJC, which is a scary thought.

And it's literally his job to ask the tough questions. I don't blame him for asking, and I don't blame Collins for getting fired up either. He feels strongly about his coaching style, and it's his job to defend it - especially when we are losing.
 
It’s like people forget our greatest head coach was the original player’s coach who made practices unconventional and fun, focused almost exclusively on recruiting and player relationships, and delegated Xs and Os to his assistants. He also won national titles and whipped the screaming coaches on the field.
 
SMoney said:
Realize this isn't apples to apples. I have trained multiple German Shepherds in my adult life. Hard headed dogs, but extremely smart, strong and athletic. Trainers are very passionate as to whether positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement is a better training mechanism. I believe there is not one size fits all. Different dogs need different methods. Mine have always responded better and quicker to corrective actions versus positive actions, but that doesn't make it right. You have to be adaptable.

Employees are similar - you need to adapt our leadership style to the needs of your employee. Many need constant praise, many don't. Many need constant correction, many don't.

I believe there are players who are sitting on the sidelines wishing Collins would lay into someone for a mistake that they made. Being a players coach is preferable when you aren't the one getting yelled at, but when you are sitting on the sideline thinking you should be on the field and you see players stay out there after making mistakes and getting patted on the back, that has to have an impact on overall performance.
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A few of things:

1) that is very old school and most teams don't coach that way anymore; also, Saban yells at his coaches a lot more than I ever remember him yelling at his players on the sideline. This isn't your pop warner team or even High school where 90% of a coach's job is to motivate lazy guys. Players aren't dogs. At this level, most of these guys are self-motivated; yelling and screaming isn't going to get players to change their nature at this point.

2) I bet there are some successful trainers that figure out how to train dogs without the force you imply; there is more than one way to succeed and you have to do what works for you.

3) Recruitment of new players, CURRENT players (due to the transfer portal) and other teams' players is constant. You better have a reputation as a player coach in some form or you can't be successful in modern college football. Even the tough guys like Saban show their players a ton of love in all kinds of ways.

4) Of course, I'll admit there is nothing wrong with isolated events where a player's conduct is awful and it needs to be addressed quickly and strongly BUT Collins' current focus is still on team/program chemistry and culture; making the players accountable to a long-term ideal and not short term motivation because the coach just embarrassed you. If you follow the program closely, then you know this type of accountability is going on constantly and regularly in the program. A perfect example is why many of the young guys aren't playing on Defense; coach isn't going to just throw them out there, until they show they can work the right way, practice the right way, and that they know their responsibilities then they aren't going to play.
 
johncu said:
I still don't understand why y'all want to disparage Kelly Quinlan so much. His site is easily the best reporting on GT football that I have seen. If not for him and the 247 site (Rivals is better, IMO) we'd be reliant on sources like the AJC, which is a scary thought.

And it's literally his job to ask the tough questions. I don't blame him for asking, and I don't blame Collins for getting fired up either. He feels strongly about his coaching style, and it's his job to defend it - especially when we are losing.
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Mainly because the man is a walking click bait slideshow. And watch how defensive he becomes if challenged on anything. But he really pissed me off when he got into it on twitter with a recruit.
 
jacket67 said:
The exchange between CGC and KQ seems to be getting a little overblown. The question did not seem to be posed as a criticism, but rather a fair question about coaching style, specifically sideline interactions with players during the game lacking the hostility of some other coaches. CGC was very opinionated about the idea that demeaning players on the sideline during the game was not productive and was done mostly by coaches who want to act out to satisfy disgruntled fans and to deflect blame away from the coaches. He said that the Tech coaches are more energized in their interactions on practice days, but doing it on TV is degrading to the players and ends up being counterproductive. I didn't get the feeling that his emotional response was an attack against KQ's question, but rather just an answer he feels passionate about. Reporters love to ask questions that get the coach emotional, so I think everyone was happy with how it turned out.
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It was an excellent question. It was worded perfectly. The manner in which it was asked was respectful and fair. We should give Quinlan some credit with that one. It was an awkward question to ask in terms of the subject matter, but it's something that is obviously being discussed within the fanbase. It's important for Collins to share those thoughts on such a difficult subject matter.

