If Groh says no, Georgia Tech should look at Diaz, DeRuyter (UPDATE)
(UPDATE BELOW ON DIAZ)
For the past few days, Al Groh has been steadily transitioning from the likely next defensive coordinator at Georgia Tech to the likely next defensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins.
We have only circumstantial evidence of this: 1) Groh, once seemingly locked on Tech as a destination, suddenly has options with other college and NFL jobs opening up, and clearly is taking his time; 2) He interviewed for the Miami Dolphins job Wednesday, where his long-time friend and coaching buddy, Bill Parcells, is team vice president.
While it’s not clear whether Tech coach Paul Johnson has actually offered Groh the position, there have been strong indications that he is waiting 
for Groh to decide on his job preference. Regardless, I’m guessing this coaching search will not last much longer because Johnson is not exactly known for his patience.
One important factor in this search is the Jackets have significant budget constraints, unlike Georgia, and therefore can’t pay a lot for an assistant football coach. Groh is only a candidate because he’s already drawing $4.33 million from Virginia over the next two seasons, and therefore will not demand a high salary. But if he says no, the stature of candidates likely drops. With that as a backdrop, here are three other candidates for Tech:
♦ 1) Manny Diaz: His name has been floated as a
If Al Groh (top) says no, Manny Diaz (middle) or Tim DeRuyter would fit at Tech.
long shot for the Georgia vacancy. He’s the defensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee State, which went 10-3 this season (a Sun Belt record for wins), including victories over Maryland, Memphis and Southen Miss. Diaz’ defense set a school record for sacks (38). The Blue Raiders also led the Sun Belt in takeaways (33) and turnover margin (plus-12, which ranked eighth nationally), and ranked second nationally in tackles for loss (8.62 per game). In the Sun Belt, MTSU ranked second in scoring defense (23.7 ponts) and third in total defense (354.8 yards). Diaz also is familiar with the ACC landscape. He spent six years (2000-05) at North Carolina State, mostly coaching linebackers and safeties, and two at Florida State (1998-99), where he worked under Mickey Andrews and was there for the Seminoles’ national championship in 1999. As a political bonus: his father is the two-term mayor of Miami.
(UPDATE: Rumors have been flying around since last night that Diaz has been hired by Mississippi State. For what it’s worth, Diaz reportedly has interviewed with both the Bulldogs and Houston, but neither school has announced a hiring.)
♦ 2.) Tim DeRuyter: This might be a reach since the Air Force defensive coordinator is said to be a top candidate for the Texas A&M job, vacated by Joe Kines. The Air Force finished 11th in the nation in total defense (288.3 yards per game), 10th in scoring defense (15.7 points) and fifth in takeaways (34). The Falcons also held high-scoring TCU in check, losing only 20-17.
♦ 3.) Bob Shoop: The fact he coaches at a 1-AA school (William and Mary) works against him. But he was just named the FCS coordinator of the year after leading William and Mary (CAA), which went 11-3 this season. The Tribe defense’s per game averages: 61 yards rushing (No. 1 nationally in the FCS), 229 total yards (No. 2), 12 points (No. 2).
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426 comments Add your comment
Cheeseburger
January 14th, 2010
11:20 am
Rex, did Urban take his meds today? Face it, he’s lost his mind!
KIRBY SMART
January 14th, 2010
11:23 am
My salary will go to 1 million after I interview and get an offer from Tennessee….I will play them the same way I played my alma mater…..
Robert
January 14th, 2010
11:23 am
T3 is scenario #1 “we’ll have one”?
Supersize that order, mutt
January 14th, 2010
11:24 am
Cheeseburger, FACE IT (to use your words) anybody who is not a mutt or who spurns the mutts is either ignorant, a nerd, a rapist (your word again), sick and in need of meds, “we didn’t want him anyway”, worthless, etc,, etc. You, bubba, have no class whatsoever. Have you ever expressed even one intelligent worthwhile thought? Have you ever even had one?
Cheeseburger ..
