How Hewitt can win back Tech fans – and win games, too
Yes! There's still a chance for Paul Hewitt to win friends and influence people. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Paul Hewitt is still Georgia Tech’s coach. At issue is whether Hewitt can again be the people’s choice. His dialogue with St. John’s extended hope to many disgruntled Tech fans — and there are many disgruntled Tech fans — that they might not have to witness the same underperformance next season. Those folks are now in a curious position: They’re sorry their coach is still their coach.
The onus is now on Hewitt to win back his constituency. For that to happen, these steps need to be taken:
Stop the excuses: Hewitt often acts as if circumstances are beyond his control. He’s paid to control circumstances. If somebody gets hurt, coach up the next guy on the bench. If a talented player leaves after a year, find someone to replace him. If your guards can’t feed the post, teach them how. Tech people no longer want to hear about point guard Austin Jackson choosing the Yankees and baseball over playing for the Jackets — that happened in 2005, but Hewitt brought it up just last week — or about your team being “too young” or “snakebit.” They just want results.
Shore up his staff: Is it only coincidence that the Jackets are 81-78 since assistant Cliff Warren left to coach Jacksonville after the 2004-2005 season? (Fellow Tech assistant Dean Keener departed for James Madison a year earlier.) Current assistants Peter Zaharis and John O’Connor came to Tech not as coaches but as directors of basketball operations. Both have known Hewitt from his days at Villanova. Former Tech player Darryl LaBarrie was hired as an assistant last summer after stints at Campbell and East Carolina. Put simply, there’s a need for stronger voices and new ideas on the bench.
Coach offense as hard as he does defense: With few exceptions, all Hewitt’s players have defended at a high level. His offense has functioned less well. Too often Tech doesn’t seem to know what it should be doing. Chris Bosh averaged only 9.7 shots his season as a Jacket; seven years later, Derrick Favors averaged 8.1 shots. If you’re going to recruit one-and-done talents, you’d better figure out a way to get them the ball. A creative assistant with an offensive background would be most welcome here.
Reach out to fans and alums: Hewitt doesn’t appear to have any idea how unpopular he has become. (His stock response is something along the lines of, “Everyone always tells me we’re doing great when they see me in the airport.”) But Tech hasn’t done great, or even all that good, for five years now. Hewitt needs to cultivate his base — as opposed to challenging it via Twitter — through brunches or dinners or fan-appreciation outings. He can be charming and persuasive. He needs to be both now.
Offer to renegotiate his golden contract: It’s hard to ask anyone to put guaranteed money at risk, but this would do wonders for Hewitt’s image. Too many people have come to believe Hewitt is still coaching Tech only because the athletic association can’t afford to pay him $7.1 million to go away. Hewitt should go to Dan Radakovich and offer to relieve some of the financial burden. He should say, “I’ll waive the perpetual rollover if you’ll give me a five-year deal worth $8.75 million.” That would offer Hewitt a nice salary bump — from $1.375 million per season to $1.75 million — but would remove the most oppressive aspect of his never-ending deal. And it would earn him a mint’s worth of good will.
Win more games: It sounds simplistic, but it’s a time-honored panacea. Win big and people like you. Win big and we in the media sing your praises. Nobody complained about Hewitt’s offensive sets or the new contract Dave Braine handed him in 2004. Nobody was hoping he’d leave for St. John’s back then. Indeed, Tech fans were terrified he wouldn’t stay.
Six years have passed, and there’s no way for Hewitt ever to be as beloved as he was then, but he can reclaim some of those folks who’ve grown disenchanted. He can gripe less. And win more.
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623 comments Add your comment
Jackets2010
March 25th, 2010
4:50 pm
The contract is an irritant to many and Mark’s suggestion is a good one whether feasible or not.
grumpy
March 25th, 2010
4:51 pm
Enter your comments here
WWW
March 25th, 2010
4:52 pm
The only thing he can do to satisfy most Tech fans is leave. If he hadn’t interviewed with SJ and basically made it known he wanted out, then people would have still been disgusted, but no more so than usual. Now….Now he has done it. All those people who wanted him gone like myself were thinking “Thank God and Greyhound.” Now……I’ll honestly be surprised if anyone even shows up to throw rotten tomatoes at the guy.
