Updated: Al Groh fired at Tech
Al Groh will receive an unwanted respite from his 100-hour work weeks and his intricate game plans. After a 32-game term, the Georgia Tech defensive coordinator was relieved of his duties Monday.
In coach Paul Johnson’s analysis, Groh did not fall short in his effort or smarts.
“What’s inside his head, he’s very knowledgeable,” Johnson said. “There’s no questioning that. The problem was becoming, what’s in there, we weren’t seeing on the field.”
Groh’s tenure concluded in a blizzard of points, yards and missed tackles. In Tech’s past three games, losses to Miami, Middle Tennessee State and Clemson, the Yellow Jackets gave up an average of 46 points and 573.3 yards. Opponents converted 31 of 46 third downs into first downs. Improbably, Tech fared slightly worse when opponents faced 3rd-and-7 or longer than 3rd-and-6 or less.
Tech gave up more than 40 points in the three consecutive games, the first time that has happened in school history.
“I think it’s a call to everybody, the coaches, the players, myself, everybody, that we need to do better, that we’re not giving up on the season and the way we’ve played is not acceptable,” Johnson said.
Hired following the 2009 season as a replacement for Dave Wommack because of his ability to teach his scheme and adjust, Groh came to Tech after nine seasons as head coach at Virginia and boasting an NFL pedigree. A longtime friend and colleague of NFL coaching legends Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells, Groh brought a 3-4 scheme and a confident, professorial manner.
“We’re impatient to make it look good,” he said shortly after his hire. “How fast we can do it, we’ll have to see.”
Instead, the Jackets were bogged by problems with communication and alignment and had trouble tackling. Poor finishes also began to plague the team. After Tech’s 6-0 start last season, the Jackets were outscored 48-14 in the fourth quarter of the final seven games of the season and finished 8-5. Particularly devastating was a 30-27 overtime loss to Utah in the Sun Bowl, a game that Tech led 27-13 with less than seven minutes to go.
This season, Tech has been outscored 71-48 in the fourth quarter, its worst quarter on offense and defense and the only period (besides overtime) in which it has been outscored. In losses to Virginia Tech, Miami and Clemson, Tech has held fourth-quarter leads in each only to lose.
Wommack was fired after the defense ranked 54th in yards allowed and 56th in scoring in FBS. Under Groh, Tech finished roughly the same in his first two seasons before plunging to 90th in yards and 89th in scoring this season.
“It was inevitable, at least to me, that it wasn’t getting better,” Johnson said.
Groh will be replaced on an interim basis by secondary coach Charles Kelly, who has been on staff since 2006. Kelly has previously served as a defensive coordinator at Nicholls State and Jacksonville State, two FCS teams. Andy McCollum will move from coaching the defensive line to inside linebackers and Joe Speed will shift from inside linebackers to outside linebackers. Special-teams coordinator David Walkosky will coach the defensive line. Walkosky and McCollum also have experience as defensive coordinators. Johnson said he will provide assistance, as well.
Johnson said he wants to simplify the defense, have players spend more time with their position coaches and conduct more live-hitting drills in practice.
“To me, defense is energy and playing fast and enthusiasm and all those things,” Johnson said. “I think it’s hard to get that if you don’t go live some.”
Johnson made the decision Monday morning. He met with Groh later, and told the team at a meeting in the afternoon. In a statement, Groh said he respected the decision and thanked the defensive assistants and the team. Groh’s contract, a two-year deal with a school option for a third, called for him to make “a minimum of $344,000” this season in his option year.
“I aimed to give the best that I had every day,” he said in the statement. “It’s been an honor to be a part of the legacy of Georgia Tech. I feel positive that this is a good time in life to move on to a new situation.”
Former linebacker and team captain Steven Sylvester said Monday that he enjoyed playing for Groh, citing his knowledge base and his ability to explain difficult concepts easily. Despite the age difference, players related well with the 68-year-old Groh, often stopping in to his office to find him listening to anything from Jay-Z to Maroon 5 to Bruce Springsteen.
“He was a friend and he was a coach,” Sylvester said. “I know a lot of the guys down there are really going to miss him.”
