Evidently he impressed Alabama
Bill Curry developed into good coach and leader of men. He beat Alabama, Clemson, Tennessee, Michigan State and Georgia three years in a row, when we needed it most. And he could recruit, too.
The Tech fans rallied around him, the atmosphere at Grant Field was better, the stands were full of Tech fans for many games, the Hill respected him, and you could at least tell he knew what he was trying to do.
Tech was a lot worse off financially than it is now, and there was talk of Tech dropping to a lower division. But, Rice and Curry pulled us through dark days and, four years after he left, we were national champs, in part because Curry made us competitive, had a ranked team, and gave Ross a reason to think he could win a national title here.
Alabama came after Curry because he beat them and had the integrity to make them seem serious about academics. Dodd encouraged Curry to go to Bama, because he thought Curry had reached his ceiling at Tech, but that Ross could take us to the top.
Curry was 11-0 at Bama and ranked number two, when he lost the first iron bowl ever played in Auburn.
Do any of you think Collins will ever beat Georgia three years in a row, Bama, Tennessee Clemson, Michigan State, etc and be offered the Alabama job? Be careful, your answer will tell a lot about you.
But that's not why I included him in this select group. I did this because he conducted himself with integrity, dignity and class. Compare that to some of the people on the GTAA payroll now.
He had some lean seasons, but the Curry respected Tech traditions and never lowered the program down just because it might impress a recruit.
We need a guy like Dodd, Ross, O'Leary, Hyder and Cremins as our coaches. But, it would be a giant step up if we got a guy like Rice or Curry as AD.
Most of all, we need a President like Harrison and a GTAA Board of Directors like the ones in place when Dodd was coach.
Get those type people in place and the skies the limit. Keep the well intentioned but over their heads group we've got now, and I think you'll wonder why you ignored the handwriting on the wall.