Oue program just got set back to the years before Cremmins came along. BTW Mark, You’re spot on with one part of that suggestion list….he needs to rework that contract, because everyone knows that is the only reason he is coming back. He knows if he actually has to prove himself to keep a job, he won’t be up to the task and he’ll be out of the game for good. As is, he knows Tech can’t afford his buyout, and he’ll continue to bend us over a barrel as long as he’s here.
AE 87
March 25th, 2010
4:52 pm
The first identified problem of excuses and the later identified habit of thinking that people who will talk to him in the airport are representative of the fan base mean that the rest won’t happen.
He should look at the film of his team running his Junior-high inbounds play and realize that his coaching needs to improve.
Jackets2010
March 25th, 2010
4:52 pm
No Tom I believe Cremins has flopped in the Dance exactly like Hewitt. I recall greater or equal to ugliness to force him out.
Maybe you’ve forgotten or weren’t born then.
OSU Buckeye
March 25th, 2010
4:53 pm
Come on Bradley don’t any original thoughts float around in your head. You’ve just stated some pretty vague stuff here. How do you know he doesn’t coach offense as hard as he does defense? When was the last time you were at a practice? Would you be willing to renegotiate with the AJC if I suggested it would help your readership? The only thing that you ‘may’ have a point about is getting some better help on his staff, but even then you would have to be at practice to really see what they contribute. You’re article could have been one sentence. Just win more games. That’s all he needs to do. The AJC should ask for some of your paycheck back for this article.
F-105 Thunderchief
March 25th, 2010
4:53 pm
All that’s well, Mark. And all that’s good, too. But, if he were that person, he would’ve been him already, and that stuff would have happened. He’s not a good coach and he’s got a tin ear on PR. The guy is a great recruiter, who has done exactly not-jack with those players. This escape was his chance. This will not end well, because he won’t let it. This was a circumstance he could control … and he didn’t. Again.
NCR
March 25th, 2010
4:53 pm
Let’s get real. How is he going to patch things up? Make things better? All the hocus-pocus in the world isn’t going to make up for lack of results. His 2 best basketball players are leaving for the NBA. Not sure the bench can even cover 1/2 of that production.
Hewitt had a golden opportunity to start FRESH (and Tech too). Now, instead of getting a hero’s welcome back home in NY, he’s going to try to convert *skeptics*. Do you know how hard it is to convert *skeptics*?
Another example of Hewitt making a poor coaching decision. My prediction is that after next season’s sub-500 record (total record, I’m not even talking ACC here), the Tech administration will have had enough, swallow their pride, and pay him the $7milliion to get out of town.
All this is doing, is delaying the inevitable.
Technophobia
March 25th, 2010
4:56 pm
Good article Mark and I agree wholeheartedly but did you realize you divulged your secret desire to be an AD?
Joe
March 25th, 2010
4:56 pm
One ACC season above .500 in the last 10 years. Finding out CPH was staying was like a punch in the gut for this Tech alum.
James
March 25th, 2010
4:56 pm
I actually think the contract renegotiation is an excellent idea. If Tech is bad as expected next year and Hewitt has the same contract, the AD will have to bite the bullet and fire Hewitt, leaving Hewitt with the big buyout. If, however, Hewitt did have a new deal along the lines as Bradley suggests, the buyout if Hewitt was fired next year would actually be higher, meaning Hewitt would be better off financially under the new deal. Moreover, since that odious rollover provision would be gone, the AD would not necessarily be under the same pressure to go ahead and bite the bullet when GT has a bad year next year. He could give Hewitt another year to turn things around, knowing that the buyout gets lower over time.
The bottom line is this: if that contract is in effect a year from now, Hewitt is going to be fired next year absent some extraordinary performance that seems very doubtful at this point.