With Tech in its bye week, the team had Monday off and will resume practicing Tuesday. The Jackets’ next game will be Oct. 20 at home against Boston College.
“I didn’t want to give up the rest of the season,” Johnson said. “I still think we can come back and have a good season. That’s why I did it now.”
Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog
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863 comments Add your comment
G.P. Burdell
October 8th, 2012
5:54 pm
How about ND’s DC? He’s built a great defense with similar talent that we have in just three years. Maybe he would like to come down to the South where it’s much warmer and has the ability to attract some good talent.
...Take The Wheel
October 8th, 2012
5:54 pm
If only we could just replace all of the GT coaches and players with the posters on this page. Now that’s the formula for success. Who needs coaches and atletes who train for months and years when you have washed up, half hearted wanna be player-fans chomping at the bit. Nevermind that you’re not even the best fans you could be – but sure you’d be much better players and coaches! Thats just who I’d pay money to see every week… a bunch of cry babies who wanna throw themselves off a bridge after every loss! LOL
Well get comfortable where you are, cause its gonna get worse before it gets better. And its unfortunate for the players who go out there every week – but you unsportsmanlike fans…… you deserve every bit of it!
GJ
October 8th, 2012
5:54 pm
Yea, Whisenhunt wants to leave the NFL to coach in front of 25,000 fans on Saturdays…..PUHLEASE.
IL Jacket
October 8th, 2012
5:55 pm
MaconGTFan, agreed. I also wonder sometimes if we spend so much time on refining our run blocking technique that we don’t spend enough time on pass blocking techniques.
Under The Bleachers
October 8th, 2012
5:55 pm
ole yeller
October 8th, 2012
5:47 pm
@jamal, that janky offense you referred to is 11th in the country in offensive yards per game. Avg scoring is 38 points per game. What are you talking about? Want to look up some stats on Gaily?
_________________________________________________________
2-4 record and one of those wins is against a FCS school. The other win is against a defense that 102 overall and gave up 42 to Duke. Miami is 103 defense overall, Middle Tenn is 68th overall, Clemson 73rd overall, VT is 43 overall(the best of the bunch and GT scored 17).
That entire great Offense thing is not going to put people in the seats, and get Alumni to pump more money into the program.
Dang It
October 8th, 2012
5:55 pm
As a UGA fan, I’m going to miss him……… a lot. Any change will make Tech better when we play. He is brutal.
I also hate that I have to shelve all my Leviticus, All 12 tribes championship, based jokes.
Good luck to you Al as you hover-round out of town.
GT1990
October 8th, 2012
5:55 pm
@ROCK EAGLE- I wouldn’t mind that hire! H3ll nothing can be worse than AL STINKIN GROH! LANCE THOMPSON!!!!!!!!!!!!
GT1990
October 8th, 2012
5:57 pm
@GJ–Money talks! Tech needs someone of that caliber to spark the fan base. GT football has hit rock bottom. I also beleive that the problem is deeper than just CPJ. The AD and the whole athletic board is a joke! Not to mention we have a hand full of players that are worth something
T-TIme
October 8th, 2012
5:58 pm
Offense is part of the Defense’s problem. Think about the 3 and outs and even a few 1 and outs. The D is worn out. They were gasping for air at the end of the 3rd quarter Saturday. And who can forget the 40 minutes of no offensive scoring in the Miama game (first quarter and the 25 minutes of game). Asking a lot of a soft secondary and a worn out line.
Atlanta truth
October 8th, 2012
5:58 pm
WHY is Ga Tech still a member of ACC ?
MaconGTFan
October 8th, 2012
5:58 pm
@IL Jacket You might have something there. Only problem I see recruiting the bigger lineman is that they aren’t as athletic as the ones we have now, which is why the run blocking works so good. Someone posted a while back about how PJ needs to open up the passing game more like Oregon does, but just not as much. I think he might be trying to do that with the two recruits he’s bring in next year.
IL Jacket
October 8th, 2012
5:59 pm
Dang It, “hover-round out of town”, that was good!
GT Fan
October 8th, 2012
5:59 pm
EVERYONE STOP FOR A MINUTE, AND THIS ABOUT THIS….
