How much should a new coach understand Tech's uniqueness?

ElCidBUZZingFAN said:
We've said it ourselves. Wes reiterated it this week during his interview on the subject. TStan said it multiple times over the past few days. As he put it, he's looking for the "perfect fit", if I recall correctly as the direct quote. Tech is a unique place. I agree. It finds itself without any peer institutions for what it competes in 7 days a week, when combining both academics and football.

However, how important is that for someone to understand before they are considered or offered the HC job? Why is that important? To what degree must they understand?

I'm beginning to think, if you allow it, that thought process can be poison. The HC list Tech formulates wouldn't necessarily be of the best available. It'd be the best from a list that Tech has whittled down because of preconceived notions about a guy or (worse) intentionally selling the school far shorter than it could actually reasonably obtain.

Discuss.
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Our "uniqueness" notion is a bunch of self-limiting horseshit.
 
Yukonwreck said:
There was quite a bit discussed at the time of CPJ's hire about his experience with the recruiting restrictions and the academic rigors of the Academy. It was seen as a plus for choosing him. And his experience at Southern, having high school connections in Georgia and neighboring states. He said he was going to recruit in-state players heavily. Sounded good at the time.
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yeah I remember the days when CPJ's ties to GA from his Southern days were allegedly going to be an aid in recruiting in-state.
 
Our uniqueness excuse is just handicapping ourselves. And for a school who prides itself in doing the seemingly impossible it's a sad state of affairs. If we all spoke in one voice and demanded change and put incentives in place for change it would happen. Otherwise our uniqueness is going to eventually kill a historic program.
 
Diseqc said:
I don’t know man. I heard Joe Hamilton on the radio last night. And he came off dumb as hell. Maybe he’s smoked and drank too much since his times on the flats.
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Doesn't affect the value of my diploma at all. I say we need to recruit more JoeHams.
 
18in32 said:
I think we may be 'over-uniquing' ourselves.

I mean, we're all unique in our own way. But we also all share some important human characteristics. Same for P5 schools.
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+1

I have been trying to find a good spot to post my thoughts on Tech, the head coach, the football offense, etc., so I suppose here is just as good any.

Tech is definitely unique in it's own way, but I agree that we tend to overdo it. Some of Tech's unique characteristics are a hindrance to recruiting (mainly the narrow curriculum IMO and perhaps the fact we are located right in the middle of "SEC/Football Factory Country"). Some others (academically elite school, sets graduates up for professional success, downtown in a major city, etc.) should be absolute selling points. I am sure coaches on the current staff and coaches in the past have stressed the positives, but from where I sit, it seems like we tend to just beat ourselves up on the perceived (or real) negatives to the Nth degree. It could be that I hear it more from frequenting the boards though.

I get/buy the logic that we can't necessarily be the equivalent of the the Stanfords, Dukes, ND's of the world mainly due to the narrow curriculum, but I still don't see why we don't attempt to recruit more nationally and work to build a more national brand. I suppose it's funding, but my personal opinion is this is where we need to get to or at least try to get to particularly with the seemingly limited number of qualified (for Tech anyway) athletes in the southeast (national public school system rankings). We just need to cast a wider net as much as possible and continue to build a consistent brand. Maybe the practical reality is we can't do that, but I just get tired hearing it. I think there is at least anecdotal evidence of other schools admins fully supporting their athletic programs where success on the field improves the attraction of higher qualified students in general.

To answer the OP's question, esp. after seeing mainly O'Leary, Gailey, and Johnson, I think the first qualification that a Tech head coach should have is knowledge of the college environment and running a college program. Perhaps that is even more important at Tech, but I don't think the coach has to be familiar with Tech specifically. O'Leary naturally had a leg up in that he had been here before, picked his spots with The Hill, and did not necessarily trust random administrators to make sure that kids were doing what they needed to do. IIRC, I believe he also used his NY ties to bring some recruits in (bit of a wider net). I personally think Gailey faced a huge learning curve coming here after years in the NFL and was a bit in over his head at first. IMO, the learning curve was not football-related necessarily, but mainly just dealing with the recruiting and academic sides, i.e. blindly trusting the tutors, administrators, etc. He was also hampered due to probation (some of it due to things during O'Leary's time) and "Flunkgate", but I'll always wonder if his recruiting had finally turned a corner. Still, he was fairly mediocre record-wise in his time here, and from reports around CPJ's arrival, the O and the D sides were entrenched against one another. Perhaps our posters who actually played back then could provide some enlightenment.

Count me in the camp that (a) believes Tech should run an offense and/or defense that is unique in order to maximize our ability to compete yet (b) believes that does not in any way mean we have to be married to CPJ's version of the spread offense/"triple option". On paper, it's beautiful and, as we've seen up close, can absolutely be successful on the field with the right personnel and execution. Unfortunately, while it's been our identity for the last 11 years, I think it ultimately hurts our recruiting on both sides on top of the other built-in negatives/handicaps. Ultimately, we need to work to improve recruiting and that takes funding, facilities and a program with sustained success. I don't think any "magic bullet" will happen in any of those categories. Like anything, we have to have a vision and build a little at a time in each area. I trust that TStan has a plan and is doing the right things. I hope it continues with this hire.

While the last 11 seasons have been fun, I really did not realize how many good moments there were until I read through some of your CPJ-era memories. Thank you guys for those. Naturally, the 2008 and 2009 and 2014 seasons seem to deliver the most. Since my first day at Tech (Bobby Ross' last season) to now, the football program has provided the highest of highs and, unfortunately, the lowest of lows. Being a Tech fan is as truly rewarding as it is humbling.
 
