Georgia Tech’s whiff at Chris Mooney doesn’t look good
Georgia Tech apparently couldnt show Mooney the money.
This doesn’t mean Georgia Tech is not going to get a good basketball coach when this is all over, and it certainly doesn’t mean the program is doomed for all eternity.
But what happened Sunday doesn’t look good.
Georgia Tech couldn’t hire away the Richmond coach. A program that should be top five annually in the ACC couldn’t hire away a coach from the Atlantic 10. The biggest reason most likely is financial. What does that bode for the future?
Richmond coach Chris Mooney, believed to be the Jackets’ top choice to replace Paul Hewitt, decided to remain at Richmond for a 10-year contract extension. This comes after Buzz Williams, another potential Tech
Dan Radakovich shouldn't have problems selling Tech.
candidate, decided to stay at Marquette for a new contract. Missouri State’s Cuonzo Martin, who was interviewed by the Jackets, was hired at Tennessee (although it’s not known if he would have received an offer from Tech).
That leaves Dayton’s Brian Gregory (who has one NCAA tournament win in eight years) and Tulsa’s Doug Wojcik (who never has coached in the NCAA tournament) as the known candidates.
This should not have been a difficult hire for athletic director Dan Radakovich. Atlanta is a desirable city, the ACC is a conference steeped in basketball tradition and the Tech campus sits in the heart of one of the top basketball recruiting bases in the nation. Getting a basketball coach to come here should be a lot easier than getting a football coach to come here.
But the tight economic situation in the athletic department and the $7.2 million payoff given to Hewitt clearly is hindering the process. That’s not going to leave a good impression with fans, alumni or possibly recruits.
It should be noted that Mark Fox was not Georgia’s first choice, and he certainly turned out OK. Former athletic director Damon Evans wanted Jeff Capel (who took the Oklahoma job), and Anthony Grant (who went to Alabama) and Mike Anderson (Missouri) also were both considered ahead of Fox in the pecking order.
But it was easier to understand the doubt at Georgia because basketball so many viewed basketball as the ugly step sister on campus and the school never had fully committed to the program before.
That’s the case at Tech. The Jackets have a resume. But right now Radakovich seems to be having trouble selling the program.
By Jeff Schultz
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142 comments Add your comment
trey
March 27th, 2011
11:25 pm
LMAO!
Dadgum....
March 27th, 2011
11:26 pm
I think it safe to say that no Duke assistants need apply to GT. Ain’t happening…….ever!
Mike H
March 27th, 2011
11:40 pm
Jeff, it was the ‘gloom and doom’ orientation of your comments that I found premature. I do agree with many of your observations, just not some of the speculation.
Hoophead
March 27th, 2011
11:44 pm
Mooney is gone. Gregory and Wojcik are carbon copies of each other, and the former is not dealing straight. Take Wojcik, deal with a few weeks of the fanboys crying for Mark Price, and let the guy bring this program back to prominence.
gte
March 27th, 2011
11:50 pm
hire Mark Price, make Neal the associate and Kenny Anderson an assistant. Price and Neal handle the recruits in Atlanta and Anderson gets the All Americans in NY. Honestly, would not a NY kid want Kenny Anderson to walk in their door?
If you cannot hire Shaka, then why not? In 3 weeks, you all who oppose the former players will get over as well and shup up on here too, works both ways
pat
March 27th, 2011
11:51 pm
our #1 recruit is threatening to leave now, i hope our hire will make him stay
Hairy Dawg
March 27th, 2011
11:52 pm
You techie bugs is the dum dums from Hewitt payed way to much. Now you broke and a joke. That why Dawgs is place for players with talents to play.
Mike H
March 27th, 2011
11:56 pm
Hairy Dawg, go sleep it off son. You’re not getting any brighter as your bulb gets dimmer.
5150 UOAD
March 28th, 2011
12:07 am
Hairy Dawg you need a new nom de plume. I hear that Write with pen between butt cheeks is still available.