January 14th, 2010
11:24 am
O.k. Supersize that order mutt, Defend the on going streak of robbery’s! Didn’t think you could, just like ya’ll can’t defend the ASS whipping ya’ll took from a “inferior” UGA team. 30-24! I thought you’d STFU after that!
IF THIS WAS PAUL'S GAME PLAN, IT'S BLOWING UP IN HIS FACE
January 14th, 2010
11:27 am
Big mistake going after Al Groh….That guy ain’t going to coach in college where you have to recruit and kiss all the high school fannies, he’s gonna do NFL without the recruiting….He’s probably tired of kissing 18 years old fannies…..Think it was a huge mistake and miscalculation and Shultzie should really write this up….This is really big…..
Cheeseburger ..
January 14th, 2010
11:29 am
Rex, I’ve fallin and I can’t get up! Oh, wait Ijust need a lazyboy next year as I leave my assistant to ruin his career. I’ll come back in 2011 wnen my little Gators have matured and do a Pat Reilly!
Supersize that order, mutt
January 14th, 2010
11:29 am
Cheesebuger, assuming you read my entire post, which I gather you didn’t, I SAID I CAN’T DEFEND anything that goes on in Atlanta. However, Tech students did not DO the robbing, whereas as UGAG professor did murder his wife, and in public, with their kids in the car. Also, a 6 point win over Tech is HARDLY an ass whipping, especially when you consider that Tech still had a CHANCE to win it at the end. It was definitely humiliating to be beat by such a scroungy group of mutts, but you win some, you lose some. I’m not making excuses, like you (and most other UGAG bloggers) did last year when Tech beat UGAG. Once again, you demonstrate your total ignorance of and refusal to admit facts.
USE FACTS PLEASE
January 14th, 2010
11:30 am
trey:
UGA OFFERED Bud Foster the job. See the link.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/foster-on-georgia-job-257739.html
“Bud Foster, Virginia Tech’s defensive coordinator, said he was offered the Georgia defensive coordinator job…”
“Through a spokesman, Richt declined comment…”
That “declined” reference…CONFIRMS…Richt ACTUALLY offered Foster the job.
So…OFFICIALLY…the 2 DC candidates that have ACTAULLY been offered the job,
have both turned it down.
Cheeseburger ..
January 14th, 2010
11:32 am
Supersize that Maggot where are you? Scared you away with that score?
Supersize that order, mutt
January 14th, 2010
11:33 am
Cheeseburger, I’m sure you saw my response. I guess you’re ignoring it just like you ignore other facts.
LAKE OCONEE JOSH NESBITT SUPPORTER
January 14th, 2010
11:37 am
Supersize that order, mutt:
30000 Huh…..wow….”I got some ocean front property in Amarillo, from my front porch you can see the sea, got some ocean front property in Amarillo, if you’ll buy that, I’ll throw the Golden Gate in free” as George Strait sang it…….
Supersize that order, mutt
January 14th, 2010
11:37 am
And cheeseburger, did I “scare you away” with the fact that you lied about the “rapist” and ignored the UGAG professor of death?
Supersize that order, mutt
January 14th, 2010
11:38 am
Lake Oconee, I was at the game. Were you? I thought not, so don’t go talking about things you know nothing about.
Fact of the Matter
January 14th, 2010
11:39 am
USE FACTS PLEASE, your point? That UGA can actually offer them the job AND pay them if they accept. “Are you really that stupid”? Maybe one day when GT becomes a real football program they can afford to make the call AND pay the guy.
Tired of trolls on the AJC blogs
January 14th, 2010
11:40 am
Trolls, please go thread-crap on a different blog. You guys make reading this blog a complete was of time for me. I’m considering paying to join another tech blog. Tech children, the never ending UGA insults are tiresome. UGA children, go back to your blog.
T3
January 14th, 2010
11:41 am
Here are two “obvious” scenarios:
1. Al Groh
2. Navy DC Buddy Green
And, I would actaully add a sixth candidate. A Big East guy.
Cheeseburger ..
