AD Radakovich leaves, and a wobbly Tech takes another hit
Hat's all, folks. AD Dan Radakovich is a Georgia Tech man no longer. (AJC file photo)
In the grand scheme, this might turn out to be good for Georgia Tech. Who among us can know the future? But in the here and now of a football season gone unbelievably sour, seeing Tech’s athletic director hop in a car and motor 125 miles up I-85 to take the same job at a conference rival looks really, really bad. It looks as if Dan Radakovich is ducking out on a program in disarray.
For better or worse, most athletic programs go as football goes. The best move Radakovich made at Tech, or so it seemed, was to hire Paul Johnson to coach football. Now we’ve been given cause to wonder if Johnson’s success was but a two-year blip. Picked to finish second in the ACC Coastal Division, the Jackets dumped their defensive coordinator in mid-season and just lost to BYU – that’s three home losses this year, two against non-BCS conference schools – to fall to 3-5. And now the man who hired Johnson works at Clemson, of all places.
Those who know Radakovich always believed that when he left – and those folks were never under any illusion that Tech would be the final stop for someone so ambitious – it would be for a big-time SEC school. Given that Clemson has more fans and a much bigger stadium than Tech, this isn’t what you’d consider a lateral move. Still, it’s close enough to make Tech folks wonder where their beloved Institute ranks in the firmament of college athletics.
Only three years ago, Tech beat Clemson to win the ACC championship. That sweet victory was later vacated due largely to Radakovich’s bungling of an NCAA investigation involving $312 of clothing. The subsequent four-year probationary term was the first indication that this AD, who had been seen in this and other sectors as a deft administrator, might not have been quite so savvy.
And now, even as he heads up the road to Death Valley, we have further cause to wonder. Tech is set to open its refurbished basketball arena, the McCamish Pavilion, and that renovation was championed by Radakovich. But there’s no guarantee Brian Gregory, the coach Radakovich hired after finding the money to buy out Paul Hewitt, will win big enough to fill the new place. (Season-ticket sales for Season 1 in McCamish have been slow, as you’d expect coming off an 11-20 season.)
Facility-wise, Radakovich did well for Tech: He got a lot of stuff built. He also moved to fire Hewitt and Chan Gailey, coaches who’d won but who’d left their constituency wanting and expecting more. But the longer it takes Gregory to win and the longer it takes Johnson to correct all that has gone wrong in his program, the more it will reflect on the AD who just split for Death Valley.
A friend of Radakovich’s suggests his leaving is “a natural progression” – that Radakovich felt he’d done as much as he could do at Tech. But with football in decline and men’s basketball in rebuilding mode, the eyeball diagnosis is of an athletic program on wobbly legs. There’s no buzz, pun intended, around Tech sports, no sense that this always-difficult sell in a crowded metropolitan market is carving out a deeper niche. On the contrary, the Tech footprint keeps shrinking.
Which brings us to this: The next AD needs to be more a promoter than a money man. (Radakovich was the latter, not the former.) The next AD must find a way, assuming one exists, to make Tech more appealing to both moneyed alums and Atlantans who might never have taken a class at the Institute.
This is an awfully big city. Surely some folks out there might be willing to spend a bit of disposable income on a college football or basketball game if they felt it was worth their investment. Gregory has become an ardent and upbeat salesman for his program, but Johnson isn’t what you’d call a PR ace. (Neither were Gailey and Hewitt.) Somebody needs to take this athletic department and broaden the narrowing brand.
Which brings us to Wayne Hogan: He was Radakovich’s deputy, his eyes and ears, and he’s surely worth consideration as Radakovich’s successor. Hogan was the PR man at Florida State when the Seminoles and Bobby Bowden rose to national prominence in a famously amiable way, and he was the AD at Montana for nearly a decade. Hogan isn’t a numbers-cruncher, but surely the Institute – which is, after all, a school steeped in math — could find enough of those. What Tech needs more in its next athletic director is someone with a feel for the product and how best to market it.
Which brings us back to football: Johnson’s stylized offense wasn’t an easy sell even when his teams were winning, and it will become a massive impediment if Tech continues to lose. The Jackets’ recruiting under Johnson has been tepid at best, but it isn’t in Johnson’s nature to do things any way but his. The biggest move Radakovich made was hiring this football coach. The biggest decision the next AD could face is what to do about this football coach.
By Mark Bradley
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274 comments Add your comment
Weyman C. Wannamaker Jr. (A Great American)
October 29th, 2012
1:08 pm
First?!
Weyman C. Wannamaker Jr. (A Great American)
October 29th, 2012
1:09 pm
Not a good few days for Ga Tech. Good start to the week for me.
Radakovich
October 29th, 2012
1:15 pm
Time to get out of this dump and not letting the screen door hit me in the rear.
This place is going down hill. I need to get somewhere decent.
You are welcome for Paul Johnson and hey, only three more years of NCAA probation.
See you, suckers.
Technically Correct
October 29th, 2012
1:18 pm
Nailed it!
AD Radakovich leaves, and Georgia Tech takes another hit – Georgia – Dawg News
October 29th, 2012
1:20 pm
[...] more here: AD Radakovich leaves, and Georgia Tech takes another hit ← Back to Home Tags: dan, hire, hired, jackets, johnson, man, radakovich, season, [...]
yabbo dabba doo
October 29th, 2012
1:24 pm
damon evans may be interested
zgoldatl
October 29th, 2012
1:25 pm
This sucks
Outside Observer
October 29th, 2012
1:27 pm
Wayne Hogan is certainly an energetic individual. He is very passionate about what he does, and I think he would make a fine athletic director, if for nothing else his excitement about the program.
Mark Bradley
October 29th, 2012
1:29 pm
Kudos, WCW
Hayseed Dixie
October 29th, 2012
1:29 pm
Hey Dawg Trolls-
Remember before you post- our former AD is headed up the road in a Mercedes to a probably better paying job.
He is NOT handcuffed in the back of black-and-white with his mistress headed to the county drunk tank.
How soon you classy guys forget.
SEC
October 29th, 2012
1:30 pm
Clemson counts as an SEC school. They are arguably more SEC than half of that conference.
Atlanta is Corrupt
October 29th, 2012
1:34 pm
Time to give up football, level the stadium, build a parking deck, reduce student fees, and support only intramural sports! Tell the NCAA to take a hike, we quit!
Aaron
October 29th, 2012
1:34 pm
NEVER EVER call Clemson an SEC school. That disrespects everyone in the SEC.
Steve
October 29th, 2012
1:34 pm
Hayseed Dixie needs a hug.
misterwax
October 29th, 2012
1:34 pm
sad state of affairs….and the folks who said paul Johnson won with Gailey’s recruits would be correct…letting the 2 OL grad seniors trnasfer to GSU was the first sign it was going to be screwed up for a while…. they needed that experience and they tossed it away.