Bottom line, if you don't now have a clearer picture how and why Collins handles himself in that manner with the team during a game, then you're a dunce.
 
savbandjacket said:
Mainly because the man is a walking click bait slideshow. And watch how defensive he becomes if challenged on anything. But he really pissed me off when he got into it on twitter with a recruit.
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I'm not talking about people who think he's a dick. That's your opinion and it's fine. I don't know the dude and don't have an opinion either way. I'm talking about people who belittle the information he provides and the role his and other sites play in giving us the information we obviously want.
 
ElCidBUZZingFAN said:
It was an excellent question. It was worded perfectly. The manner in which it was asked was respectful and fair. We should give Quinlan some credit with that one. It was an awkward question to ask in terms of the subject matter, but it's something that is obviously being discussed within the fanbase. It's important for Collins to share those thoughts on such a difficult subject matter.

Bottom line, if you don't now have a clearer picture how and why Collins handles himself in that manner with the team during a game, then you're a dunce.
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People knock KQ but I never understood why. He's not my first choice to have a beer with but he knows his job and as far as I can tell, he does his job. I respect that.

And the folks who refer to his physique are small-minded doofuses.
 
The Champ said:
Coaches definitely read message boards; Paul did, Geoff does
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Which site tho does Geoff visit? I remember him mentioning once how he laughed about fans liking him during the coaching search because of his "waffle house wednesday" vids at Temple. FB is full of dramatic babies, the other boards are kind of dry, he definitely strikes me as a stingtalker, and being the default best choice seems like ST would be his goto GT "pulse of the fanbase". Ofcourse, there's a handful of cry babies here as well, but I guess that's expected in any fanbase.
 
johncu said:
I'm not talking about people who think he's a dick. That's your opinion and it's fine. I don't know the dude and don't have an opinion either way. I'm talking about people who belittle the information he provides and the role his and other sites play in giving us the information we obviously want.
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Yes. He does a great job with his site. The information is 10x better than you get from his competition.

He also serves as the voice of his subscribers to an extent; so if there is a predominant topic being discussed on JOL he will take the question to Collins, or to Thacker and Patenaude.
 
MidnightJacket said:
Which site tho does Geoff visit? I remember him mentioning once how he laughed about fans liking him during the coaching search because of his "waffle house wednesday" vids at Temple. FB is full of dramatic babies, the other boards are kind of dry, he definitely strikes me as a stingtalker, and being the default best choice seems like ST would be his goto GT "pulse of the fanbase". Ofcourse, there's a handful of cry babies here as well, but I guess that's expected in any fanbase.
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Id imagine he reads it all as he is very in tune to public perception. JOL is the predominant board for recruiting information and I’d imagine he is most plugged in there.

If he’s visiting stingtalk it’s probably for a good laugh or to see see puss on the hottie thread. The traffic is plentiful here, but there isn’t a ton of meaningful football talk going on.
 
Collins' comments about being a Tech fan and having a picture of the Tech Black Watch defense gang tackling an opponent on his wall when he was growing up mean a lot to me. It's important to me to have somebody here who really likes Tech.

I admire Collins principles and communications skills. In that respect, he's like Dodd and Curry. But, as time goes by, he's going to have to put a fundamentally sound team on Grant Field. I wish he'd quit referring to the past coach as an excuse for anything. Paul Johnson was an excellent offensive football coach.

The worst thing about this press conference was when Collins said he was keeping a list of people who weren't loyal to him and when he said he's been successful everywhere he's been. Three million dollars a year is what a guy gets for results, not promises.
 
I remember hearing that CPJ left Collins two envelopes to open when things got bad. The first envelope said, "Blame me for everything!" The second envelope for when things get even worse says, "Prepare two envelopes".

I know that's an old Soviet story, but it might fit.
 
Old-Fashioned UGA Hater said:
And can you give me an example of how he trashes CPJ's players?
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By constantly talking about how he is recruiting more talented players for starters. He also constantly talks about how GT was in the "national conversation" back when he was with the staff in the early 2000's. That is simply not true.
 
MACHETE said:
By constantly talking about how he is recruiting more talented players for starters. He also constantly talks about how GT was in the "national conversation" back when he was with the staff in the early 2000's. That is simply not true.
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You don't think those are TRUTHs?

When you are finishing in the top 25 regularly (around 2000); have a Heisman runner up and finish in good bowls, then you are in the national conversation.
 
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