QUOTE BY MsTechAnalysis
No I'm not whining, I'm DOWN RIGHT MAD AS HELL!!
My hero is George thank you very much for mentioning it - My ego is my own, you SEEM TO HAVE A DAMN BIG ONE YOURSELF FOR SOMEONE - who contradicts my facts and who wasn't there! Guess you need to meet more folks.
Experience on Gailey's part???????? Let's talk successes: These FACTS MY MAN, were in a Sports Illustrated article last fall:
O'Leary was a very successful high school coach. And has a winning percentage of 80%.
O'Leary was one of the top defensive coordinators in the nation at Syracuse under Coach McPherson. He was named by his peers on two occasions during that tenure as the BEST DIV. 1 DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR IN THE NATION. And, by the way - Syracuse defenses when he was there ranked in the Top 10!
He comes here with Bobby Ross - our defenses ABSOLOUTELY ROCKED, WITH O'Leary. We won with him at the Coordinators position - Ross knew with him and Friedgen where his toast was buttered!
He goes to San Diego with Ross - Friedgen on offense, O'leary on defense - they win AGAIN, GO TO THE SUPER BOWL!
He is hired to come back here and REJUVENATE I VERY DOWN TRODDEN PROGRAM, AFTER THE MESS LEWIS LEFT; oh by the way, HE TAKES ON THE CHALLENGE and never comments on going to a "top 25 program" or never says, he doesn't want to fix anyone's mess!
He proceeds to hire and change Tech's future - from all aspects. Any head coach is only as good as the assistants he hires - Looks like he knew how to hire too! He gave us our respect back, he built the program so WE COULD ENHANCE THE STADIUM, so that we could enhance our schedule, so that we could compete. His winning ways put us on TV - All the time!
So now you're going to talk about Chan?????? Chan was a Div 11 coach at Troy state and an NFL assistant for years - his one chance for HC, he got FIRED!!!!!!!!!!!! As an HR Manager - FIRED IS NOT GOOD!
Looks like his 2nd chance at HC is not going to well either - I wonder why?????[/QB][/QUOTE]
MY ANSWER TO MsTechAnalysis
I do not contradict your facts. You have not presented any for me to contradict. I have stated that your innuendos and guesses without facts is of no more value than and other guesses or opinion on the board.
Do I have an ego. Yes, that should be obvious, but at least, I try to provide facts and figures to back up my statements. At least, my ego has not been crushed because my hero quit on me.
At least, my ego is based on a rock that cannot be crushed.
Oh, I have met many personalities over the years. In fact, I am well acquainted with the most important personality you could possibly ever want to know.
I know absolutely nothing about O'Leary and his tenure at Syracuse. If you have the proof, then fine. There is one thing that has always been lacking with GOL's defenses, when he was at Tech, both as a DC and as a head coach.
He always ranked rather highly in defense against the run, but was normally in last place in the nation against passing. Do you know for sure his defenses were in the top ten overall or top ten against the rush? His complete tenure at Tech from DC to head coach was pathetic on pass defense, especially third-and-long.
I know nothing about O'Leary's high school record. If you say he won 80% of his games, fine.
You are wrong about the defense rocking when GOL was the DC under Ross. The pass defense was very poor and the Fridge had to pull most of the games out of the fire with his offense. I posted the records over a year back about the opponents scoring against Tech with O'Leary as DC.
I will research this again and prove to you that it was the offense that won the ball games and not GOL's defense. Ross definitely knew his toast was butter by Friedgen.
The reason San Diego went to the super bowl again was because of Friegden as OC and Bill Arnsparger as DC. I believe GOL was a defensive line coach. You are certainly spreading the statistics thin at San Diego.
Yes, GOL was definitely the main cog in the expansion of the stadium.
When he came back to Tech, the program was limping with a 11-14 record in 2 1/3 years with three losses to UGA and no bowl games. Yes, he did hire Friegden, and for the next four years went 33-15 with the Fridge overcoming the pass deficiencies of GOL's defenses.
In Friegden's last year, Tech was 9-2, ranked highly and headed to the Peach Bowl to play LSU. Tech was predicted as a strong favorite in the bowl.
Friegden took the Maryland job and did not coach in the bowl game, and O'Leary lost the game to LSU without the Fridge. Our defense could not stop LSU, and the Fridge was not there to outscore LSU.
In O'Leary's last year without the Fridge, Tech had some of the best talent in the land and was predicted to finish in the top ten in the nation. Alas, the wheels came off the wagon on O'Leary, his top ten team finished 7-5, he saw the handwriting on the wall, and jumped at the chance when Notre Dame came calling.