January 14th, 2010
11:42 am
Supersize that Maggot, Yes I will admit that that was low just like Tech, but you calling an institution Bad because of one whack job is Insulting as well.As far as the six point win you’re right again, six points isn’t the “ASS” whipping of the year, but Beating the HELL out of ya’ll year in and out, PRICELESS 8-1 sound better to you CMR bashers. They may be mutts but ya’ll consistently take it up the butt!
GA Tech Insider
January 14th, 2010
11:42 am
trey; the difference between Paul Johnson/GA Tech and Mark Richt/UGA is that Paul Johnson has never publicly said anything about anyone unless specifically asked (i.e. when asked about AG, he was quite aloof), and has never said anything other than he has candidates in mind that he has had personal contact with in the past; his search is going well; and he expects to wrap up his decision relatively soon whereas Mark Richt has made it a point to tell the sports world that he is attempting to get all of these coaches to come to Athens, for high dollars, and he is being rejected left and right.
Another difference is that after winning 20 games in 2 years, and the ACC Championship and going to a BCS Bowl game in only his second year on campus, Paul Johnson wasn’t satisfied with the way his defense was playing and made a change rather than waiting several years and allowing the program to go stagnant. Coach Johnson didn’t want to wait to see if things came around eventually, or if he would be told he had to make a change, or his fans got restless; Paul Johnson wants to win a National Championship, too.
Now you can sit there behind your keyboard typing all of your snide comments, but at the end of the day, GA Tech fans know that they have a Coach who isn’t satisfied with mediocrity and wants to win, even if it means making a change right away.
Paul Johnson isn’t the kind of man who is interested in waiting for things to happen by chance; he’s the kind of Coach who makes things happen. Paul Johnson doesn’t play the game of football passively; he plays aggressively, and I can assure you, that’s exactly what he’s doing right now. This isn’t smoke and mirrors or a “game” to him, this is serious business. Deal with it.
Paul Johnson
January 14th, 2010
11:44 am
IF THIS WAS PAUL’S GAME PLAN, IT’S BLOWING UP IN HIS FACE are you that stupid! I’m Paul the greatest by God Johnson. The only thing that blows up in my face is my offense in a bowl game!
ESAD
HC fax at tech a burnin up
January 14th, 2010
11:45 am
He will not even be considered for big boy football, like at UT but CPJ’s fax is smoking hot, having fired off 000s of his resume to UT, begging them for the interview. His cover letter speaks to how he admires the SEC and his triple ( failure ) option is so keen and new and would do wonders for the Big Orange. The UT screcretary throws it in the trash. He is unqualified.
Shhhh, SEC men know that the mighty Triple Option went on the scrap pile of NCAA history back in the 70s.
New Flash!!! ACC champ CPJ will not even be called by UT and that says how much respect that the SEC has for the ACC. HAHAHAHAHA
30-24 and Dwyer only got 33 vs UGA and 0 vs Iowa in the first half of the Urange Bowl.
Goooooooooooooo Dogs.
Paul Johnson
January 14th, 2010
11:46 am
Quit posing “GT Insider”. All you’re inside of is your boyfriend’s shorts.
LAKE OCONEE JOSH NESBITT SUPPORTER
January 14th, 2010
11:46 am
Supersize that order, mutt:
I didn’t make the bowl trip but saw on TV a lot of empty seats, but was at the “Joke by Coke” when it all went south, when Wiley Willie in his last hurrah as a dawg coach got inside the considerable head of Pugnacious Paul Johnson and had him a’ chunkin it at the end of the game when you just knew they were gonna take that triple option down the field and run out the clock and score and win the game….AND this National Championship talk (with the best 4 players dearly departed for the NFL), I can only refer you to Jim Mora, Sr. and his response when his team was terrible and somebody mentioned playoffs, “Playoffs, what playoffs, Playoffs, what playoff….same can be said for NC…
Paul Johnson
January 14th, 2010
11:48 am
Hey GT “Insider”. If you’re so in the know just exactly when will I be able to win a damn bowl game?