Chris
October 29th, 2012
1:34 pm
Mark…Any other potential candidates? I agree with Hogan b/c of the PR factor you mentioned, but someone still has to have a hand in raking in $$$$ b/c the Pavilion didn’t come cheap. Add the renovations to other sports and people want to see their money is well invested for both the short and long term.
JB
October 29th, 2012
1:38 pm
Horse is out of barn with Johnson. Tech has seen as good as it’s going to get. Those stud skill players Gailey left and D1 defensive players are gone. I’ve watched “his ” players all the Tech people told us to wait for while panting to just watch and see…..Well, We’ve seen them. Who thinks next year is much better?
okiemon
October 29th, 2012
1:39 pm
Good column, Mark. Leaves me with the feeling that, as dark as it looks in Tech athletics right now, the dawn is coming. The smaller-money sports -golf, baseball, men’s and women’s basketball – are all in, or will soon be in, great shape. We just need to get the 500 lb gorilla turned around, and the right AD can do that.
rxdawg79
October 29th, 2012
1:40 pm
@Hayseed: Why would a UGA fan be the least bit upset that your now ex-AD is gone? We’d prefer that he stay on and hire more folks like CPJ. Maybe he’ll do to Clemson what he’s done to GT.
Chris
October 29th, 2012
1:41 pm
At the beginning of the season I sent an email to Radakovich. In a nutshell, Tech has done a lousy job branding itself to the Atlanta market. It raised it’s prices on season tickets, and it’s hurting attendance. They are trying to bleed as much as they can from the loyal supporters. I have been a season ticket holder for years. My kids are now of the age where we could enjoy bringing them to the games. The required “donations” added to the cost of ticket face value makes buying season tickets for a family of 4 difficult.
My suggestion was to drop the mandatory donation, and ask your current season ticket holders if that would entice them to buy more tickets. I know I would purchase 3 more season tickets next year if that were to happen. If you got 15% of the current season ticket holders to purchase 2 more season tickets, it would equate to almost 4,000 tickets purchased. This is a good start to building attendance back up. To do this would be to take a long approach rather than a short one.
Marketing this approach would be advantageous for Tech. You could market Tech as THE place to bring a family to a game. Centralize the marketing around this one idea. There are millions of people in and around Atlanta who are perfect targets for this approach.
Of course this approach was rejected in their email response……”we need the money for facilities blah,blah,blah….”
Tech is a unique institution, and needs a unique approach. You want to bring more sidewalk fans? Make it reasonable for a family to purchase season tickets and market the hell out of it!
Fact check
October 29th, 2012
1:42 pm
Uh, Damon Evans self-destruction was one of the luckiest things to happen FOR (not to) UGA in years. He lost a job for which he was egregiously over-employed. Radakovich is eager to leave, Evans left kicking and crying.
Oh, another difference….yes, Evans embarrassed UGA. TECH is being humiliated…again.
Option Bee
October 29th, 2012
1:43 pm
God help us if Tech hires Wayne Hogan. Go outside, and get new blood. Someone who can promote and knows how to hire good successful coaches and staff! We have had two AD’s in a row who shown fiscal irresponsability, spending Tech into serious debt and drafting absurd long term coaching contracts. Now we will find out if Bud is a worthy president, or a clone of our former President Wayne Clutz…who also bailed out for retirement in Washington. Wayne approved the contracts that almost broke Tech’s bank… Clean house!!! Get the stink off the program.
Bradleyisalwayswrong
October 29th, 2012
1:43 pm
So, big time reporter, did you see this coming? No? Why not? You seem to be an expert on everything and yet, on this one you had no inkling.
Keith Strawn
October 29th, 2012
1:46 pm
Mark, Well done, as always.
You hit the nail on the head in regards to Tech not being a final destination for someone as ambitious as Radakovich. Tech just doesn’t have the juice anymore to keep upwardly mobile football talent. And, let’s be honest, building and maintaining the football program is still Job #1 at Tech. Consider Tech’s last three football coaches with the greatest amount of success — Bill Curry, Bobby Ross, and George O’Leary. They all left Tech for better jobs. Long gone are the days at which Tech will be able to be anything like a preeminent football program.
There was a time when Tech was the school doing the hiring-away. Back in the early 1970s, Tech was able to coax up-and-coming coaching commodity Pepper Rodgers away from UCLA. But that was just a few years after the retirement of Bobby Dodd, and Tech had a much different place in the world of college football.
JB
October 29th, 2012
1:46 pm
Hire the AD from Vandy……….whoops, sorry, they ( SEC school) closed down their athletic administration dept.
JB
October 29th, 2012
1:47 pm
Tech should look to make someone a name, not hire one.
GFY
October 29th, 2012
1:48 pm
What about that rather large endowment the Institute has at its disposal? I hear about it quite a bit from Tech graduates. Can that be accessed for a decent AD & football coach?
JB
October 29th, 2012
1:48 pm
I didn’t know D’rad knew how to sneak bags of money to prospects. Welcome to Clemson anyway.
Mike S.
October 29th, 2012
1:49 pm
I think Option Bee is correct. The program needs a new start, not a promotion from within. Bring someone fresh in to evaluate things and determine what needs to be done going forward. Johnson is running out of excuses. He fired Groh, and the D got worked by a not so good BYU offense. He put Vad Lee in the game during the 3rd quarter, and managed only a FG for the rest of the game. Washington and Al Groh are not the problems with the football team.
Another 1 win season
October 29th, 2012
1:50 pm
Please hire Bill Curry…considering he is one of the worst coaches of all-time (and the worst announcer), I am sure the fact he is one of the biggest charlatans of all-time would make him wonderful AD.
Houlihan McGee
October 29th, 2012
1:51 pm
“that’s three home losses this year, two against non-BCS conference schools”
MB, you forget that BYU is a respectable program, and has been for decades. If Tech had lost to Notre Dame instead of BYU, would you refer to the Irish as a “non-BCS” school? It is like you try to find the most negative slant possible. Just losing to MTSU, we already know things are bad.
GFY
October 29th, 2012
1:52 pm
Market GT to someone other than alumni? That’s heresy! Just ask all the self-aggrandizing bloggers how that would allow them to use the rationalization of “Well you only fill the stands with people who never attended UGA”.
KB
October 29th, 2012
1:52 pm
As a Tech grad who also has ties to UGA through family, I have to say I have watched both programs for over 35 years. Both have had major ups and downs, but Tech’s ups are never as high and their downs are always lower than UGA’s. We just don’t have the money or play in a conference to compete on the same level. Not to say we can’t win a game against them now and then, but they will reach 100 wins against us before we reach 60 .