Just 3 weeks ago, after kicking the tar out of UVA, we were all looking at the brightness of GT’s 2012 season still remaining, and the how the ACC Coastal was EASILY winnable????
WOW! What a difference 20 days makes! BRINGS MORE CREEDENCE TO THE TERM “THAT’S WHY YOU PLAY THE GAMES”
jeffjacket
October 8th, 2012
6:00 pm
You guys are so far off and so confused , it is crazy! Nothing , nothing , nothing wrong with the offense (except a little more Vad). CPJ did what he had to do and did it mid-season. I still say , you have to admit , he has the biggest pair east of the Missippi , just ask CMR , he held on to his DC until it was waaayy too late! Better times ahead!
GO JACKETS!!
GT Fan
October 8th, 2012
6:00 pm
“and THINK about this …”
ole yeller
October 8th, 2012
6:00 pm
@under the bleachers, just how many yards of offense do you think would be necessary for this team? UGA has not played exactly a stellar list of teams with great defenses, with the exception of Carolina and we see what happened there. UGA runs a pro style offense and still trail the spread option of Ga. Tech in total offense production. What’s up with that?
Atlanta truth
October 8th, 2012
6:00 pm
Awful athletics and terrible academics. Many scandals regarding academic leadership. Why ?
Rufus
October 8th, 2012
6:01 pm
Good move, but the job’s still half done.
T-TIme
October 8th, 2012
6:02 pm
Pass blocking would be nice, but passing mechanics would be better. Getting tired of listening to announcers every week talking about ugly passes, not planting his feet, running scared (well maybe that was me that said that)
IL Jacket
October 8th, 2012
6:02 pm
Yeah T-Tlme, when was the last time you heard one of the teams, Clemson have as one of their objectives the number of plays they run-in the 80s, They understood that many plays would just wear the defense down.
Under The Bleachers
October 8th, 2012
6:04 pm
Here lies the problem. Not one Great Defensive Coordinator is going to come to GT because of the way Coach Johnson recruits. He recruits for his offense first and defense second. If the GT fanbase is happy with a second level ACC program that is what you are going to get. Add those other teams coming in to the league and GT gets pushed further and further down the pecking order. Others are Upgrading their football programs and GT has stood pat for several years. The truth hurts but there is not one bit of excitement in the program today that makes 17, 18, 19 year old kids want to attend Tech to play football unless their options are limited or they want a specialized degree GT offers.
UGA = Yawn
October 8th, 2012
6:04 pm
You’re an ass Ken. How much you know. Everyone in here was saying he would be fired today and you were like ‘no, not til the end of the year’. Lol. Good to see our emails and rants were heard!!! We do have a voice. Continue to challenge the AD to bring us a better product on the football field.
Atlanta truth
October 8th, 2012
6:04 pm
@jeffjacket ——– the offense is HORRIBLE. The scheme of triple option is so 1988 and does NOT work today. Please retire the current (FOR NOW) coach and downgrade to FCS level. It’s ok, baby, it’s okay. Just relax and let it happen.
Extra mustard on that dog, techie
October 8th, 2012
6:05 pm
Firing the DC is just PJ’s CYA move.
Tubby did it to his OC at Auburn — right before he left.
GFJacket
October 8th, 2012
6:05 pm
Atlanta Truth, where do you think Georgia Tech should be, if not the ACC? The SEC gains nothing with Tech. UGA doesn’t want Tech in the SEC, as it will be an option for recruits in the state who want to play in the SEC. Tech’s academics are a much better match for the ACC than the SEC.
Delbert D.
October 8th, 2012
6:06 pm
@page 2 of the blog “the defense spends the week practicing against the Tech spread offense then goes up against a pro-style offense on Saturday.”
Let’s clear that up right now. Most of the teams that Tech plays are not pro-style. More and more of the offenses that recruits will see in college are the zone read shotgun, other forms of the spread, the Air Raid (Leach and variants) and multiple option (including triple option) sets and plays in all of those. Georgia runs a pro-style offense as their base set (the I-formation.)