If Groh says no, Georgia Tech should look at Diaz, DeRuyter | Jeff … | Georgia Today
January 14th, 2010
11:49 am
[...] See the original post: If Groh says no, Georgia Tech should look at Diaz, DeRuyter | Jeff … [...]
juvenal
January 14th, 2010
11:50 am
sounds like CPJ was just being polite(something obviously a mystery to many bloggers of any stripe)…rape charge dropped, sign your real name & it’s libel…
USE FACTS PLEASE
January 14th, 2010
11:51 am
Fact of the Matter:
It was a response to: trey at 11:14AM who said:
“blah-blah-blah. Coach Richt was only just speaking to Foster and Chavis as well. But every dummy that wears GT on her dress claimed he offered them the job. I’ve even read techmites comments claiming Kirby Smart was UGA’s 3rd choice LMAO.”
THE FACT IS: Richt…OFFERED THE JOB TO BUD FOSTER.
Richt also offered the job to Smart.
BOTH TURNED THE OFFER DOWN.
So…to repeat THE FACTS:
The 2 DC candidates that Richt OFFICIALLY OFFERED the job to, have both tuned it down.
Try using some FACTS yourself. It’s simpler.
Cheeseburger ..
January 14th, 2010
11:52 am
Can anybody at “Grand Theft Institution tell A UGA fan tha a team that hasn’t missed going to a bowl since this coach has been here is a team that is stagnant? Look Giantic Turds, Any coach that looses three studs on offense like UGA did when you loose 3 players that go in the first two rounds of the NFL draft is going to drod off the next year, but Turds wouldn’t know about that since that doesn’t happen at there program. Yet we still whipped ya’lls ASS, and that’s the bottom line. Ask your ex DC about the 72 points he gave up in two years succcccccckers!
Tired of trolls on the AJC blogs
January 14th, 2010
11:52 am
@Paul Johnson
Go troll somewhere else kid.
The first question out of a prospective DC's mouth
January 14th, 2010
11:53 am
The first question posed to CPJ by his HDC “candidates” is “um, ah will UGA be showing up next year with that Offensive line, receivers and um, ah those two running backs again?”
SILENCE ensues with CPJ like “hello, um, hey are you still there, um like don’t hang up, we are gonna slap em in their faces next year, um hello.”
#%$#&^ the ACC he is thinking about now. No respect out of Fulton County, Ga for his BONE> hahahahah 30-24
CPJ will be gone in 2 years or less if history repeats. Tech goes through coaches like Obama tells lies.
Michael
January 14th, 2010
11:57 am
I don’t know anything about coaching football, I’m just a lawyer, but tell me again why defensive coordinators, jobs that didn’t exist 40 years ago, command $800k salaries? Is there that much disposable income that the government will pay these entertainers all this money?
And I’ve been watching college and NFL for 35 years and love the stuff.
Paul Johnson
January 14th, 2010
11:58 am
USE FACTS PLEASE here’s 2 facts for you moron.
1) UGA can make offers to those guys and has the money to pay
2) GT can’t make offers to those guys because they can’t pay.
I need to snag that UT job so I can know what a real football program is before I die.
Supersize that order, mutt
January 14th, 2010
12:00 pm
Cheeseburger, I believe it is you who attempts to denigrate Tech because of what happens in Atlanta. What happens in Atlanta, even if it’s near the Tech campus, says nothing about the school or its students. You are correct, a UGAG professor who murders his wife doesn’t say anything about UGAG either, but, as is usually the case in here, you flung down the gauntlett and I picked it up and threw it back at you.
Lake Oconee, I know there were empty seats at the OB….on both sides of the field. Part of that was due to it being on a work-night following a holiday season and weekend (blame TV for that). But the announced attendance that night was 66,000, and Iowa estimated they took 35,000+. So if you have any idea about math, that figures out to about 30,000 Tech fans, because I’m sure nobody went to the game to enjoy the cold air. Also, there as only been one real ass-whipping in the Tech-UGAG games in the past 9 years. Four of the games were won by 3 points, one of which was a Tech win. I’m not using this as an “excuse,” but any other QB than Reggie Ball would have won 3 of those games for Tech.