5150 UOAD
March 28th, 2011
12:08 am
What that didn’t pass?
hey jeff it doent take a genius to figure out
March 28th, 2011
12:09 am
why tech would back off of mooney all things considered.
did we just get out from under a sad sack of a coach with a 7 year buy out? i dare say that gt/drad would not want to compete with a lengthy contrast,. can you imagine how many times over the last 3-4 years that drad was silently cursing 7.2 million buyout every bit as much as most fans???
and please get your fact straingt. mark bradly said he didnt know for sure that mooney was ever even offered yet he put ’spurned[ in his blog headner.
isnt that somewhat classless on your part and on mark’s part to imply that we were uncerimoniously turned down?
you pitched a fit when there was a blog written about possible new coaches when the old coach was still in place! well i call your comment and blot equally as ‘classless’.
Tech Forever
March 28th, 2011
12:24 am
gte
Why should Neal work under Price?
ncjacket
March 28th, 2011
12:52 am
Jeff, if 10 years is what it would take to get Mooney to leave Richmond then I’m glad he’s staying. That’s a stupid contract for any coach and the Spiders are welcome to it.
5150 UOAD
March 28th, 2011
12:55 am
ncjacket no NEW hire is going to get 10yrs that was a package to get the money right. New coaches know they are looking at 4 or 5 yrs MAX to prove themselves.
Hire Mark Price
March 28th, 2011
3:50 am
Im gonna tell ya if you brought Prica and Anderson here, GT would win and be able to recruit. But people are wanting a coach that is not proven (and I know Price is not either, but he is a winner) or a young coach who has no ties to Tech. C yall in three years, talking about who we need to hire after GT has lost even more of its fan base !!!
dcStan
March 28th, 2011
3:58 am
Jeff Capel is avialable now, this guy can recruit ATL and Georgia players. It would be a great hire
Buzz me
March 28th, 2011
4:38 am
Shaka…Shaka….Shaka… if he says no go to Neal with Price, Anderson and D SCott as assistants and you will get excitement. The guy from Dayton, Tulsa and Cuonzo don’t excite anybody
Larry
March 28th, 2011
4:49 am
Bottom line is no one, including Mr. Schultz, but GT knows if indeed Mooney was offered the job. This is assumed because of an interview?
Mooney just may have left the interview not convinced he wanted GT or GT wanted him! Perhaps Dan Radakovich informed him that he wanted to also interview the VCU and Butler coaches before a final decision and needed him to wait one more week? This certainly could have spooked Mooney!
Re-read the first three paragraphs and you can clearly determine that Mr. Schultz assumes this but is very careful with his diction and syntax to specifically avoid saying “Mooned was offered and rejected the job!”
Translated, he THINKS this happened! Maybe…maybe not!
Stinger2
March 28th, 2011
4:57 am
All of this speculation by the fans and media is amusing and fun to read. Fact is that when I finish reading all this, I know nothing more than I did before I read it.
Larry
March 28th, 2011
4:58 am
“Mooned” LOL! Maybe this is what he did in response to the financially strained offer.
Replace with Mooney.
On that thought, wouldn’t it be nice to have that 7.5 million to help generate about a 5 year, 2 mil offer to Butler’s coach? Think about it…you would need less than 1/2 of the 7.5 mil to add 700K to the current 1.3 mil to offer a 5 year, 2 mil per season contract (3.5 mil)! Sorry to ruin your Monday, Tech fans!
WnE
March 28th, 2011
5:27 am
re:
Larry
March 28th, 2011
4:58 am
_______________________
When DRad took the Job he already knew what kind of deal CPH had in place and he should have made PRUDENT financial decisions to work around that Hewitt contract WRT to the otehr HCs at GT.
DRad “Blewitt” when he re-upped Coach Kung Fu Panda too early in his tenure at GT when there were no serious Schools looking to take him away from GT; basically GT & DRad were bidding against themselves when they re-upped Coach Fish Fry from $1.6MM per/yr. to $2.3MM per/yr., there’s your wasted $700K per/yr. that would get us Coach Stevens or Coach Shaka.