Atlanta truth
October 8th, 2012
6:07 pm
@ GT Fan —— the offense is HORRIBLE. The scheme of triple option is so 1988 and does NOT work today. Please retire the current (FOR NOW) coach and downgrade to FCS level. Relax and spread out honey …………. It’s ok, baby, it’s okay. Just relax and let it happen.
jeffjacket
October 8th, 2012
6:07 pm
RUFUS — who would you suggest that could bring you a top 3 offense in country year in and year out? who would you suggest that would not have the 28 arrested players in the past 3 years (bullpups). give me a break , we will be back!
GO JACKETS!
ole yeller
October 8th, 2012
6:08 pm
@atlanta truth. Facts don’t get in your way does it? Explain why it is horrible. Still averaging more yards per game than the Dawgs, who still run a pro style offense. This is not a triple option, it is a spread offense, and at times there are triple options in the reads.
T-TIme
October 8th, 2012
6:09 pm
@jeffjacket – were you at the game Saturday? Nothing wrong with the offense? The TV must not have showed all the missed blocks, the poor execution, the telegraphed lame duck passes, the safety, the inability to get 1 yard when we need, or having to burn a timeout because TW was confused again….. Maybe I imagined the tosses in the previous games that hit the B-Back in the back or the A-back in the head. Or even the MTSU game when we are down by one TD, have a wide receiver 8 yards down field pass the coverage we through a wounded duck interception. Unfortnatetly we have had issues in ever facet of the game at some point or time this season.
Under The Bleachers
October 8th, 2012
6:09 pm
ole yeller
October 8th, 2012
6:00 pm
@under the bleachers, just how many yards of offense do you think would be necessary for this team? UGA has not played exactly a stellar list of teams with great defenses, with the exception of Carolina and we see what happened there. UGA runs a pro style offense and still trail the spread option of Ga. Tech in total offense production. What’s up with that?
_____________________________________________________________
No. 1 I am not a UGA fan, I hold my second degree from GT, my first from Alabama and I purchase 4 season ticket every year to Tech and I am a member of Tide Pride where I also have 4 tickets.
My point is that if he wants to run the option that is fine, but if he does not throw in wrinkles each week that others have to prepare for then their GREAT Athletes at other schools are better at stopping the offense that Coach Johnson runs. Those defenses you say GT scored all those points have not done nothing against others so all of that is just stats that are meaningless.
Delbert D.
October 8th, 2012
6:10 pm
GT Fan – Gotcha. Creedence is one of my all-rime favorite rock groups. You’re thinking of “credence.”
Rock_Eagle
October 8th, 2012
6:11 pm
Lance Thompson ! GT is his first love. The guy has DC experience under O’Leary. He has been by Saban’s side for years and was named Rivals.com Recruiter of The Year. What do you want ?
http://www.rolltide.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/thompson_lance01.html
Under The Bleachers
October 8th, 2012
6:12 pm
Delbert D.
October 8th, 2012
6:06 pm
@page 2 of the blog “the defense spends the week practicing against the Tech spread offense then goes up against a pro-style offense on Saturday.”
Let’s clear that up right now. Most of the teams that Tech plays are not pro-style. More and more of the offenses that recruits will see in college are the zone read shotgun, other forms of the spread, the Air Raid (Leach and variants) and multiple option (including triple option) sets and plays in all of those. Georgia runs a pro-style offense as their base set (the I-formation.)
———————————————————————–
My point is that you run the same 12 plays over and over again, pretty easy to practice and scheme for with GREAT athletes. Throw in some kind of wrinkle each week against your weak non conference guys to make your in conference guys waste time on.
Vick
October 8th, 2012
6:13 pm
At least Tech doesn’t have to worry about it hurting recruiting. Check out the class. I bet most of the offers that have been accepted the player had no choice. It was either play at GA Tech or play in the WNBA.
jeffjacket
October 8th, 2012
6:13 pm
@atlanta liar — i suppose you want to go back to the gaily pro-style offense, i stood in the rain and watched Wake forest hold us to single digits in the acc title game a few years back (with a receiver you may have heard of– Megatron), pro-style is not the way to go , just put a top 40 defense on the field , you win 10 , yearly. Don’t be a hater, CPJ knows his stuff , check back with me in 3 weeks , when we are 4-4.
GO JACKETS!