WonderDawg
March 25th, 2010
4:56 pm
Hewitt ain’t gonna listen to you Mark, but you’re right. His ego won’t let him realize the majority of his fans in this state are UGA fans. I love him. Just saying …
RAMBLE ON!!!
March 25th, 2010
4:56 pm
Paul Hewitt is like King Obama.
He just wants to spread the wins around. He’s so noble like that.
All hail the King Obama.
WonderDawg
March 25th, 2010
4:57 pm
Yes we can! Yes we can! etc, etc…
GTPhenom
March 25th, 2010
4:57 pm
First of all, BO, you are freaking crazy. There are about 50 things Hewitt could be doing to make things better. As far as the article, Bradley, you were spot on yet again. Absolutely agree with you 110%. My biggest issue is that through these things, he ostrasizes the fans of the program through his actions. Believe me, I really, really want to see GT successful. The problem is, I don’t know that anything Hewitt does will be enough to save the program at this point. Things are going in a downward spiral. And, as you said Mark, fans like me that were truly hopeful that we were rid of him this week just had all the air let out of our tires. Heck, for me, renegotiating his contract would be the biggest way to get some of my support back. Make him prove he is a worthy coach, instead of relying on the contract to keep him there forever. I’ll be honest, maybe if he can change all of these things, I might be willing to return to being a season ticket holder. If not, then I may not even watch the games on TV. It was that painful this year, trying to deal with a team as schizo as ours . . .
Jackets2010
March 25th, 2010
4:57 pm
Price, Salley, Hammond, Darymple and Ferrell: best starting 5 in America.
And fans who paid for season tickets, ACC tickets, Big Dance tickets (quite an investment) just to be beat by a better game day coach were numb for awhile and then very pissed at Cremins.
BTW I was a Cremins homer then too.
TomB
March 25th, 2010
4:57 pm
Jackets2010: How can you compare the two? How does three sweet sixteen, an elite eight, and a final four appearance constitute a flop? Hewitt in ten years has never reached a sweet sixteen outside the final four run in 2004. Only one is a flop.
Small Johnson
March 25th, 2010
4:59 pm
Mark Bradley
You make great points
Like if players leave get someone off the bench
Reach out to fans and alums
Win more games
Stop the excuses
Here is my observation
Hewitt can go to his bench but his bench wont be enough due to lack of talent not wanting to play for poorly run college team
Reach out to fans and alums. Great idea if he can locate them. My suggestion would be to put a billboard right there on the interstate next to the stadium to see if at least some of the half a million cars that pass by might net you a Tech that shows up
Win more games Well we know that won’t happen at a program like TECH
Stop the Excuses. Well in his defense if I had such talent and fan support like Tech does, I would have more excuses than Hewitt does. Lets give him some praise that he doesn’t complain enough as he should!!!
NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET
March 25th, 2010
4:59 pm
you would think Mark 6 years removed now from 2004’s success, that CPH would have already approaced DRAD especially after 2-14 in 2008/09. And especially since there are few who think CPH is so wonderful. Well, where is Mr. Wonderful now? I promise you he is not in DRAD’s office rengotiating anything.
I want to see DRAD overriding some decisions and put some former players on as assistants. To teach point guard skills, raise academics, free throw stats, and inbound passing for starters. Then and only then would I accept this debacle. Otherwise I’m done, I was so over this mess a year ago.
BTW, why don’t you Mark get Matt Causey’s intake. He is on Facebook and easy to find. He was a spark that was never utilized properly and that was the truth.
Born2Buzz
March 25th, 2010
4:59 pm
I would hope that DRad has or is having a conversation with Paul saying these exact things.
Yea, my main gripe is the excuses. Own up to your shortcomings like a man. Admit when you haven’t done the job the I’m sure you feel you should do. Doesn’t every coach want his team to win every game? CPH could take a lesson from CPJ on this matter.
jackets77
March 25th, 2010
5:00 pm
everything is on point in this column except for the renegotiating his contract…thats just crazy and would never happen. Nobody in their right minds would do that..
