Is it Tech’s turn to lose a candidate (Groh to Dolphins)?
Former Virginia coach Al Groh suddenly has options other than Georgia Tech -- the Miami Dolphins.
Let me start this by saying that Georgia Tech is not quite in the same situation with Al Groh that Georgia was with Kirby Smart, in that even if this potential hire blows up in Paul Johnson’s face he could probably escape public humiliation.
But Techies: Don’t get too comfortable.
In timing too perfect to ignore, the Miami Dolphins have fired their defensive coordinator, Paul Pasqualoni. The Dolphins’ vice president of operations is Bill Parcells. Parcells is a long-time friend and frequent boss of Groh’s. How frequent? They worked together at Army. And Air Force. And the New York Giants. And the New England Patriots. And the New York Jets.
For all we know, they once bagged groceries at adjacent checkout lines.
There have been strong indications that Groh may be hired by Johnson, who fired defensive coordinator Dave Wommack last week. But after being fired as the head coach at Virginia, a return to the NFL seemed like the more logical career transition for the 65-year-old Groh than staying in college as a defensive coordinator. Now the NFL opportunity may be there, and it’s with Parcells.
Maybe I’m overthinking this. But it’s not like Groh is exactly shooting the possibility down.
Comments to the Palm Beach Post (double-speak award):
“Any speculation to that possibility would be very premature at this point. I have a certain criteria in place for which I’m interested. It starts with the people that are involved. I’m open to anything that would fit that criteria. … That doesn’t mean anything or everything.”
ESPN.com followed that up with this:
Former Virginia coach Al Groh told ESPN.com that he hasn’t been contacted by the Dolphins about the vacancy, but he’d welcome the opportunity to work with old boss Bill Parcells again.
Groh’s name immediately comes to mind as a replacement because of his relationship with Parcells.
(Groh on his long history with Parcells): “I’ve done it five times. Some people would say that I’m nuts. Some people would say that I’m fortunate. So, having it done it five times already, yeah, obviously, there’s a track record there.”
One thing Tech can take comfort in: This won’t be a financial decision. Groh is being paid $4.33 million over the next two more years by Virginia. This will come down to where he feels most comfortable. Maybe that is still Tech. (For the record, we’re not certain Johnson actually has offered him the job yet.)
But given the backdrop of the way things have unraveled in Athens, as well as the timing of the Dolphins’ opening, how comfortable are you right now?
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263 comments Add your comment
Tech Supporter#1,000,000
January 12th, 2010
2:39 pm
Didn’t Tenuta just get let go too? I’m just saying that if we don’t land Groh, why would it be odd to see us going after him? He didn’t get hired as a head coach, so coming back to the school where he had tons of success seems like a decent choice.
Bob in Buford
January 12th, 2010
2:39 pm
PJ knew better than to take that offense to the SEC. He was smart to turn the Auburn job down. He would have turned Auburn into Vandy.
Bob in Buford
January 12th, 2010
2:43 pm
The fact remains supersize that SMU got the best coach hands down.
The UGALY Truth
January 12th, 2010
2:49 pm
Fair enough….I’ll answer your questions:
Now, let me ask you a few questions:
1. How did it feel to see yourself ranked #13 at the end of the season when you were ranked as high as #7 (before your end of season collapse)? Actually, to be in the Top 10 was pretty fantastic after suffering through several years of Chan Gailey. Dropping to #13 after losing 2 of the final 3 wasn’t bad at all. Gailey never finished in the Top 25 ANY season at GT.
2. How was it losing 30-24 to what you deem an irrelevant UGA team? I said non-relevant conference play, and 4-4 in an SEC division isn’t relevant. I was there and it was a tough loss, but not for the reasons you think…Not because it was UGAG as much as it was still a WINNABLE game. If we lose to anybody and it’s a blowout loss…OK…The better team won. There wasn’t a UGAG fan anywhere around us that exhaled until Bey Bey dropped the 4th down pass….It wasn’t a blowout, it was close….And I still think it was winnable. That’s what hurt.
3. How do you feel about your offense which has managed a mere 10 points in two bowl games. Truthfully, puzzled. I don’t buy into the talk about bigger D’s will always stop this offense because there are many examples of when that didn’t happen. There are adjustments in play calling to adjust for over-aggressive linemen. And I almost feel guilty saying this but I just didn’t see the same EFFORT out of the offense against Iowa that I did the rest of the season. To say it was Nesbitt’s worst game of the year is putting it mildly. Certainly execution was lousy and no offense, esp a running-based attack, can overcome shooting itself in the foot so much. GT hasn’t been prepared well for either bowl game and since I’m not in the locker room I can’t tell you why.