Phenix City Jacket
October 8th, 2012
6:14 pm
I didn’t like the Groh hire to begin with and I’m glad he and, hopefully, the 3-4 are gone. However, that doesn’t solve the problem. I hate doing this, but here we go. It’s not the academics, it’s not how hard Tech is, it’s not the offense. It’s the curriculum. Until we have a curriculum that will give a kid who has, or thinks he has, a future in pro’s a path to get there, we will not get those kids. We need a program that will allow these kids to attend Tech, play football, pursue their NFL dreams, and be a coach. High school, college, or pro. The National Coach of the Year award is named after former GA Tech Coach Bobby Dodd and the National Assistant Coach of the Year award is named after former GA Tech Assistant Coach Frank Broyles, yet Tech has no program for kids who want to be a coach. It’s the narrow curriculum that keeps the star athletes from attending.
Atlanta truth
October 8th, 2012
6:14 pm
@ Ole Yeller ….. Again, the offense is HORRIBLE …….. YOUR measuring stick is the GA Bulldogs ? Check yourself. The Ga Tech Yellow Jackets run a triple option offense. Clearly, you are ignorant of college football. Relax and spread out honey …………. It’s ok, baby, it’s okay. Just relax and let it happen.
True GT Fan
October 8th, 2012
6:16 pm
Okay fellow Jacket fans. We have seen a few games that didn’t go our way this year. Let’s just stay with CPJ because he is a football genius and no defense can counter his master mind. There should already be a statue of CPJ on North Avenue. Go GT!!!!
Paul in NH
October 8th, 2012
6:16 pm
Under The Bleachers
October 8th, 2012
5:37 pm
Who has not scored 38 or more points on Clemson? Even weak offensive Auburn scored 19 points on Clemson
——
Some people just don’t get irony
BravesFan77
October 8th, 2012
6:18 pm
Would love to see Pat Narduzzi from Michigan State take over as DC or Chris Rumph from Alabama. I also want to see CPJ hire Mark Helfrich (Oregon OC) as the Assistant HC and OC consultant. Here’s to wishing!
Atlanta truth
October 8th, 2012
6:19 pm
@jeffjacket —- I suppose you are … smart ? No. You are not. Clearly. The little trade school on North Avenue is back to FCS level. NOT a shocker. ACC should lobby to remove from ACC. WHY are we pandering to this “school” ? OMG. Move on.
Colin
October 8th, 2012
6:19 pm
Great start. Now get rid of Johnson and his 1970s offense!!!!
LakeDawg
October 8th, 2012
6:21 pm
“It was inevitable, at least to me, that it wasn’t getting better,”
Hmmm. Who else could we apply that quote to?
danny c
October 8th, 2012
6:22 pm
How about Marion Campbell?
LakeDawg
October 8th, 2012
6:23 pm
GT Fan
October 8th, 2012
5:53 pm
LakeDawg ….
PJ fired his OC a loooong time ago.
—————————————————————————————————
Apparently so. GT’s offense hasn’t shown up this year.
Ignition
October 8th, 2012
6:23 pm
There is nothing wrong with a 3-4 Defense and if Notre Dame & Stanford can play using it with success so can Tech .. Tech needs to be ahead of the curve and that’s the defense that the powerhouse Defenses in the NFL and college football are using for a reason
LakeDawg
October 8th, 2012
6:25 pm
Everywhere Groh lands his players quit on him. He must have a wonderful personality.
George Stein
October 8th, 2012
6:26 pm
We are averaging 38 points a game. Those complaining about the offense are stupid, blind, or both.
Delbert D.
October 8th, 2012
6:29 pm
I don’t know if he is defensive coordinator material, but Giff Smith is a good recruiter. I like the idea of an offensive coordinator, and I’ve been arguing that point for over 3 weeks. CPJ needs to assume more of the head coach role, instead of the “my offense, your defense” deal. The guys on offense at Oregon can handle a lot of sets, looks, and plays, including the triple option. I watched Utah State vs. BYU for about half an hour on Saturday, and they ran the triple option in several different looks. One had 2 halfbacks beside the QB in the shotgun, with a 3rd flanker back in fast motion crossing the formation at the snap.