If they ask one more SEC type of question of me
January 14th, 2010
12:00 pm
I’m gonna slap em in their face if they ask me one more time why we look baaaaaaaaaaaaaaad when we play SEC/Big Ten schools, knowing that UGA and LSU,Iowa “have not won anything” in a while.
We will lead the nation in turn overs probably when JN goes out with a knee. I know that he cannot continue to take a pounding but then, it IS the ACC, isn’t it? Yeah, we will be fine in middle school football.
Vince Dooley
January 14th, 2010
12:01 pm
wish I coached in a high school stadium named after me that has seen 4 National Championship teams……..
LAKE OCONEE JOSH NESBITT SUPPORTER
January 14th, 2010
12:02 pm
Michael:
40 years is a long time….40 years ago you could pay a thin dime to watch a piss ant eat a bushel of hay…..game has changed, people don’t play both ways in college anymore, therefore you need a guy to be in charge of the offense and a guy to be in charge of the defense….
Supersize that order, mutt
January 14th, 2010
12:04 pm
Cheeseburger, again you play loose with the facts. Do you not know, or again IGNORE, the fact that Tech is losing 4 players to the draft this year, and many believe, and rightly so, that there will not be near the dropoff that UGAG suffered this past year. Why? Because we still have a stable of running backs, a couple of good enough receivers for CPJ’s offense, and hopefully a better defense under a better DC. Even when Nesbitt leaves after next year, we have QB’s already at Tech who ran that system in HS and will be more prepared to take over than Cox was in Athens this year, or whoever you have next year will be.
Paul Johnson
January 14th, 2010
12:10 pm
We also have the benefit of playing in the ACC Supersize. That’s a huge advantage. Doesn’t mean we can beat UGA or win a bowl game though. Don’t be out there writing checks with YOUR mouth that MY azz can’t cash.
Davis Mann
January 14th, 2010
12:14 pm
Schultz…what about REGGIE HERRING? Odd that he continues to be ignored, despite the fact that he prefers college football over the NFL and both he and his wife would like to settle down in Georgia. He’s far superior to the coaches you mention and he would almost certainly take the job, as long as they pay him…which GT CAN afford to do, despite their fiscal fiasco.
Paul Johnson
January 14th, 2010
12:14 pm
My sources say Richt just bagged Grantham. I better get off the pot and go to the thrift store.
LAKE OCONEE JOSH NESBITT SUPPORTER
January 14th, 2010
12:19 pm
supersize:
There will definitely be a dropoff….Again, sometimes it is not just how good you are, it is how good are the people we are playing…..As good as UGA’s running backs were this year (and you saw them up close and personal at Grant Field), they were nowhere near Moreno….And the QB comparison to Stafford, well, there is no comparison….Hats off to Coach Chan Gailey for leaving the program stockpiled with possibly 3 1st round picks….Chan also left the QB, Nesbitt, and many other good players….Now Coach Chan did win a NC as a college coach, and obviously knew how to recruit but never got the coaches in place to really get the program to take off….Haven’t seen a CPJ recruit yet who I would project to be a 1st round NFL pick, if you know of anyone, please let me know….Think 2nd team QB is possibly transferring to Georgia Southern to run the triple for Coach Monk… Anytime you lose players like the FB, DE, SE, and DB, you go backwards some…Thats not the end of the world, just a fact….Cause if they weren’t heads and tails above all the others, then they wouldn’t be starting and going to the next level……
USE FACTS PLEASE
January 14th, 2010
12:24 pm
Anybody else notice that UGA fans get all “pissy” when FACTS are used.
FACT:
Richt offered Foster over $500,000, more than 40% OVER his current pay to take the DC job.
Foster turnd it down.
Richt offered Smart over $750,000, DOUBLE his current pay.
Smart also turned it down.
It aint ALL about the money.
UGA’s got the money. But these 2 DC candidates DID NOT WANT THE JOB.