4. Did you actually go to Miami? Were you one of the “fans” who was dressed as an empty seat on the A She She Chumpionship game? Took the family to VT, WF and UGAG this year, but family circumstances also prevented us from going to Miami.
5. How did it feel to get dominated by Iowa? Was it similar to being dominated by UGA? UGAG didn’t dominate. There were a few runs up the middle that produced lopsided stats, but the game was still winnable with 2 min to go….Similarly, stats look like total domination by Iowa, but GT still only lost 24-14. CPJ is very good at offensive adjustments. Sometimes they come during the first half, sometimes after halftime. That was 2 games where offensive adjustments came too late and D adjustments either never came or also came late. That’s one reason Wommack was fired.
6. Did temperatures in the 40s in Miami feel much different than temperatures in the 40s in Shreveport? Probably about the same, but there are thousands more GT fans you can ask that to than UGAG fans. Very few UGAG fans went to Shreveport and the UGAG Athl Dept forced Aggie fans to buy extra tickets directly through them to inflate the numbers. I find this hypocritical given the constant attack on GT that we “can’t fill up our stadium”…..We sold AT LEAST 3 times more bowl tix than UGAG did and I’d guess that 5 times more GT fans actually showed up compared to UGAG fans….
Kirk Ferentz
January 12th, 2010
2:55 pm
Wake Forrest was a great competitor this year in the Orange bowl. I wish their program continued success…
"UGLAY truth" is a complete moron
January 12th, 2010
2:58 pm
CPJ wins everywhere he goes…
Hasn’t won a bowl game at Tech has he?
Supersize that order, mutt
January 12th, 2010
3:00 pm
Grinch, I don’t know how a grinch is supposed to laugh. I don’t read childerens’ books anymore.
The UGALY Truth
January 12th, 2010
3:02 pm
OK Bob in Buford,
Richt beat Johnson last yr by 6 points…I’ll give you that. It’s 1-1 now.
What ELSE did Richt do last year? Just list some of the things that make you PROUD of your 2009 season, besides beating GT….
Supersize that order, mutt
January 12th, 2010
3:04 pm
I was in Miami, and neither Tech nor Iowa sold out their allotments of tickets. But there were 66,000 people there (obviously still not capacity). It would seem that most people buy their tickets through outlets other than the schools, because they can get better seats that way. I bought mine through Tech and was in the corner of the endzone
I was also in Tampa, and the only reason that stadium wasn’t sold out was because the people of Tampa (nor Jacksonville before that) supported the game. In Atlanta, even if the two schools couldn’t sell out their tickets, the people of Atlanta still support the game and fill the stadium (SEC championship and Peach Bowl). The ACC championship game moves to Charlotte next year, and I expect a sellout no matter who plays.
The UGALY Truth
January 12th, 2010
3:05 pm
No, CPJ hasn’t won a bowl game at GT yet….But he has an overall record of 20-7 in 2 seasons at GT. Get it? He’s WINNING….
Supersize that order, mutt
January 12th, 2010
3:05 pm
Correction, UGALY, we beat the mutts by 3 points last year, but point well taken nonetheless.