Mediocrity Lives on the Flats
March 25th, 2010
5:00 pm
I believe he is closing in on the record for most conference game losses. Most coaches get canned before they get close. So he has that going for him.
franc
March 25th, 2010
5:01 pm
pws – dean is that you?
George P
March 25th, 2010
5:02 pm
I think the contract re-write hits it on the head. It’s not that I don’t think he’s lazy or is just bad, but he does seem to be in denial about how grumpy the fans are and how embarrassed we are to waste the talent he brought in. If he showed he was invested in Tech, we’d show him the love he wants.
Also, I’m kind of sick of him badgering the media when it’s critical of him. If the fans disagre with what they read or hear, we’ll tell the press to shut up ourselves, no offense Mark. Don’t want him to act like Meyer (although I did enjoy the time he called in on 790 to defend his players in 2003)
FL Jacket
March 25th, 2010
5:02 pm
Tale of Woe – get your facts straight. This years team roster has two kids from the northeast, and one of them, Sheehan, is rarely used. Paul does a great job of recruiting the state of Georgia, and has the contacts up north to recruit the kids he thinks can help the program. Bobby Cremins had the same talents when he was here. These are essential to running a division 1 program.
RAMBLE ON!!!
March 25th, 2010
5:03 pm
Jackets2010, put the pipe down for crying out loud.
AE 87
March 25th, 2010
5:03 pm
Jackets2010, you’re working too hard to sound old. Nobody was upset with Cremins during those years. I was at Tech then. If you knew what GT basketball was like before Cremins or GT football right before Curry, you would know why those coaches weren’t liable to the same critiques.
Mark Bradley
March 25th, 2010
5:04 pm
No offense taken, George P.
Small Johnson
March 25th, 2010
5:05 pm
Tech must like their coaches to be named Paul
I guess they realize they need a “PAUL BUNYAN” to rebuild 100 years of mediocrity and crap.
Good thinking Techies only one problem PAUL BUNYAN is a TALL TALE
BLAH HAHA HA HA HAA HA AHA HA HAHA
ToeMeetsLeather
March 25th, 2010
5:05 pm
We need to finish somewhere between 2nd and 6th every year, and win the conference every once in a while. And NEVER finish behind the likes of Va Tech and Clemson. Hewitt needs to make that happen to get the fans back in his “court”. (Oh, and recruit a “honky” every once in a while.)
Billy Howard
March 25th, 2010
5:06 pm
Jackets2010:
The contract maybe an irritant, but you can’t ask a man to take less money. He earned that contract with hard work and building a strong reputation in coaching community. He might not be living up to the contract, but TECH and TECH fans believed in him enough to offer that contract and they should stick to it.
People irritate me these days. What ever happened to a deal is a deal. It seems like everyone tries to take things back these days if it doesn’t work out for them. If you bought a car and you didn’t like it as much as you thought you would; would you go back to the dealership and tell him that the car is worth a little less money that you thought it was and you would like to get a little money back?
Jacket Fan
March 25th, 2010
5:08 pm
Hewitt wanted to leave but couldnt get the wife back to NY. That $7.1MM is community property.
He doesnt want to be here and we dont want him here. Recipe for total collapse of the program. GTAA isnt getting any more $$ from me. The home football schedule in 2010 is not worth it and the BB program is a joke.
GTPhenom
March 25th, 2010
5:09 pm
And yet, Billy, when production doesn’t meet the level that we hired him for, does that constitute him being worthy of his contract? Not everyone was sold on Hewitt when he came, even in his good run.
critic
March 25th, 2010
5:10 pm
Too late, screw him.
Drez
March 25th, 2010
5:11 pm
It’s all your fault Mark Bradley. When you wrote an article recently saying Hewitt should take the St. John’s job, I knew he was going to stay just to spite you. Retract that article and say that Hewitt should stay at Tech, and just maybe he’ll leave to spite you.