I will submit that Friegden's offense put Tech on the TV often. All viewers love a lot of offense. I will also submit that the excellent receivers and quarterbacks coming to Tech were the direct result of Friegden's offense rather than O'Leary.
I will also submit that Tech has always been a good draw for TV since Tech became so popular on TV during the Dodd days. So, when the Fridge's offense pushed Tech to winning and popularity, the TV networks kept calling.
So, other than his high school days and his tenure at Syracuse, his success at Tech seemed to be more a factor of Friegden and Ross. San Diego's success seems to be more a factor of Friegden, Ross, and Arnsparger.
Now to Chan Gailey. I will let his bio speak for itself. My only comment is his qualifications are far superior to the qualifications of O'Leary when he was given his chance at Tech.
Chan Gailey, a 29-year football coaching veteran, including 13 seasons in the college ranks and 14 years in the National Football League, was named the 11th head coach in Georgia Tech football history on Dec. 29, 2001.
In his first season at the helm of the Tech program, Gailey steered the Rambling Wreck through adversity, including season-ending injuries to the team's top offensive and defensive players, to a school record-tying sixth consecutive bowl berth in the 2002 Silicon Valley Football Classic. His first Yellow Jacket edition posted a sixth straight year of seven or more wins, highlighted by an improbable victory at 8th-ranked NC State.
Gailey is just the second head coach in Georgia Tech history to lead the Jackets to a bowl game in his first season, joining Bill Fulcher, who guided his 1972 Tech team to the Liberty Bowl.
Gailey, 51, has had success at every stop in his coaching career, including three seasons as a college head coach at Troy State and Samford University in Alabama, as well as two years as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys and two at the helm of the Birmingham Fire of the World League of American Football. He has made a name for himself as an innovative offensive mind during NFL stops in Pittsburgh, Dallas and Miami, among others.
"Chan Gailey is the right fit for Georgia Tech at this time," said Tech Director of Athletics Dave Braine upon Gailey's hiring. "Besides all the great qualities he possesses as a football coach, he's an even better human being."
Gailey came to Tech after two seasons (2000-01) as offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins under head coach Dave Wannstedt.
"How many times does a guy like myself get a chance to come to an institute like this?" said Gailey on the day he was introduced. "It's something that you can believe in, and when you talk to somebody you know what you're selling and you know what you're talking about. What's up here with the alumni and the people that are involved, every day I get to go to work with people that exude character and class. That's an enjoyable situation.
"I did ask, 'Do we have the ability to win a national championship?' because I want to win and that's part of the process. I want to win a championship and that's why you play, that's why you line up and that's why you go out and work and lift weights in the off season, to have a chance to be the best of the best and that's one of the goals. I get a chance to come back to my home state and I get an opportunity to work in a great city and to be involved with an unbelievable institute."
Gailey joined the Dolphins after spending the previous two years (1998-99) as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Under Gailey, the Cowboys compiled a composite regular season record of 18-14 in his two seasons, qualified for the playoffs both years, and captured the NFC Eastern Division title in 1998. In addition, the Cowboys finished in the top five in the NFL in both fewest turnovers and fewest interceptions in each of Gailey's two seasons as head coach, including a number one ranking in both categories in 1998.
In Gailey's first season with the Dolphins, he helped guide a running game which amassed 1,894 yards, the most by a Dolphins team since 1984. Lamar Smith finished tenth in the AFC with 1,139 yards rushing, the second-highest single-season total by a Dolphin, marking just the seventh time (fifth player) that a Dolphin has reached the 1,000-yard rushing plateau.
In seven of the eight seasons seasons that Gailey was either a coordinator or head coach in the NFL, he had a player attain the 1,000-yard rushing mark, including Jerome Bettis of the Steelers and Emmitt Smith of the Cowboys.
Before joining the Cowboys in 1998, Gailey spent the previous four seasons (1994-97) with the Pittsburgh Steelers, including each of the last two as offensive coordinator. His first two years there were spent tutoring the club's wide receivers. In Gailey's four seasons with the Steelers, the team won the AFC Central Division crown each time, appeared in the AFC Championship Game on three occasions and made one trip to the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh finished second in the NFL in rushing offense in 1996, averaging 143.7 yards per game. In Gailey's final season with the Steelers, he presided over the league's top-ranked rushing team, one that amassed an average of 154.9 yards per contest.
The NFL team with which Gailey coached has reached postseason play each of the last eight years in the league, and 11 of his 14 seasons overall.
Gailey got his start in the NFL coaching ranks as an assistant with the Denver Broncos in 1985. He served as a defensive assistant and special teams coach in his first season there before moving to the offensive side in 1986. He served two years (1986-87) as the Broncos' special teams and tight ends coach prior to taking over the task as quarterbacks coach in 1988. He was promoted to offensive coordinator/receivers coach in 1989, and served two years in that position.