The UGALY Truth
January 12th, 2010
3:11 pm
Supersize, I actually meant last year as in 09….It’s one of those January things. Still, it’s 1 win each between Richt and Johnson, so it’s obviously not the same old Tech that Bob in Buford believes…
csrapress
January 12th, 2010
3:21 pm
Supersize That Order, Mutt, you keep tellin’ ‘em, but they’re too stupid to listen, read, and learn — hey, they’re dawg fans, whatcanyasay!! I am a member of the media and do not work for the Comical. I have covered both Tech and UGAG for over 25 years and CPJ is one of the best offensive minds in all of college football. They can say all they want, but I’ve seen plenty of them in action and he beats just about all of them “hands down”. In his system, which is a “run-first” system, it all depends on execution and adjustments. UGAG should know that from his first battle with them in Athens when Tech didn’t execute in the first half and got down by 16 points. He went in at half-time, made the necessary adjustments, they came out, executed, and won 45-42. This year, the team didn’t execute in the second half of the first Clemson game, the Miami game, the first half of the Wake Forest game, the Georgia game (until the fourth quarter), and the Orange Bowl game. Some of it had to do with the number of injuries to offensive linemen, defensive linemen, and defensive secondary personnel. Not making excuses, but you can’t make that offense “click” if your linemen sustain injuries and are out for several weeks. The option attack depends on crisp blocking (not pushing, shoving, holding, and wrestling) and near perfect timing. CPJ was hired by June Jones at Hawaii to merge “his” (CPJ’s) triple option attack with Jones’ run-n-shoot. CPJ has not implemented the run-n-shoot at Tech yet because he has not had the personnel to do so — but, that’s changing with this next season. Anyway, if June Jones was soooo good and the better choice — why did the June Jones offense do so badly against Georgia in the bowl game with Hawaii and their brilliant Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback? Why Willie did a great job of preparing the UGAG defense for that game and all was wonderful in dawgland — they had the greatest coaches and players as they finished with dreams of a national championship in 2008 — what’s that — bahahahahahahahahhahahaha. Dawg fans cannot handle reality and the truth. They have played such weak schedules in the SEC for years, it is getting harder and harder to deal with now that all the SEC teams are getting better. UGAG will be lucky (and they are extremely lucky) to finish with as good a record next year as they had this year! Now, fido, go fetch Supersize That Mutt, another burger and fries to go along with his McTea. CPJ is better than any coach I can remember at UGAG — except Irk Russell (but guess who hired CPJ and helped make him who he is after UGAG didn’t make Irk their HC?) Here, fido, bob, grinch — dumb dawg!
Supersize that order, mutt
January 12th, 2010
3:30 pm
csrapress, I LOVE YA, MAN!!!!!
Supersize that order, mutt
January 12th, 2010
3:30 pm
UGALY, sorry, my bad. I misread what you originally typed. Brain fart, I guess. lol
Supersize that order, mutt
January 12th, 2010
3:34 pm
csrapress, it’s too bad there’s no way to send pvt messages here. It’d be nice to find out more about you than I’m sure you’re willing to share here. I bet you have some stories to tell
George Cantstandya
January 12th, 2010
3:35 pm
There’s no reason to hire because someone is an alumnus. Look what that did to Alabama from the mid 90’s until very recently. Doesn’t matter how long they stay – you can’t predict that. You just have to write a contract that makes them want to stay – or leave. get the best and deal with the later later.
The UGALY Truth
January 12th, 2010
3:43 pm
Bob in Buford, you still there?
You’re all Chatty Cathy when blabbing about GT and Richt Classic….Then I ask what Richt has done for you lately and where’d you go?
Let me help:
1. You beat GT in 2009.
2. You went to scenic Shreveport, LA and beat a team that had a 3-5 record in its own conference.
Now it’s YOUR TURN….Just start with: “Coach Richt made me PROUD to be a UGA Football Fan in 2009 because…..” Surely you can come up with at least 5 things, right? Maybe 3 things? Perhaps just ONE???
csrapress
January 12th, 2010
4:10 pm
Supersize That Order, Mutt, I can tell I luv you too Man! I’ve heard enough of their crap for years and witnessed plenty of it over the years. If ya wanna talk, I won’t be available until later tomorrow — deadlines, ya know. You can reach me at csrapress at the g mail spot — would luv to talk with ya sometime. Keep up the good work on these lamebrains — hopefully, one day it will sink in and something will get through to some gray matter that’s rattling around between their ears (hedges). I have to go meet another deadline. Fetch — Bob, Grinch — whatever that dumb dawg’s name is!
Supersize that order, mutt
January 12th, 2010
4:27 pm
thanks, csrapress, I’ll try zipping off an email to you. Good luck with your deadlines
We Ruin This State
January 12th, 2010
4:30 pm
Big Deal. There’s a dozen guys to choose from. This can happen after recruiting is over. Its a second priority. The guy dosen’t have be in place until spring workouts. I don’t know why the UGA DC has to be in Athens yesterday. Just so we can find out nonsense such as what car he drives or whether or not he’s from Georgia ?
We Ruin This State
January 12th, 2010
4:32 pm
Gosh, this will keep me up all night. When’s the press conference scheduled ?
Inside Scoop
January 12th, 2010
4:34 pm
I’ve heard from the horse’s mouth that Groh has a press conference scheduled on the east lawn of the White House tomorrow at 11:00. You can book it, count on it, done deal, absolute, certainty, inside track info, guaranteed. I know. You heard it here first.