We can’t afford to fire Johnson now, and he needs to go. So, we will suffer through a couple more seasons with him because no one is going to offer to take him off our hands. Ha. Then we will fire him with a lower buyout and hire a coach who runs a pro-style or spread offense. But we will not have the athletes to compete with it for 3 years because Johnson has recruited FCS type athletes. So, the next 4 years for Tech look pretty mediocre to bad as far as Ws and Ls go, but a new coach will bring some excitement even if his first year or two are struggles.
Such is the life of a Tech fan. If we do get a great coach, we will keep him for 5 years tops, then he will be hired away by a big-money school because we can’t afford to match the salary. Sigh. Meanwhile, we get to watch Johnson walk out on the field after bad plays screaming at his players, “What the f*** was that?!?” on camera. Nice. Good riddance, Radakovich, and thanks for nothing.
brad
October 29th, 2012
1:52 pm
I heard that Bobby Quitrino is available.!!
Tech Legacy
October 29th, 2012
1:52 pm
I think this will eventually bode well for Tech assuming they find the right replacement. A “promoter” should build on Tech’s rich tradition rather than trying come up with cute ways to attract recruits and sidewalk alumni. For starters, they could get rid of things like the godawful football uniforms they’re wearing this year….
Jee S. You
October 29th, 2012
1:52 pm
“The next AD must find a way, assuming one exists, to make Tech more appealing to both moneyed alums and Atlantans who might never have taken a class at the Institute.” Yeah….it doesn’t exist – and the alums like it that way. You are either a “Tech man” or a “sidewalk fan”, and the only way to become the former is a Tech degree. They are elitist and they like it that way, so leave them to it. Atlanta CFB fans will have a viable option that they have more in common with very soon.
JB
October 29th, 2012
1:53 pm
Lot’s and lot’s of good #2 guys all over the country. Look at McGarity from Florida that Georgia brought home. Look for some sharp 50 year old who has been the right hand man for a good AD for 4-8 years. Tons out there.
Buzzter
October 29th, 2012
1:53 pm
Mark Bradley — Look into how Wayne Hogan’s last job as an AD ended and then tell us if you still think he would be good choice as the AD at any school, much less Georgia Tech..
GTracy
October 29th, 2012
1:55 pm
Chris, I couldn’t agree more! The Tech fund has done nothing but force loyal fans to may more money. I had 4 tickets when DRad came in. We dropped to 3. Then I changed sections so I would pay less and actually dropped to 1 ticket. He lost 3 tickets from loyal fans because frankly, we couldn’t afford it and the product on the field wasn’t worth that price. DRad was a horrible promoter of GT Athletics and only cared about the money. I’m glad he’s finally out the door!
When it comes down to it, let’s call a spade a spade. He’s a scumbag who hightailed it to our biggest conference rival. He put our program on probation and had our ACC Championship revoked on his watch. That’s just pathetic if you ask me.
Now he’s left us with a crumbling football program and a coach that he hired who can’t recruit worth anything. He’s shrunk our program and left it in disarray. Now we can’t fire his coach because of the ridiculous contract extension he gave him. And what’s worse is that he’ll never have to answer to any of it because he went running with his tail between his legs.
Good riddance! You are the worst thing that ever happened to GT Athletics! Maybe we can get someone who actually cares about our program and our fanbase! What an arrogant SOB!
Bobby Jones
October 29th, 2012
1:55 pm
Don’t know if he would have any interest but Bobby Cremins would be a great choice in my Humble Opinion. I would not expect Coach Johnson to get let go anytime soon, just too much money for a buy out and who are we gonna get who is better that wants the job ?? His problems are not his scheme, its his lack of recruiting. To be sucessfull at TECH you better be a whiz bang of a recruiter
Tech Legacy
October 29th, 2012
1:56 pm
And Johnson will live and die on recruiting which apparently he doesn’t do well….
JB
October 29th, 2012
1:58 pm
KB, I have to agree with you about Johnson………How he represents Tech on game day leaves a little to be desired….Oh course when he was winning, lot’s of Tech folks like what they called then ” confidence” Johnson IS a good coach. He’s just missing athletes. He was left plenty, and did a good job with them. As Gaileys players left the program, so have the wins. From an outsider, it’s pretty easy to see.
RAMBLE ON!!!
October 29th, 2012
1:59 pm
Good article Mark, right on once again.
Looks like we are stuck with CPJ. Saturday was a pathetic excuse for a football game.
We need an Alum., John Dewberry?!?
Hamad Meander
October 29th, 2012
2:02 pm
Did it seem like he ran out of the building like it was on fire? Why the rush? To Clemson?
JB
October 29th, 2012
2:03 pm
Dewberry worth……….and making millions………Doubt he would so any interest. Plus, NO experience. I’m sure the day to day is a big job, not just hiring coach’s.
George Stein
October 29th, 2012
2:05 pm
If we come across as elitist, Jee S. You, it is only the natural result of comparing ourselves to people like you.
The talk of Tech not having funds is silly. Last I read, the endowment at Tech was twice the size of Georgia’s (note: if I’m wrong, please let me know). We have money; we elect to spend it differently.
KB
October 29th, 2012
2:05 pm
Johnson loathes recruiting because he can’t stand to hear rejection or the reasons for it. You offer 70-100 guys knowing that all but 20-25 of them will turn you down. Johnson is insulted by being turned down because kids don’t want to play in his offense. He gets mad at the guys who want to take other visits and will only sign those who commit to Tech and then turn off their recruiting. Well guess what, the elite athletes won’t do it his way. And so, here we are…getting hammered by MTSU and BYU at home.
La Baker
October 29th, 2012
2:10 pm
A change in football coaching staff is a must. Tech needs to
obsorb the cost and bring in a new head coach, new AD and get
the program turned around. The sooner the better.
JB
October 29th, 2012
2:10 pm
Johnson belongs in AA ball….but it only pays 250K…..Not 2 mil per.
KingBee
October 29th, 2012
2:12 pm
I would hire Bill Curry in a heartbeat.
Tigervich
October 29th, 2012
2:13 pm
Looks like Rad agrees with Braine.
Http
October 29th, 2012
2:15 pm
This is bad.
Always a Jacket
October 29th, 2012
2:16 pm
Great move for both GT and DRad.
DRad jumps ship when all his hiring decisions start to prove out as bad.
GT get opportunity to turn things around. Hopefully we will hire another Homer Rice, not Dave B.
The new AD has only one important role; hire the right FB coach and to a secondary extent; hire the right BB coach. No one cares about softball fields, indoor tennis facilities, new arenas, etc. It’s about winning FB games. Guess what? Bobby Dood Stadium will be full if we win!! The old AMC would be full if we win!! No one cares about fan night or better seats in the arena if you lose.
Good luck DRad. If DRad thinks life at Clemson is going to be easier, it is just one more bad choice. Instead of a few emails from tech fans after a MTSU loss, he will be getting thousands if Clemson doesnt win big enough.