The CPJ-deal came after DRad was aware of what CPH’s contract would do to GT, WHEN, not IF he had to be fired, and yet DRad still upped his pay $700K per/yr. when there were no other colleges seriously pursuing Coach Kung Fu Panda.
To give any GT HC in any Sport a $700K per/yr. increase AFTER knowing what CPH’s contract would do to GT was irresponsible fiscal behavior by DRad and that $700K/yr. is hurting much more than Hewitt’s is because DRad had a chance to do “something” about the latter whereas he had no chance to anything about the former, yet he still “rolled the dice” and upped Coach Fish Fry’s Contract in an Athl. Dept. that really could not afford that kind of Contract.
Once DRad knew he was stuck with Hewitt’s deal, he SHOULD HAVE KNOWN there was no way to logically give Coach Fish Fry that deal since he “knew” he’d have to fire CPH in 2-3 seasons anyway.
Poor MANAGEMENT by Braine(less), but WORSE MANAGEMENT by DRad!
Snellville Jacket
March 28th, 2011
6:13 am
As a Tech alum, I believe that Craig Neal (and/or Mark Price) is the only hire likely to bring the Tech b-ball family back together and restore some excitement to the program immediately! Craig, come on home, son – Ma Tech is calling!
JSS
March 28th, 2011
6:29 am
Tech Forever
March 27th, 2011
11:10 pm
“Hiring a Duke assistant or former player is akin to hiring Vince Dooley as AD after Drad leaves as far as I’m concerned.”
I love this myopic hatred that college fans instead of looking at the obvious. Once upon a time, a coach won and dominant his conference and was envied by his opponents. One of the teams decided: “If you can’t beat, emulate ‘em!” So meet General Robert Neyland and Robert Dodd. Oh yeah, Meet Shug Jordan and Vince Dooley too! And while Rome is burning, meet Billy Donovan and Anthony Grant!
Folks, stop worrying about if they are the enemy. Just worry if they are willing to sell their allegiance!
waitforthefacts
March 28th, 2011
6:38 am
Jeff maybe you should read your AJC buddy’s words: And let’s be clear: We don’t know if Mooney was ever offered the job at Tech. The assumption — on the outside, remember — was that it was his to lose. But that might not have been the case. Mark Bradley
My apologies I am assuming you are smart enough to read, think and reason.
QWDH
March 28th, 2011
6:55 am
Craig Neal. Get it done now.
Justin Pignon
March 28th, 2011
7:09 am
Georgia Tech is an outstanding academic institution with the role of preparing young men and women for the engineering challenges of the 21st century. Face the facts, they are Rice.
Georgia State should be the equivavlent of VCU, G Mason, etc. A city based “commuter school” that can attract D1 athletes. GSU is a missed opportunity for Atlanta sports.
BADJOB
March 28th, 2011
7:15 am
I’ll take the job for $1000.00 that’s about correct for the Nreds from North Ave!!! Tech will always be second rate!!! Dawgs rule!!!
Dan
March 28th, 2011
7:20 am
UT Vols found a coach pretty quick and the Nerds can’t. Now that’s funny!
Hairy Dawg
March 28th, 2011
7:35 am
I told you no good coach want to be ooaching techmites that losers.
O'Brien
March 28th, 2011
7:41 am
Jeff,
Your colleague Mark suggests the Wichita State coach as an option. How do you feel about his chances?
chc4
March 28th, 2011
7:41 am
Jeff — can you explain why Tech should be a top 5 ACC basketball program? Duke, UNC, Maryland. Clemson and FSU have built-in advantages though they don’t have the tradition. What makes Tech any better than Wake Forest or UVA? If you’re #1 point is that GT is located in Atlanta then it’s an automatic fail. There are plenty of athletes in VA, SC, and FL that are just as good.