Inside Scoop
January 12th, 2010
4:38 pm
Hey, couldn’t we get Kent Whisenhut, head coach of the AZ Cardinals, former Tech player to take this job as soon as the NFL payoffs are over ? Sure we can. He would do anything to come “home” wouldn’t he ? I heard that this is PJ’s plan if Groh fizzles. Any coach (other than K Smart) would work for free to come “home” wouldn’t they ?
Wreckmaniac
January 12th, 2010
4:41 pm
Well, the cats out of the bag now. Its Whisenhut.
Supersize that order, mutt
January 12th, 2010
4:42 pm
Inside Scoop, that is KEN Whisenhunt, not Kent, and I’m sure he is more than happy where he is.
Wreckmaniac
January 12th, 2010
4:45 pm
FLASH!!!! K Smart will hold a press conf at 10:00 tonight to announce that he wouldn’t take the UGA job if they matched Saban’s salary.
Wreckmaniac
January 12th, 2010
4:46 pm
Supersize that Order, Mutt: I’m confused now. Didn’t we establish over the past 15 days that any coach would take any offer to come “home” ?
What did I miss ?
GT Fan
January 12th, 2010
5:01 pm
We don’t know who Johnson has talk to but who ever he hires will be ok. Johnson is a winner and he wants a winner. Groh is fine but we don’t know if PJ has made him a offer? So no big deal. Hope Johnson keeps it quiet till he fines his man.
I’ve alway like Coach Richt and have alot of respect for him……he will find a good DC, you can bet on it.
God Bless both schools.
GatorChomp
January 12th, 2010
5:05 pm
Groh was likely a reach for GT the same as Muschamp, the Falcons DC, Koenning, Ellis, Smart, or Smart the second time were for UGA. The difference is that GT likely has a fall back guy in Ted Roof (great defensive guy that simply was wrong to ever accept the job at Duke in the first place) but GT could make the same mistake as UGA by going after the Arizona Coach Whisenhunt (BTW…I know Whisenhunt is an offensive minded coach making the reach all the more unlikely but hey…unlikelyness has not stopped Richt from reaching anyway!!!) LOL
Supersize that order, mutt
January 12th, 2010
5:06 pm
Wreckmaniac, who’s this “we” you’re talking about? LOL
Supersize that order, mutt
January 12th, 2010
5:13 pm
Gator, I don’t think there are very many Tech fans who would agree with you about Ted Roof. He’s welcome to stay at Auburn as long as he wants. I find it hard to believe too that there are Tech fans who actually want Tenuta back. True, overall, his defenses were better than Wommacks, but his defenses also had a predictable knack of only really showing up to play for about half the games. It was Tenuta’s “vaunted” defenses, more than Gailey’s lack of motivation or college coaching know-how that caused most of the truly embarassing losses in the Gailey era, for instance the UVA game at Charlottesville that Tech lost, the ACC championship game against Wake, the Gator Bowl loss to WVU, after the offense had run all over WVU in the first half, and the bowl game that he coached after Gailey was fired. He didn’t do anything at all at Notre Dame. And on top of everything else, he has the personality of a cardboard box.
#1 GT fan
January 12th, 2010
5:13 pm
Heck,………….. why not let coach PJ coach the “D”. If he can turn around a whole “O”, he can do the same for the “D”. (LOL…………..JK)
And speaking of being humilliatad…………. I am kinda confused why Tech did not go out and try to hire some “big time” DC. I mean with the amount of press GT has, no one would even know thet tried to get a “big time” DC.
Groh would be nice………( I guess ) but I think GT should TRY to do better
I hoping for the best!
GO JACKETS!!!!!!!!!
Dumb A$$ Dawg
January 12th, 2010
5:13 pm
Hey….. about the three rejections UGA has had for DC….. did you ever think that it is plan by Richt to run up the cost for his competiion at AL and LSU? How much did the offer from UGA cost each of those schools to keep their DC’s?
Technophobia
January 12th, 2010
5:16 pm
Sounds like “inside scoop” is really a “pooper scooper” from UGA.
Technophobia
January 12th, 2010
5:18 pm
Looks like Mums still the word on Groh.
Supersize that order, mutt
January 12th, 2010
5:21 pm
Technophobia, there won’t be any word at all on anybody until CPJ gets back from Orlando
Technophobia
January 12th, 2010
5:33 pm
Supersize, I agree. Maybe we’ll hear something at the previously scheduled press conference w/CPJ at 9:30 tomorrow. I’m just a little surprised at the lack of leaks from both Tech and the Dolphins.