George Stein
October 29th, 2012
2:17 pm
Interesting psychoanalysis, KB. Tell us more!
GTracy
October 29th, 2012
2:18 pm
Chris, I could not agree more! The Tech Fund has been nothing but horrible for GT. It has forced loyal fans to pay more money for tickets while keeping seats in the stadium empty. I started out with 4 before DRad got here. I dropped to three then moved sections and dropped to one ticket because we couldn’t afford it and the product on the field wasn’t worth it either.
I mean DRad is a pure money guy who never cared anything for GT’s program to begin with. Let’s call a spade a spade. He hightailed it out of here and went to our biggest conference rival. I mean what a jerk!
Now he has left our program in shambles. We can’t get out of CPJ’s contract because it’s too expensive. He put us on NCAA probation and had our ACC Championship revoked under his watch. He has turned this program in the wrong direction.
We need someone who cares about GT Athletics and not just the bottom line. He was a terrible promoter and marketer of our program. And the worst thing is, he will never have to answer to any of it!
Leaving us in the middle of a season that has gone downhill because the coach he hired can’t recruit anyone with talent. Good riddance. I hope he destroys Clemson’s program just like he did ours. I never liked him to begin with and I’m ready for a clean start.
Eddie
October 29th, 2012
2:19 pm
I’m surprised, Mark, on your steady support of PJ. For Georgia, you’ve put out strong and compelling argument on how the program was headed in the wrong direction the past few years. Yet, for PJ, you seem to have a blind spot. Actually, more of a school-girl like crush. Why? If he’s the ’smartest’ coach going as you’ve said, then why do ‘less’ coaches continue to beat his team/schemes? You are what you’re consistently able to do … and, with PJ, that is lose football games.
TDone
October 29th, 2012
2:20 pm
Every problem carries its own solution.
QB/DB
October 29th, 2012
2:21 pm
This is all CPJ fault! The downward spiral of GT football is CPJ fault. Fans booing TW is CPJ fault, he put that kid in wrath’s way by not giving othere QB candidates quality snaps. Atrocious recruiting is CPJ fault. Wasn’t he who told the Pro’s like Rivals, Scout and the Jamie Newberg’s of the world they didn’t know what they were looking at! He didn’t care about STARS. Well guess wjho has a DIVISION 2 team playing in the ACC? Who has one of the weakest nonn nrecruiting STAFF’s in bigtime football? Who hides behind excuses? I’m not trying to beat yup CPJ, it is just the truth! D Rad said when Chan was let go he wanted someone with passion and fire. He tried to hire Muschamp but the Tech crowd wouldn’t let him because of his DAWGS ties. He flirted with C. Strong but CPJ comes in here and gets Chan’s recruits and win and theg Gold colored glasses crowd believes all that smoke CPJ is b;lowing them. CPJ is a great Coach but he is his own worse enemy. Now the program is tumbling.
Reality
October 29th, 2012
2:24 pm
Give me a break. No doubt that Clemson has a bigger budget and can pay the man more. Why in the world is this some “black eye” for GA Tech?
If anything, I think this speaks more loudly about Clemson! Doesn’t this mean that they KNOW that GA Tech has good people and we do things right (they want to duplicate us)?
Bright Idea
October 29th, 2012
2:25 pm
Does Stanford have an AAD available? They are an “academic” school that does well in athletics.
Reality
October 29th, 2012
2:25 pm
The better question/concern is this…
Why does Clemson want GA Tech leaders? Are we doing the right things and have good people?
Big D
October 29th, 2012
2:27 pm
I would hire someone from UF, as Jeremy Foley is one of the best AD’s in the NCAA, as much as it pains me to write this. One of his assistants could be a good hire. And then reduce ticket prices so fans like me, with no connection YET to the school, could buy tickets and perhaps become a loyal fan.
collegeballfan
October 29th, 2012
2:27 pm
Good column Mark. There are several million people within an hour’s drive of Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Surely Tech can find a way to put 55,000 of those millions in seats in Dodd 6 or 7 times a year.
Tech needs to hire a salesman. Let Hogan, et al run the athletic department. Hire someone to sell the place.
Ted M
October 29th, 2012
2:29 pm
This may look bad but it probably is not really that bad.
I vote for Bruce Pearl after Gregory’s contract is up.
spotlessmcpartlandattacks
October 29th, 2012
2:29 pm
Tech Legacy says that Johnson will live or die based on his recruiting.
The truth is that, as a coach, Johnson has already died and Tech is stuck with his corpse for four more years. In the near future, all Tech games are going to look like the movie “Weekend at Bernie’s.”
mcp
Ted M
October 29th, 2012
2:30 pm
It is amazing Tech can’t sellout that puny stadium.
Burroughston Broch
October 29th, 2012
2:31 pm
@ Hayseed Dixie
I can confirm that Damon Evans believes he is now in a better place than UGA.
D Rad Is outta Here
October 29th, 2012
2:32 pm
Looks like the DUI lawyer has it all figured out. So where do Tech alums spend their money, George? DragonCon? Lego Land? LOL
Ted M
October 29th, 2012
2:32 pm
So what is the prognosis on the Jackets up coming basketball season?
Are they gonna be terrible? I really have no idea but suspect as much.
All I'm Saying Is....
October 29th, 2012
2:32 pm
“The next AD must find a way, assuming one exists, to make Tech more appealing to both moneyed alums and Atlantans who might never have taken a class at the Institute.”
Just win, baby.
Tell him all is forgiven for his Georgia State flirtation and hire Bill Curry as your next A.D. The current number two can run things while Bill goes around and reconnects alums to the school.
All I'm Saying Is....
October 29th, 2012
2:34 pm
And, by the way, there are 5 million residents of metro Atlanta…but you must win in order for them to care especially if you are a school like Georgia Tech
Ted M
October 29th, 2012
2:34 pm
“This is all CPJ fault! The downward spiral of GT football is CPJ fault.”
I concur!
AJ
October 29th, 2012
2:35 pm
Once again, Mark Bradley tells the truth about the situation.
GFY
October 29th, 2012
2:36 pm
Stanford doesn’t have a problem putting fans in the stands…..of course neither did GIT when they were winning. Win and the fans will come.
GTBob
October 29th, 2012
2:40 pm
That’s OK, at least Georgia lost……oh, wait…..heck, I just don’t know what to say?????
George Stein
October 29th, 2012
2:41 pm
I have no idea, because it isn’t my business.
We have 63,000 living alumni in the state, Ted M. For us to fill the stadium, we would need 87% to show up on a given Saturday. As a point of comparison, UGA has about 26,000 undergraduates and a 92,000 seat stadium. We have about 13,000 undergraduates and a 55,000 seat stadium. Proportionally, UGA is smaller.
