"(Defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta)...

Bogey

Bogey

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... doesn't care who's across from him. He doesn't care if it's the best team in America or the worst team in America. He goes out to pound them. I don't think (any individual game is) special to him. I think every game is special to him."-- Georgia Tech football coachChan Gailey

You gotta love this quote!!
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If CG were to be axed, would JT be a candidate for the job? I just can't get away from how great JT's mindset is towards football. His intensity never lets down.
 
I say hell yes he would...assuming that he doesn't get picked up by one of the many soon to be coachless ACC teams next year, which I'm sure he will.
 
If he can bring his intensity to both sides of the ball, he will be a hell of a HC for someone.
 
MaconGTfan said:
I say hell yes he would...assuming that he doesn't get picked up by one of the many soon to be coachless ACC teams next year, which I'm sure he will.
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come on guys. Jon hates the media, he hates talking to alumni...and he refuses to recruit.

He is one of the top 10 defensive minds in college football, but he is not a long-term head coach.

Just like Ralph Friedgen, who has a lot of the same qualities, he could inject a temporary amount of enthusiasm and success in a dead program...but it would wear thin after awhile as coaches could not coach for him and many players would not play for him.

There is a difference between the type of guy that players work for as a coordinator than as a head coach.
 
I agree completely with hiveredtech

Tenuta's style as a HC went out with Frank Kush and Woody Hayes.

He's absolutely a great DC and I think we are s-o-o-o lucky he is with us, but I would be scared to death if he got the HC job.
 
hiveredtech said:
There is a difference between the type of guy that players work for as a coordinator than as a head coach.
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HFC and OC/DC are really different jobs requiring different approaches.

The Navy has discovered that it works very well for the Captain to be loved as a father figure and the Executive Officer (XO) to do the hatchet work that gets him hated.

No matter that every Captain was an XO on a prior ship, and no matter that the XO is only doing the hatchet work that his Captain wants him to do.

Outstanding coordinators that become outstanding head coaches for the long run have to be willing to change how they come across, and not just do the same thing to the whole team rather than just his group.

Intensity is a funny thing. One intense person is loved. Another intense person is respected but hated. Another intense person is just hated. Every coach needs a certain amount of intensity, but players need someone they can go to with problems they need to sort out.

Very intense people need less intense people below them, to soften the blow to the troops when needed. That model does not work well in the Navy or in football in the long term. I think we tried that with GOL, with BOB and Roof below him. That team got results for a certain amount of time, but the team was in decline before they left. There was stuff brewing that Chan inherited.

Right now, the players love Chan. They respect Jon, and love him a different way. We have good position coaches on defense. Our defense clicks. Change the dynamics, and our defense might not click.

So put me in the camp of those that love Jon as a DC, but only think he would succeed for 2-3 years as a HFC, and then only if he got great coordinators.
 
Thanks Hivered. That is why I posed this as a question and not a suggestion. I don't know JT well enough to know what kind of HC he would make. I sure am happy we have him as a DC though/I wouldn't be surprised if he's turned down several HC offers in the past. Could you see JT on the commercials for GSU in place of UGA's former DC (lost his name all of a sudden)?! BTW heard GSU lost to a cupcake team last weekend who just moved up from DIII.
 
hivered, really I agree with everything you said. I thought the same about Fridge when he left. These guys are technicians, and though they may could be sucessful as a HC if they change their ways (for the money), they will never be as happy coaching as they are as coordinators, IMO. I hope Tenuta agrees.
 
Completely agreed with the feelings put forth here. From what I've heard from those closer/in the program than I its all true, and I think JT will have a long and incredible career as a DC. i've gotta think that being HC is seen as the next step for most in the DC/OC positions, but some like to stay where they think they work best.

I'd be surprised if he isn't on the short list of top interviews of Grohs job up at UVA though, and I think we're looking at a major coaching turnover in the ACC this year, UVA included.
 
Jon hates the media, he hates talking to alumni...and he refuses to recruit.
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Jon Tenuta will not leave Tech to be a HC. He may indeed leave Tech to be a DC in the NFL though. We need to continue to pay the man what he's worth.
 
beej67 said:
Jon Tenuta will not leave Tech to be a HC. He may indeed leave Tech to be a DC in the NFL though. We need to continue to pay the man what he's worth.
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Agreed. He may be the Dick Cheney of college football.
 
hivered and getwrecked, I must respectfully tell you you're both wrong. Tenuta does NOT hate the media, the fans, recruiting, etc. He has very strong opinions about what a head coach should do versus a coordinator versus an assistant.

He's been working toward becoming a head coach for 25+ years. At almost 50, he does not want to start below the BCS level. He would take a job at any BCS conference school, and the Big10 would probably be his first choice.

Tenuta is very smart and very intense. He can and has recruited very successfully at times during his career, but not since he became a coordinator (except to seal the deal).

Ask Glenn Spencer if he liked coaching with Tenuta. Ask Giff or BJ. He might be the most well-liked person on the coaching staff by fellow coaches, staff and certainly by players at GT. If you're ever in the stadium for pre-game warm-ups, watch the coaches from the opposing team seek Jon out, laughing and talking. He knows everybody in the business, and he is not only well respected but also well liked by his peers.

Will he ever get a serious look because of his reputation? I don't know, but if Ralph Friedgen, who is 1000X more misanthropic than Tenuta, can get a BCS job, Tenuta should be able to. And he wants it. And he deserves it. And I would be happy for him but hate it for us.
 
I do not know if any Big 10 jobs will be open

but the UVA job probably will be as will the NCSU and UNC jobs. Jon is a UVA alumnus and coached at UNC. I would think he would be a candidate at all of those schools.
 
I can see UVA, but not UNC. And yes, one day he will be gone. It's too bad that we can't talk him in to staying until Chan retires.
 
Not true. He and Bunting did not get along, but Tenuta could've continued to coach there. It was his choice--and his alone--to move on.
 
Stick said:
Will he ever get a serious look because of his reputation? I don't know, but if Ralph Friedgen, who is 1000X more misanthropic than Tenuta, can get a BCS job, Tenuta should be able to. And he wants it. And he deserves it. And I would be happy for him but hate it for us.
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Thanks for the post, Stick. I also would rather have Jon as HFC than Ralph. And he does deserve a shot at the ring - particularly in comparison to some of the other people who always seem to get jobs.

If I were doing the interviews, CJT would have to prove to me that HFC Jon is different from DC Jon. From what you said, you believe he could show that.

A lot of GT fans want to hold onto quality rather than be fair to the person. (And it is not just GT fans. If anything we are less likely to do it than the factories.) Healthy organizations promote out people when they are ready. That allows them to attract new ambitious talent - as well as being the right thing to do.
 
Techbert, I only know that Tenuta believes

he can and will handle ALL of the obligations of a head coach when and if the time comes. That belief, coupled with countless demonstrations of his astounding coaching ability, would be enough for me if I were hiring a head coach.
 
Stick, just curious. You seem to know a lot about Jon Tenuta. Do you know him personally, or thru an acquaintance?
 
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