Ringtoss999
March 28th, 2011
7:49 am
Why doesn’t DRad look at successful HIGH SCHOOL coachs for the position. The incoming freshman class are only one year removed from those ranks. And a local coach could scoop up all the “Dwight Howards” in the area. If you know or have played against the local and regional talent ,you then have a real opportunity to recruit top players and create a “Buzz” at the school.Which is exactly what the program needs.
Jacket Man
March 28th, 2011
7:49 am
Jeff; sometimes there’s more to making a life-altering decision such as managing your professional career than just taking the money and running – like in the case of Charlies Weiss when he decided to once again spurn Pro Football and return to the collegiate level as an assistant coach at Florida. Sometimes location and family plays a far greater role in a decision than money. Timing has a lot to do with decisions in life and this wasn’t the best personal me for Chris to make his move from Richmond. Enough said.
sk
March 28th, 2011
7:52 am
While it is 90% likely that Mooney is off the table – we know coaching is a weird enough business. If the papers are not “signed” then maybe he is still holding out. After all Bobby Cremins did the shuffle when SC tried to hire him. Will money be a problem for the hire? Maybe (and it should if the university’s priorities are reasonable) but I think there are some good choices out there (Gregg Marshall cough cough).
Obviously Radadkovich is not going to be truthful about how this stuff works – really he has done a nice job keeping the search under wraps.
GTSux
March 28th, 2011
7:58 am
Hey “Hoopster”,
Since you seem to know so much, why don’t you tell us what is going
on with GT athletic department? We are all anxiously awaiting to hear you
enlighten us with your wisdom
Megan
March 28th, 2011
8:26 am
I love all the “Tech never made an offer” arguments! Jeff is absolutely right in that no offer will be extended unless the school knows it will be accepted. Have any of you ever interviewed for a job when you were highly sought-after and invaluable at your current job???? If the interview doesn’t bring to the tables incentives or benefits more desirable than what you already have or what you hope to have, you pass on the job! It seems Chris Mooney did exactly this! Face it Georgia Tech, your basketball HC job is not as glorious as you seem to think! Tight on funds, fair-weather fan base, poor alumni donations, having to play games next year at off-campus venues, having an ACC schedule yet not a perennial contender are pretty good reasons to pass on a job. As for being located in Atlanta, a hotbed of recruiting? Only half of Tech’s team is usually from Georgia and not necessarily metro Atlanta. Too many other schools with more storied traditions are able to come in and snatch away the top talent (i.e. Duke, North Carolina, Florida, Kentucky, Alabama, etc…)
UD Flyer Fan
March 28th, 2011
8:46 am
Congrats GT you are getting our coach….Brian Gregory…formal announcement this afternoon. He has done a great job here…not surprised he is moving on though. Not sure what that means for the Dayton program.
Brian Gregory will have to create own excitement for Tech | Jeff Schultz
March 28th, 2011
8:47 am
[...] Shaka Smart, Chris Mooney – and certainly the sudden king of the hill, Brad Stevens — probably would have gotten more people excited. But that doesn’t mean Gregory can’t win everybody over. [...]
TomB
March 28th, 2011
9:57 am
Ok Megan; Hewitt was or was not offered the job at St. Johns last year?….. Give me a break all you let me tell you how its done people.
K
March 28th, 2011
10:05 am
I find it funny that in the article is states that tech basketball should be top five in the acc every year. And us dawg football fans are the ones delusional to think that we are an elite team in the sec.
Hoopster
March 28th, 2011
3:57 pm
To take it a step further, how is it a whiff if you never even interviewed a guy?
old school
March 31st, 2011
1:58 pm
Radakovich is mediocre at best when it comes to assessing coaching talent. One has to look no further than his choices of Paul Johnson in Football. One would question if he will ever be able to replicate his early success with his offense. The softball program has major issues he refuses to address after rewarding her with a long term contract after one successful season of which she took all the credit. Watch when the real story comes about about her off field issues and player issues. Only time will tell on his most recent basketball hire, I doubt he will have the ability to fill he seats in the next 2-3 years unless he recruits a different type of player. These run and gun offenses are not sustainable in the ACC or any other major conference around the country.