Festus
October 29th, 2012
2:46 pm
What does an AD do besides ride in cars with women who’ve lost their red panties and talk about how great the future looks with his hires. Clemson is a cow college located in a hick town. An AD is just a waste of money. Make Paul Johnson the new AD and hire Jerry Glanville and the new football coach.
George Stein
October 29th, 2012
2:46 pm
Stanford doesn’t sell out their stadium. But let’s not let facts get in the way.
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2010/11/25/stanford-football-great-product-plus-great-stadium-equals-empty-seats/
jarvis
October 29th, 2012
2:48 pm
@George, so not one of your alumni would be bringing a guest….spouse….or child? Everyone of them would be buying 1 ticket? What a lonely existence.
George Stein
October 29th, 2012
2:50 pm
Granted, Jarvis. But the point is that they can do that elsewhere. We are still required to hit on a higher percentage.
Bodidley
October 29th, 2012
2:50 pm
NO WAY WE SHOULD HIRE WAYNE HOGAN!
jarvis
October 29th, 2012
2:51 pm
@George, your link is a couple of years old. I think they’ve done bette of late.
KingBee
October 29th, 2012
2:53 pm
Oh yeah, it is definitely all CPJ’s fault. Let’s see if we can get Gailey back or maybe Bill Lewis. Gimme a break. While I am certainly not happy with our current record, I am happy with CPJ overall.
jarvis
October 29th, 2012
2:54 pm
Also as an observation as an East Cobb local, the somewhat dimmer nerds at Southern Poly have some kind of a kindered-spirit desire to be accepted by Georgia Tech folk as equals. You guys should market the hell out of their campus and its surrounding area. They would jump all over your tickets if they were made to feel welcome.
George Stein
October 29th, 2012
2:55 pm
It was from 2010, during the height of the Harbaugh/Luck era. If you have data to prove otherwise, I’m all ears, Jarvis.
RAMBLE ON!!!
October 29th, 2012
2:55 pm
Bill Curry?!?
The same Bill Curry who left us for Alabama so he could win a National Championship, that Bill Curry?
Um, NO!!!
George Stein
October 29th, 2012
2:55 pm
We don’t control their feelings, Jarvis.
jarvis
October 29th, 2012
2:57 pm
KingBee, how is your football program’s problems not CPJ’s fault? He has hired to DC’s that weren’t good fits, and his inability to stockpile talent has apparently left you in worse shape than when he found you.
For what its worth, I think you still have a puncher’s chance against UGA. Defending the Triple-O takes discipline, and the Dawgs are lacking that.
George Stein
October 29th, 2012
2:58 pm
They looked pretty disciplined Saturday, Jarvis. I only saw the fourth quarter, but that team looked like the one Georgia fans expected to see. Also, it’s the one that would beat us by 50.
jarvis
October 29th, 2012
3:00 pm
Here you go George.
http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/31883/pac-12-attendance-down-in-2011
I’m no engineer, but given that Stanford’s stadium has held approximately 50K since 2005, I’d say an average of 49,997 last year would indicate a sellout at all home games.
Vance Walker
October 29th, 2012
3:00 pm
How about getting Daryl Richard involved again. He was a outstanding ex D lineman and outstanding student athlete.
Hi, my name is Tech & I'm a loser
October 29th, 2012
3:03 pm
And the AD heads outta town on a Sunday night.. He & his family are singing:
The Wheels on the Wreck go round & round
& We’re the he!! outta town!!
Must suck being a Tech fan – What few there are…
Full Metal Jacket
October 29th, 2012
3:05 pm
I have been a CPJ supporter with some reservations over the past several years. The new AD does need to rattle CPJ’s cage and tell him to either get with the program and make a more sincere effort at the PR part of his job, or else try to dismiss him with cause. CPJ may be an offensive genius (or not), but he is not a HC of BCS, ACC, or even NCAA calibre if he can’t make time for the PR games and direct the whole FB program. He’s an OC, pure and simple. He doesn’t even seem to be happy as a head coach. The new AD needs to either move CPJ to change, or move him out.
George Stein
October 29th, 2012
3:05 pm
Fair enough, Jarvis. Thanks. Let’s see if it holds up
Full Metal Jacket
October 29th, 2012
3:05 pm
Wayne Hogan would be a good fit at Tech, if he doesn’t got to Klimpson with DRad.
Gatorade
October 29th, 2012
3:06 pm
Tech should hire Mike Hill, UF’s #2 Executive Associate AD under Jeremy Foley. Mastermind of Marketing and Promotions for the Gators for 20 years.
R. Perry Jarrell
October 29th, 2012
3:07 pm
Great article Mark, you bring such insight to every situation. However, I do believe we need a fresh start with an AD who can promote and market GT Sports, especially GT Football. We are hardly a blip on the radar compared to that SEC school, to the northeast. And, we need a coach who understand the importance of winning and understands how to win all D2 games, most (not all) close games, OT games, state rival games and bowl games (We used to have the highest bowl winning percentage of any Division I School … but Gailey and Johnson have ruined that). Johnson is not a recruiter nor a game day coach. If he gets down, or if it one of the games noted above, it’s over! He may have won big in his first two years but it could have been because of the novelty of his system. And, check those victories, any significant victories?
I love GT and GT sports but it is getting harder and harder to cheer for a coach that consistently looses those games. GTAA, please consider getting an athletic director and head coach who can get talent, coach them and have them show up on game day. Johnson is obviously not the one to get his players to perform. Yes, the defense has not played well at times. But, you cannot win by focusing on one aspect of the game, a winning team needs all three components functioning well.
I will always love and support GT and the athletic program but when these things happen game after game and season after season, perhaps it should be recognized that you can’t do the same thing time after time and expect different results (paraphrasing a very smart fellow).
R. Perry Jarrell
Alumni and Proud Supporter of GT and GT Athletics
George
October 29th, 2012
3:08 pm
For worse.
Buzz
October 29th, 2012
3:08 pm
Screw You Dan
GTBob
October 29th, 2012
3:09 pm
I really hate the argument that because Atlanta is a big city with tons of people GT should be selling out every sporting event on a regular basis. There are no sporting events that sell out just because a bunch of random people were looking for something to do so they went to a game. That is not how the world works. Bigger population isn’t a strong driver of higher attendance.
GTBob
October 29th, 2012
3:11 pm
Tech should hire Mike Hill, UF’s #2 Executive Associate AD under Jeremy Foley.
I don’t think hiring an SEC guy is a good move. Its what got us in our situation today.
Full Metal Jacket
October 29th, 2012
3:12 pm
Sure, Saban is a jerk, but he’s also a winner.When Johnson wins several NC, I will find his curmudgeon personna charming. We’re never going to be a perennial NC contender (no top-tier academic program will be in the current age), but we should at least have a good representative for the program. Contrasting Al Groh’s class with CPJ’s disdain and sour demeanor illustrates the latter’s shortcomings. No, I don’t want Groh as HC, but I do want someone who represents the Institute well. UGA fans may have a love/hate with CMR, but it’s clear that CMR loves the school and represents it well.