LMAO!
January 12th, 2010
5:33 pm
Bob in Buford’s team 30. Supersize that order, mutt’s team 24.
Mark Richt 30. Paul Johnson 24.
LMAO!
January 12th, 2010
5:34 pm
Bowl opponents 62. GT 17
Technophobia
January 12th, 2010
5:34 pm
CSRA, couldn’t agree more with your posts.
FullMetalJacket
January 12th, 2010
5:35 pm
For the record, CPJ did know Coach Wommack before he hired him, even though they were not what you’d call “tight.” That said, I think there is some validity in the perspective that CPJ may want to go with someone he knows a little better this go round, or who has a more proven record. Groh fits this bill, but there are others out there as well. If Groh comes, then great, if not, then I still have faith in CPJ’s ability to hire a good DC. Even as a Tech fan I think “humiliation” is a bit strong to describe the multiple rejections of Richt and UGA. It does indicate a lack of sophistication and secrecy in offering jobs a bit too indiscriminately, but I have no doubt that UGA will end up with a high quality DC, even if he doesn’t have the big name of some others. Erk Russell wasn’t well-known before he came to UGA….lo, those many years ago.
BuzzBitesDog
January 12th, 2010
5:41 pm
Hey, CMR! Pete Carroll just quit USC and hasn’t quite gotten moved into Seattle yet, so why not try to steal him away for your next DC? I am sure Bellichek, Dungy, and Cowher will be there if Carroll turns you down. Oh, yeah, Lombardi and Erk Russell are flipping coins in the afterlife to see who gets to interview next with you.
FullMetalJacket
January 12th, 2010
5:46 pm
Jeff, I am not at all worried about Groh getting taken by the Dolphins. It would be nice to have a seasoned pro like him as our next DC, but as no formal offer has been made, I wouldn’t see it as obvious a rejection as Foster, Smart, et al were to UGA and CMR. Given the tight ship that CPJ runs, I don’t think we will hear much about offers being made, more likely we’ll just hear about the next DC after it is a done deal. Do you agree? Speaking of tight ships, whatever happened to CPJ’s former DC at Navy?
Supersize that order, mutt
January 12th, 2010
5:54 pm
FullMetal, I don’t know about CPJ’s former DC at Navy, but I sure wouldn’t mind having the one they have there now. He’s good. But I would never expect CPJ “steal” somebody from there.
FullMetalJacket
January 12th, 2010
5:55 pm
Just heard from friend in Miami that Groh is very likely to go there. While salary is not an issue, he can add considerably to his NFL pension and benefits which were established during his earlier stint in the pro’s. Also, family, weather, and freedom from travel (recruiting, etc.) are factors pushing him in that direction. Really just a matter of choice, and his friendship with Parcells is a big pull.
FullMetalJacket
January 12th, 2010
6:04 pm
What about Buddy Green? Former DC at NC State where he worked wonders in the early 90’s, and more recently at Navy where he worked with CPJ and his successor with limited talent to build very good defenses. I am assuming there must be some reason (ties to Annapolis, or friction with Johnson) we haven’t heard much about him before, but if CPJ does get along with him he might work out well here. Not sure why he did not initially come with CPJ in 2008.
FullMetalJacket
January 12th, 2010
6:09 pm
DawgNation is putting more perceived pressure on their program and their coach to make a “big named” hire for DC by perpetuating this idea that they are one of the elite programs in the country. Certainly, UGA does have a strong program, but rather than hire a nut-and-bolts DC who can get the job done even if he has to butt heads and get dirt under his nails (like Erk), they seem to have forgotten their roots and require another golden boy with a big rep and salary. You already have one cover boy in CMR, so why not focus on getting a blue-collar, results oriented guy for the hard task of rebuilding the defense and defensive tradition at UGA?
FullMetalJacket
January 12th, 2010
6:13 pm
Of course, as a Tech man I would prefer you to hire another pretty-boy alumni or headline-grabber to continue underestimating CPJ’s high school offense and trade school players…I, for one, am happy to be the underdogs in the state….the victories may come more sparingly but they are oh, so much sweeter!
BuzzBitesDog
January 12th, 2010
6:23 pm
NEWSFLASH!!!! CMR hires medium to channel Erk Russell for DC interview.