DressCheeseSideSeaboard said:
Requiring class attendance and doing actual school work is more difficult than what some of the schools we compete against require.
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Oh, absolutely. The comparison is very significant, but our course work is not impossible. If I could graduate, anybody should be able to.
 
GT flunkout said:
I've had the same thought about this. Basically poisoning the well before we ask anyone to take a drink. Needlessly limiting ourselves and basically telling any incoming coach not to expect to be able to compete.
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We need a proven coach to demand that we meet certain criteria for him to come here and coach, and we need to meet the criteria.

I don’t want a coach that hears “it’s tough here” and says “ok, I’ll take it.” I want a coach that says, “this is what we are gonna do to make it easier.”

PJ learned that in the latter part of his tenure and got some things done. I want a coach that, on the front side, demands them.

The only way to compete is to invest the money and energy.
 
GTCrew said:
If one öööööööööööö has the nerve to tell me we cant take a recruit because they are too dumb to get through Tech I'm gonna make them read ten cincyjacket posts and then punch them in the face.
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Savage but true.
 
AugustaJacket said:
+1

I have been trying to find a good spot to post my thoughts on Tech, the head coach, the football offense, etc., so I suppose here is just as good any.

Tech is definitely unique in it's own way, but I agree that we tend to overdo it. Some of Tech's unique characteristics are a hindrance to recruiting (mainly the narrow curriculum IMO and perhaps the fact we are located right in the middle of "SEC/Football Factory Country"). Some others (academically elite school, sets graduates up for professional success, downtown in a major city, etc.) should be absolute selling points. I am sure coaches on the current staff and coaches in the past have stressed the positives, but from where I sit, it seems like we tend to just beat ourselves up on the perceived (or real) negatives to the Nth degree. It could be that I hear it more from frequenting the boards though.

I get/buy the logic that we can't necessarily be the equivalent of the the Stanfords, Dukes, ND's of the world mainly due to the narrow curriculum, but I still don't see why we don't attempt to recruit more nationally and work to build a more national brand. I suppose it's funding, but my personal opinion is this is where we need to get to or at least try to get to particularly with the seemingly limited number of qualified (for Tech anyway) athletes in the southeast (national public school system rankings). We just need to cast a wider net as much as possible and continue to build a consistent brand. Maybe the practical reality is we can't do that, but I just get tired hearing it. I think there is at least anecdotal evidence of other schools admins fully supporting their athletic programs where success on the field improves the attraction of higher qualified students in general.

To answer the OP's question, esp. after seeing mainly O'Leary, Gailey, and Johnson, I think the first qualification that a Tech head coach should have is knowledge of the college environment and running a college program. Perhaps that is even more important at Tech, but I don't think the coach has to be familiar with Tech specifically. O'Leary naturally had a leg up in that he had been here before, picked his spots with The Hill, and did not necessarily trust random administrators to make sure that kids were doing what they needed to do. IIRC, I believe he also used his NY ties to bring some recruits in (bit of a wider net). I personally think Gailey faced a huge learning curve coming here after years in the NFL and was a bit in over his head at first. IMO, the learning curve was not football-related necessarily, but mainly just dealing with the recruiting and academic sides, i.e. blindly trusting the tutors, administrators, etc. He was also hampered due to probation (some of it due to things during O'Leary's time) and "Flunkgate", but I'll always wonder if his recruiting had finally turned a corner. Still, he was fairly mediocre record-wise in his time here, and from reports around CPJ's arrival, the O and the D sides were entrenched against one another. Perhaps our posters who actually played back then could provide some enlightenment.

Count me in the camp that (a) believes Tech should run an offense and/or defense that is unique in order to maximize our ability to compete yet (b) believes that does not in any way mean we have to be married to CPJ's version of the spread offense/"triple option". On paper, it's beautiful and, as we've seen up close, can absolutely be successful on the field with the right personnel and execution. Unfortunately, while it's been our identity for the last 11 years, I think it ultimately hurts our recruiting on both sides on top of the other built-in negatives/handicaps. Ultimately, we need to work to improve recruiting and that takes funding, facilities and a program with sustained success. I don't think any "magic bullet" will happen in any of those categories. Like anything, we have to have a vision and build a little at a time in each area. I trust that TStan has a plan and is doing the right things. I hope it continues with this hire.

While the last 11 seasons have been fun, I really did not realize how many good moments there were until I read through some of your CPJ-era memories. Thank you guys for those. Naturally, the 2008 and 2009 and 2014 seasons seem to deliver the most. Since my first day at Tech (Bobby Ross' last season) to now, the football program has provided the highest of highs and, unfortunately, the lowest of lows. Being a Tech fan is as truly rewarding as it is humbling.
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Amen. I think one of the most unique things about GT was we won an ACC Championship with a staff smaller than the likes of Ga State and Duke. Geez.

If we get a coach that knows what it takes, and we agree to give it to him, we will succeed.
 
GTCrew said:
If one öööööööööööö has the nerve to tell me we cant take a recruit because they are too dumb to get through Tech I'm gonna make them read ten cincyjacket posts and then punch them in the face.
Click to expand...
You're confusing stupidity and ignorance.
 
Akinji07 said:
Our uniqueness excuse is just handicapping ourselves. And for a school who prides itself in doing the seemingly impossible it's a sad state of affairs. If we all spoke in one voice and demanded change and put incentives in place for change it would happen. Otherwise our uniqueness is going to eventually kill a historic program.
Click to expand...
This +1000
 
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