Buzz 2011
October 29th, 2012
3:14 pm
Galling!! Your input is so so important to GT!!!
You should be working instead on your article
preping your Dawgs as National Champs, right?
Tech will be just fine and your favorite continues
to amaze, right?
Ptc dawg
October 29th, 2012
3:18 pm
I always liked Pepper Rodgers.
Give him a shot.
Free Dr. Pepper is a side benefit for the dozens of fans.
Stinger 2
October 29th, 2012
3:19 pm
Very surprising the way this happened. The people who made it happen worked like magic. It will be interesting to hear DRad`s public statement if he makes one.Likewise waiting to hear from Petersen. Based on how it happened so fast, it may be good for GT that it did. Something about this does not seem normal.
GFY
October 29th, 2012
3:20 pm
I think Nebraska also sells out their stadium and they have no where near the population in Lincoln as here in Atlanta. Once again……put winning team on field and the fans will come. Have been offered tickets past two weekends but with other things going on and lack of decent team, I passed them up. Guess I am not a true sidewalk fan.
Young, dumb and full of rum
October 29th, 2012
3:21 pm
Tech is such a joke
Bumblers
October 29th, 2012
3:21 pm
When it rains, it pours!! Eh, Nerds?
markie mark
October 29th, 2012
3:24 pm
GT BOB…..your blog needs you…..you must still be over at the GA blog….now we know why….
GTBob
October 29th, 2012
3:24 pm
Based on how it happened so fast, it may be good for GT that it did. Something about this does not seem normal.
I think the best guess is that Peterson and DRad weren’t really seeing eye to eye anymore. If DRad really wanted a step up then he could have moved on already. He has had opportunities. The timing is a little strange.
markie mark
October 29th, 2012
3:24 pm
aha….you were on the 2nd page….
Typical Redneck
October 29th, 2012
3:27 pm
GT should go out and hire a local high school coach, oh wait…..
DEP
October 29th, 2012
3:27 pm
Hayseed Dixie….cute, now try growing up. Tech has so many problems and UGA is the least of them. But then again maybe Rad was tired of the same grips and excuses of why he couldn’t fillup Grunt Field or the old Gold Dump.
trueblueeagle
October 29th, 2012
3:29 pm
Where is all that money that tech grads make? Tell them to put up or shut up! They all talk about how much more a tech grad makes than a UGA grad so show us the money an fire Paul Johnson!
Independent Observer
October 29th, 2012
3:29 pm
Aren’t Tech and Georgia State both part of the University of Georgia Educational system? Have CPJ move to the vacancy at State and hire a new coach at Tech – takes care of the extended contract obligation.
GTBob
October 29th, 2012
3:30 pm
I think Nebraska also sells out their stadium and they have no where near the population in Lincoln as here in Atlanta.
Have you spent any time in Lincoln? That city is obsessed with Nebraska football. You can’t walk around a grocery store during football season without half of the people in Nebraska gear. There are banners an billboards everywhere promoting Nebraska football. It is at a pretty insane level. GT can’t compete with that if they added 50 million more people to Atlanta. That is a cultural thing that you can’t just force.
Dumbo
October 29th, 2012
3:32 pm
Independent Observer…GA St won’t go for that, they’ve already got a loser from Tech in Curry…Johnson wouldn’t be much of a upgrade
NC Guy
October 29th, 2012
3:34 pm
Mark, You have written better articles. You sound alot like Romney in this one, cant make up your mind which way you want to go.
Tech will be fine, they have been for well over 100 years. Tech will be fine after you and I have left this Earth!
Yankee
October 29th, 2012
3:35 pm
Tech is snob-based entity. They will never be big-time, so they should be satisfied with filling the niche that Northwestern does in the Big 10 and Vanderbilt does in the SEC.
TurkeyNeck
October 29th, 2012
3:37 pm
But…but…but I whipped UGA 45-42 and even got rings for our players. Why would DRad leave after all I’ve done? Why????
GT1990
October 29th, 2012
3:38 pm
It’s time to clean house and start over.
GIVE ME A BREAK
October 29th, 2012
3:38 pm
We need a GT man.
Doubled up
October 29th, 2012
3:38 pm
@George Stein – Tech’s endowment (like UGA’s) is restricted to academic use, and has nothing to do with how athletics are funded. Tech is not electing to “spend it differently.”
GT71
October 29th, 2012
3:39 pm
HOORAY! 2 down (Hewitt and Radical-vich) and 1 to go (Johnson).
I said 3 days ago to CLEAN HOUSE and it’s being done.
And may Clempson choke on him!
Couldn’t have happened to a more self-serving person.
Dumbo
October 29th, 2012
3:41 pm
GIVE ME A BREAK – you mean someone with a slide ruler, a bow tie and a beanie right?
GT71
October 29th, 2012
3:43 pm
GTBob – In Nebraska, that’s all they have. The University is it for sports and entertainment. You can drive west to Denver or East to St Louis.
But it’s all corn in between.
Bobby "Pig-Sooey" Patrino
October 29th, 2012
3:45 pm
Psst…..Tech leadership….
…I am tan, and rested, and ready.
northeast alumn
October 29th, 2012
3:47 pm
Here’s an idea, ditch Russell Athletics and go Nike/Adidas/Under Armor. That should sell enough merchandises to buy out CPJ’s contract.
jay h
October 29th, 2012
3:52 pm
@GTracy 1:55 – Sorry, but Clemson is not your biggest conference rival. Clemson is looking at more than $31 million a year in football revenue alone, vs. GT’s $22 million, a nearly 30% difference. In football revenue; You’re closer to Duke or Vandy (About $22 million each in 2010) than to actual ACC football schools such as VT ($35 million) or FSU (also about $35 million).
In short, he left for a school with deeper football pockets. Nothing wrong with de-emphazing football, as GT has apparently done, but just don’t kid yourself about Tech’s place in the football heirarchy. It’s not 1956 (or even 1990) anymore.
Doubled up
October 29th, 2012
3:57 pm
@George Stein – Athletic associations are not funded by endowments. This is the comparison you are looking for:
UGAA budget – $92 million
GTAA budget – $59 million
Highly Respected Southern Troll
October 29th, 2012
3:59 pm
George O’Leary would make a fine AD for Georgia Tech.
John Ford
October 29th, 2012
4:06 pm
We really need to consider getting out of the ACC and joining the Big East. They’d love to have us and we’d be able to win conference championships quite often.
New Idea
October 29th, 2012
4:06 pm
DRad should have been fired for the NCAA fiasco, so I say GOOD Riddance. As for GT football, I have no hope. Peterson should have fired DRad and has tried to make GT like MIT, a international private institute. GT is public funded and in my opinion must support the State-Georgia that supports it. Football has been forgotten and Georgia students have been forgotten.