East Cobb Hokie
January 14th, 2010
12:25 pm
Kudos to Coach Johnson for keeping a lid on his discussions. Its his businees now, not the fans or the media. For teh jackets sake, I hope you do not get Groh. His impact on recruiting at Hooville was positive fro a year or 2 (with promises of an NFL pipeline), but then the reality of his skills became apparent as he ticked off every HS coach in the state and then had to recruit out of state.
LAKE OCONEE JOSH NESBITT SUPPORTER
January 14th, 2010
12:32 pm
Supersize:
Don’t let the players start talking about the National Championship….We did that at UGA, that’s all we talked about, all the players heard in 2008….Then when we lost early in the season, kids got really down because the NC goal had slipped into oblivion….Thought for a while there was nothing else to play for….I remember this because I saw some of the Tech players talking about using the Orange Bowl game as a stage to start a run at a NC in 2010….. the Florida teams, Texas teams, and USC and the remainder of the California teams certainly have an advantage when it comes to winning a NC from a population standpoint and the number of great players coming from those states…Georgia is great high school football, but does not have the population to have as many D-1 recruits as Texas, California, and Florida…
Morgan Burnett
January 14th, 2010
12:35 pm
I thought “Shoop” was a collaborative song by Salt-n-Pepa and En Vogue?
Anybody seen Caleb King or is he still running UNTOUCHED?
T3
January 14th, 2010
12:35 pm
East Cobb Hokie:
Correct.
However, it is well-known fact that new UVA HC Mike London OWNS the State of Virginia, especially the talent-rich “Tidewater” area. He is from Hampton Roads.
VT will now begin to SERIOUSLY lose the recruiting battles with UVA.
Therefore, its a STONE COLD LOCK that VT’s program will now begin to slip.
VT recruiting benefited b/c nobody liked Groh and wouldnt go to UVA.
UVA hiring Mike London was the PRIMARY REASON Bud Foster started “looking around.”
Foster even publicly lobbied for the UMemphis job.
Foster’s been at VT for 20+ years. Why did he SUDDENLY feel the need to start “looking around.”
UVA hired London. GAME OVER. That’s why.
UVA will now OWN the State of Virginia.
UVA has “bottomed.”
VT has “peaked.”
After, the current VT roster is gone, it’ll be downhill for VT.
Supersize that order, mutt
January 14th, 2010
12:36 pm
Lake Oconee, points all well taken.
Got to run now, so no time for more of this fun….lol
Delbert D.
January 14th, 2010
12:39 pm
“Now Coach Chan did win a NC as a college coach”
Gailey won a college national championship? Where?
LAKE OCONEE JOSH NESBITT SUPPORTER
January 14th, 2010
12:43 pm
USE FACTS PLEASE:
If their respective schools hadn’t matched or bettered the UGA offer, then we would have a coach by now, that goes without saying….But if I am at a good school and get a salary increase at my present school, why should I go through the misery of moving my family and starting all over again…cmr was taking the hope that these schools would not match what he was offering….appreciate him going for the gusto, however….it’s just that the schools matched the offers, what do you do? Keep looking, but thanks Coach Richt for going after these guys…..Kirby had a big time interest in the Georgia job, but had no idea that Georgia would pay $750,000 over 3 years for a coordinator….He was floored when this offer came across, and to our disppointment, let Coach Nicholas Saban make his decision for him, then let him make the damn announcement too…..Seems Kirby got laryngitis suddenly….Ok I guess to play another school for an increase in pay, but when you play your alma mater, that’s a little much….
Golden Tornado
January 14th, 2010
12:43 pm
BuckheadJacket, you are eminently correct: “Only consistent success over several years will reinvigorate the program.” Pardon the ancient history, but it is instructive. When Bobby Dodd took over the head spot at Tech, UGA was having trouble selling tickets, and played only four home games a year, mostly at night. Tech rebuilt its fan base, and enlarged it stadium to seat 40,000 (to UGA’s 45,000 in those days). Tech also built the South’s largest press box, running the length of the West stands. Of course it helped that Tech was the only game in town. For that reason, I’m for moving the Falcons to Athens, and let the Dawgs wrestle with that.