During Gailey's six-year stay in Denver, the team finished first or second in the AFC West on five occasions and made three Super Bowl appearances. Following his tenure in Denver, Gailey was named head coach with the Birmingham Fire of the World League in 1991, and in his two seasons there, the Fire qualified for the playoffs both times. A stop as head coach at Samford University in 1993 preceded his stint with the Steelers.
Gailey began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Florida in 1974, where he spent the next two years. From there, he moved on to his first full-time position, as secondary coach at Troy (Ala.) State, where he served from 1976-78. That was followed by a four-year stint (1979-82) at the Air Force Academy, the final two as defensive coordinator. He returned to Troy State in 1983 and spent the next two seasons there as the school's head coach. He led the team to a Division II national championship in 1984.
In three years as a college head coach, Gailey has a record of 24-11, including a 19-5 mark in two years at Troy State and a 5-6 slate at Samford.
Born January 5, 1952 in Gainesville, Ga., Gailey was an all-state quarterback at Americus High School, and went on to letter three years (1971-73) as a quarterback at the University of Florida. He graduated from Florida in 1974 with a degree in physical education. Gailey and his wife, Laurie, have two sons, Tate and Andrew.
Gailey At-A-Glance
Full name: Thomas Chandler Gailey, Jr.
Born: January 5, 1952 in Gainesville, Ga.
Family: wife Laurie; sons Tate and Andrew
Education: Bachelor's degree in physical education, Florida, 1974; graduated from Americus (Ga.) High School, 1970
College playing experience: Florida, quarterback from 1971-73 (no pro playing experience)
College coaching experience (13 seasons):
Florida - graduate assistant, 1974-75
Troy State - defensive backs coach, 1976-78
Air Force - defensive assistant, 1979-80, defensive coordinator, 1981-82
Troy State - head coach, 1983-84
Samford - head coach, 1993
Georgia Tech - head coach, 2002-present
Record as a college head coach: 31-17 (7-6 at Georgia Tech, 19-5 at Troy State, 5-6 at Samford)
NFL coaching experience (14 seasons):
Denver Broncos - defensive assistant and special teams coach, 1985; special teams and tight ends, 1986-87; quarterbacks coach, 1988; offensive coordinator/receivers coach, 1989-90
Birmingham Fire (WLAF) - head coach, 1991-92
Pittsburgh Steelers - wide receivers coach, 1994-95; offensive coordinator, 1996-97
Dallas Cowboys - head coach, 1998-99
Miami Dolphins - offensive coordinator, 2000-01
Record as an NFL head coach: 18-14
What They Say About Chan Gailey
Dan Reeves, Head Coach, Atlanta Falcons
"It's a great choice for Tech in my opinion because Chan has all the qualities you look for in a head coach. He's been successful everywhere he's been, and he's learned under some great coaches. He's done it all. He won a national championship at Troy State and was the head coach of the Cowboys. I think he'll be great for recruiting the state of Georgia. I'm happy for him because I know how much he loves this state."
Dave Wannstedt, Head Coach, Miami Dolphins
"I want to congratulate Chan on being named Head Coach at Georgia Tech. I'm sure he will do a great job in continuing the long tradition of success the school's football program has enjoyed. I also know he is an outstanding coach who has been a winner on both the college and pro levels. I'm confident he will be a positive influence on the student-athletes he will coach there, and the school could not have picked a finer person for the head coaching position."
"I think Chan has been a great addition to our staff. He has done a fantastic job here. Really, we haven't spent a lot of high draft picks on high-profile players on the offensive side of the ball. He has had to mesh a group together really from scratch."
Bill Cowher, Head Coach, Pittsburgh Steelers
"Chan is an excellent football coach, and I could not be more happy for Chan and his family. I know Chan was looking forward to another opportunity to be a head coach, and getting that opportunity near his hometown should be extra special.
"His commitment, integrity and passion for the game will be evident in everything he does. Chan will be a positive influence on everyone he coaches.
"I wish him all the best."
Jay Fiedler, Quarterback, Miami Dolphins
"I think Chan is one of the best around, and I've worked with a lot of them in different places. He's a great communicator and is great at simplifying things to let guys go out and play football.''
Emmitt Smith, NFL's all-time leading rusher
"Chan Gailey is a very good football coach. He is also an outstanding person.
"From a football perspective, he taught me some things about the running game that I did not know, and he helped my career. He knows how to move the chains and control the tempo of a football game. He knows how to score points, and he knows how to win.
"Away from the field, he is a great person - about as solid a man as you are going to meet. He will have success at Georgia Tech, and I will be pulling for him."