Dr. Phil
March 25th, 2010
5:12 pm
Unfortunately this resembles a married couple that stays together for the kids or because they can’t afford to split. And things rarely get better. Hopefully this will be the exception, but I think an already troubled relationship will only grow more dysfunctional.
Jackets2010
March 25th, 2010
5:13 pm
Tom
I was a Cremins homer.
Angry Tech folks ran him off and it was UGLY.
Where were you and all his fans then when he needed you?
trailort
March 25th, 2010
5:13 pm
He can’t coach and he’s not going to learn. He has to go. Dang, I thought we were rid of him. Hewitt, WE DO NOT WANT YOU HERE! GO SOMEWHERE, ANYWHERE BUT TECH!
Mark Bradley
March 25th, 2010
5:15 pm
Drez, pretty much everything is all my fault.
Small Johnson
March 25th, 2010
5:15 pm
Cmon
TECH
You mean to tell me if you were paid good and never had to worry about being fired you would want to leave.
Lets be realistic now
americus jacket
March 25th, 2010
5:16 pm
Oh yeah, I wouldn’t give up money either in the contract unless I wanted to something like Bobby Cremins did and donate it to the University. The fact that the GTAA allowed it is a problem to me, but I certainly don’t blame Hewitt.
And yes, I think I do remember something about Smith saying they quit in some games. Let me re-state: When I watch them play, they seem to always be playing hard. When a coach or player, after a loss, says, “we just gave up,” is not really an admission that they gave up. What do you want him to say when he is saying they should have won? And sure, I remember a game against Duke a few years ago where they just hit every shot imaginable, got ever call, etc. Or the football game in Miami this last year. Or many other games where a team thinks they have a chance and get dominated. I’ve never seen any coach be able to get the most out of a team when they are just demorilized. I think you have to wait until the next one to see how they rebound.
Jackets2010
March 25th, 2010
5:16 pm
Billy
My intent is similar to Mark’s in trying to be a peacemaker.
Your point is valid about the contract.
But as long as it is there, some will believe it is the only thing keeping him in the job.
Renegotiating is his call and he probably won’t.
RomeDawg
March 25th, 2010
5:18 pm
As a life long Dawg fan, I couldn’t be any happier for Tech getting to keep their coach! He maybe the worst coach in the ACC or SEC?
Small Johnson
March 25th, 2010
5:18 pm
Mark
Tommorow lets write on the positives of the Ga Tech program if there are any
Jackets2010
March 25th, 2010
5:19 pm
Mark you’ve done very good writing this week and might even be qualified for a job as a diplomat.
Billy Howard
March 25th, 2010
5:19 pm
GTPhenom:
There are many times that someone doesn’t live up to their contracts. It happens all the time every single day, but at the end of the day TECH got what they wanted and they should pay the man what he is owed. How can you fault him for getting as much money as possible and signing the best possible contract for him and his family???
Being worthy of the contract has nothing to do with reality. The reality is that they gave him that contract (worthy or not) and they should pay him according to the contract and no one should complain or tell him to renegotiate.
Was Barry Zito worthy of his 7 Year $129 million dollar contract to the San Fran Giants? Many say no he isn’t, but do you hear anyone complaining about his deal and telling him that he should take less money??? NOPE!
Jackets2010
March 25th, 2010
5:22 pm
AE87
Dude I not trying to argue all night but Cremins was forced out.
It was ugly.
Mark Bradley
March 25th, 2010
5:22 pm
I’m famous for my diplomacy, Jackets2010.
reebok
March 25th, 2010
5:22 pm
“Coach” Hewitt is killing Tech’s basketball program. He has a losing record in the ACC and a losing record against what SHOULD BE an inferior Georgia program. He’s going to be gone after next season for sure, after missing the NCAA completely, but it’s one more season wasted.
GO TECH 64
March 25th, 2010
5:23 pm
He ask his players if they would give up their cell phones and then had to ask his wife if they could move. Does or has he ever made a decision on his own?