Apples and
October 29th, 2012
4:08 pm
Enter your comments here
Weyman C. Wannamaker Jr. (A Great American)
October 29th, 2012
4:08 pm
Something tells me that this isn’t going to help Ga Tech’s “Heat Check” score!
DawginLex
October 29th, 2012
4:09 pm
Would think this move would only cause shouts of joy over on the Flats.
Auburn is 1-7, about to be 1-8
October 29th, 2012
4:10 pm
Would think the folks on the Flats would be happy about this move
Ted Striker
October 29th, 2012
4:12 pm
This train has left and is never coming back however…I thought Curry would have been a better hire than D-Rad. Instead Curry and Tech both look a little tarnished.
John Ford
October 29th, 2012
4:15 pm
We need to wake up and recognize what’s happening. Georgia State is very soon going to be competing with us for recruits. We need to consider moving into a somewhat easier conference or we’re going to be at the bottom of the ACC year-in and year-out.
Jee S. You
October 29th, 2012
4:19 pm
George Stein: “If we come across as elitist, Jee S. You, it is only the natural result of comparing ourselves to people like you.”……aaaaaand thank you for making my point.
I was a Tech fan even after I went to GSU (and yes, I was accepted to Tech as well), but knowing that I would never be accepted as a true Tech fan, I became a GSU fan when they started football. If I’m going to root for a perennial underdog, it might as well be one that appreciates my support. I went to the MTSU game and still love the Tech atmosphere, but that game was a harbinger of things to come. Funny thing is that Tech elitists with their 63K alumni living in state and 13K undergraduates still don’t see GSU as a threat . Yeah, GSU’s 100K+ Alumni in state and 31K undergraduates are nothing to worry about – just keep focusing on “Tech men”, we’ll focus on Atlanta.
Apples and Oranges
October 29th, 2012
4:21 pm
Those of you who insist on comparing GT and UGA never get it right. Two totally different situations and schools. Number 1 GT is not and will never be a “football factory”. Number 2 what the homers fail to realize is that GT is an academic school and will NEVER EVER recruit the type, low academic level, of student, that UGA recruits. Period. This is not the 1950’s again. This is the 21st century where today’s athletes have me, me, me on their mind. I would say that 98% of the UGA football players being recruited have nothing but the NFL on their agenda. They think nothing and care nothing of what type of education they are supposed to receive. If it weren’t for football again 98% would never be in a university. GT is destined to a 7, 8, 9 win season with may be once in a 30 year period of having an outside, at the most, chance of winning a national championship. We as TRUE GT fans have to realize that and live with that. I don’t care if Saban was the GT coach wouldn’t change that. Knowing that Saban would never in a million years coach at a school such as GT anyway. GT WILL NOT EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES RECRUIT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP CALIBER ATHLETES. REALIZE THAT AND ENJOY SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT GRANT FIELD (NOT BOBBY DODD STADIUM EITHER).
John Ford
October 29th, 2012
4:22 pm
Why not move to the Big East and become the premier program in the conference?
Vince
October 29th, 2012
4:22 pm
Radakovich perfectly mirrors the typical tech “fan”. He’s like the “fan” who moves to Atlanta from Rochester and decides to root for the “home team” while he lives in the area, then when moved to another locale becomes a “Tiger” or “Bear” or “Dingleberry” fan It’s a “stay on the teat as long as there’s something there mentality”. No wonder you folks can’t half fill up a 50,000 seat stadium !!
John Ford
October 29th, 2012
4:24 pm
I was one of the many proud alumni at the game Saturday and will continue to go for many years. I don’t care if there are only 50 people in the stadium.
fbGuy
October 29th, 2012
4:26 pm
As others have said, the timing of this is very odd. Mid season in a losing season? Hard to figure bu i see little positive about this right now
George Stein
October 29th, 2012
4:28 pm
Never indicated otherwise, Doubled up. The point is that our graduates – in general – are more concerned with the school than the football program. The numbers bear that out. We could give money to the GTAA if we chose to do so. I buy season tickets to football and basketball but make no donations beyond those expenditures. On the contrary, I write a check every year to the college of engineering.
John Ford
October 29th, 2012
4:32 pm
Our administration needs to be concerned about 2 things that are going to seriously affect the health of the university:
- Georgia State continuing to grow as a university and compete with us for student/athletes (as well as students in general)
- UGA putting in a more comprehensive engineering school and competing with us for students who want to major in engineering
I see these 2 areas as big problems and I don’t really know what we can do about them.
GT Joe
October 29th, 2012
4:38 pm
Seriously, who cares about DRad. This move won’t help or hurt our sports programs.
Dawg Bite
October 29th, 2012
4:40 pm
GTBOB, you are correct. It is not only Lincoln, but the whole state is obsessed with Cornhusker football. Heck, many in western Iowa are huge Nebraska fans as well. I have friends in Iowa that go to every home game, and even though they are not alums of Nebraska, they are passionate about Nebraska football. As someone said, go East to St. Louis, or west to Denver, and there isn’t much in between but corn! If GT would start winning more on a regular basis, Bpbby Dodd Stadium would certainly have a better chance of selling out. As far as the costs per seat goes, that too can have a definite impact in an economy such as we are experiencing. My wife and I are on fixed income, and when UGA said we had to pay a couple grand more for the privilege of keeping our 2 seats, we bailed out. But, over in Athens they have somebody waiting in the wings for those seats, so they just plug ‘em in. I guess Tech may not have that luxury. Also, look at the grads of UGA that are in the area as opposed to Tech grads. I would think that Tech alums are scattered all over the USA, and not able to get to home games, particularly when the product on the field is struggling. Apparently Tech does need to do a better job in the marketing dept.to sell more tickets.
pike
October 29th, 2012
4:45 pm
Mark you said tech needs a promotor not a money man…then I have two words for this opening at Tech…BOBBY CREMINS…he has the kind of energy to get the Tech folks enthused again.
Dawgdad (The Original)
October 29th, 2012
4:47 pm
They need a real charmer, who can bring all the different groups together, sing kum by yah, and charm the brass off the door knob. I happen to know who would be just the person for this AD position, and would probably be glad to get a life line. Call the UGA Athletic office and ask for the number of the Head Football Coach.
Billyho55
October 29th, 2012
4:49 pm
IF ONLY THE OTHER “BIG” TIME WRITER AT THE AJC HAD A CLUE! I’M SORRY BUT THE OTHER GUY JUST SEEMS OUT OF TOUCH WITH WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON AND USUALLY IS! THANK YOU MR. BRADLEY FOR ANOTHER INFORMATIVE AND INSIGHTFUL ARTICLE!
Bob
October 29th, 2012
4:50 pm
As a long time loyal Dawg fan, I still take pride as a Georgian in seeing Tech win every game except the last one. If CPJ makes $2.6M a year, he is still responsible and accountable to the Athletic Dept and the School. Why don’t they insist that he stop running a high school offense and install something that gives them a chance to utilize the better talent that they could recruit? Seems like the tail is wagging the dog. Just asking.
Sloppy
October 29th, 2012
4:51 pm
Is there a team sport at GT excelled during Rad’s tenure?
I am sure one or two have, but overall most Tech programs have taken steps backwards in recent years.
Time for new blood for most of the athletic programs.
Start with that Hard Headed Paul Johnson and a AD who demands each program excels and graduates it’s players.
Jim S.
October 29th, 2012
4:55 pm
@George Stein-Way to go genius, with your pompous response, you only proved @Jee S. You(’s) point that Tech fans often come off as having a misplaced sense of elitism…it seems conceivable that one as brilliant as you appear to fancy yourself would have recognized such before making your ‘point’, as it were…looks like you are blessed with a bit of the Paul Johnson charm….You probably don’t fit the mold of the PR guy that Mr. Bradley believes is needed for the AD job…Better stick with your DUI practice. Now say the alphabet backwards while holding your right foot out!
Smyrna Jacket
October 29th, 2012
4:57 pm
Time to hire a guy that WANTS to be in Atlanta, that has a good pedigree. Charlie Cobb at Appalacian State is the guy. Charlie worked here in Atlanta in sales and marketing at the GA Dome, worked for the Peach Bowl and the Sports Authority. NC State grad who left ATL to return to NCSU as an assistant AD. A few years later got the AD job at App State. Young guy that has done marvelous things at ASU. KIds there respect Charlie. Right time, right place. Mark, check him out.
Billyho55
October 29th, 2012
4:59 pm
Bob,
ALL DUE RESPECT BUT THE REASON THAT WILL NEVER WORK IS THE UNMITIGATED ARROGANCE AND SELF DENIAL THAT IS ONE PAUL JOHNSON! THANK YOU FOR STAYING CLASSY WITH YOUR COMMENTS! WISH I KNEW MORE UGA FANS LIKE YOU SIR!
Sloppy
October 29th, 2012
5:01 pm
Smyrna
Good choice
Truth
October 29th, 2012
5:01 pm
D-Rad, I wish you would have stuck it out, but I understand why you left. Our ship is sinking and has been for a while. Thank you so much for the time you put into Georgia Tech with the rebuilding of our athletics department and revolution of the tech athletic compound. You were able to do great things, and for that I say thank you.
List Mama » Georgia Tech AD Dan Radakovich hired as Clemson’s new athletic director – Washington Post
October 29th, 2012
5:10 pm
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
ATLIEN
October 29th, 2012
5:14 pm
Why wouldn’t Damon Evans be a credible choice? He did a great job at UGA, hired solid coaches and made good decisions regarding the athletic program? So what he had an affair. Most high paid executives do, that should have no reflection his ability to run an athletic program and given techs precipitous decline he could be a good hire
WTH
October 29th, 2012
5:16 pm
>>D-Rad, I wish you would have stuck it out, but I understand why you left. Our ship is sinking and has been for a while.
If our ship is sinking, it’s because DRad drilled many of the holes himself.
GTBob
October 29th, 2012
5:17 pm
Why wouldn’t Damon Evans be a credible choice?
I’m not sure that a former UGA AD who got fired for driving drunk and cheating on his wife is going to be able to motivate the Alumni base much. Just the fact that he worked for UGA strikes him from consideration.
Bumbling Bees
October 29th, 2012
5:17 pm
The fact that Tech athletics is a shambles is not a surprise. When you mix unfounded arrogance with blind stubborness, you get a poorly managed program that has dug a hole so deep for itself that it will take 5+ years to dig out of it. For a school that prides itself on management and engineering, Tech sure has built a bad machine which no one at the proud Institute knows how to fix. The Tech brand is dying…
GB's Hamburgers
October 29th, 2012
5:20 pm
The long term solution for Tech is to rejoin the SEC. Their campus after all is in the capital of the South. They would suffer a while on the won loss side but their money problems would be gone. Sure they left the SEC when they thought they could be another Notre Dame and keep all the money. But the people who made those decisions are all dead. It’s time to get Tech back where they belong and I hope McGarity will sign on as a sponsor for that. I’m a UGA fan. If we can get them back in the SEC we can hate them even better.
BS Patrol
October 29th, 2012
5:20 pm
Hey Brad, You call Tech wobbly? Then say Rad is another “hit” and go on to say what a lousy AD he was? What’s it gonna be? You can’t have it both ways. Clemson really threw us in the briar patch.
Anyone who wants “4-wins Curry” is an idiot. He has screwed up everything he has touched since he left Green Bay.
Chuck
October 29th, 2012
5:21 pm
To Hayseed Dixie:
I don’t know why the Techies continue to have fun with the Damon Evans incident, it was the worst thing that could have happened to GT Athletics, Evans was a terrible director.
That day was then, and shall forever be, known as the Miracle of the Red Panties.
Bumbling Bees
October 29th, 2012
5:31 pm
Tech is the new N.C. State, but without a loyal fan base….
Bob
October 29th, 2012
5:36 pm
“Dan Radakovich is ducking out ‘ What do you drink before you write these things. Sober up, drink some coffee, the man just left for a better Job Opportunity, which you will probably never get
Bumbling Bees
October 29th, 2012
5:36 pm
Let’s be honest: for football head coaches, the Tech job is either a stepping stone or a fall-back position. Ross, O’Leary, Gailey, Johnson. The smart ones get lucky and get out. There is no hope for sustainable success at Tech if you are the football head coach…
Peter
October 29th, 2012
5:40 pm
Well hiring Paul Johnson was fun for awhile……watching a high school offense is not…..
Tech just plain old sucks….and this is coming from a guy who roots for them over Georgia.
I couldn’t tell you how boring it has been..so i stopped watching.
GTville
October 29th, 2012
5:49 pm
The problem with GT are the fans. Very few, no money, and too ready to fire their coaches. Gailey would not be an NFL HC if he was not good. He also recruited very well for GT. Given time, he could very easily led us to the ACC championship 1 in 5 years and put us in contention for the NC 1 in 10 years. CPJ could do the same. He is in process of recruiting some big O-linemen which will be very helpful. Several are complaining about ticket prices, but GT tickets are very low cost compared to other schools. I constantly hear GT students and young alumni bragging about how smart they are and how much money they will make, but the SEC schools are filling their season tickets with non-college grads who can afford a higher ticket cost at their schools.
Biggest thing you need to watch in the DRAD saga is this…..Clemson is going to the SEC and will announce in February. When Clemson falls, FSU goes west and GT is isolated from the pack and surrounded by the SEC with no protection. ND will not join the ACC in football because they had a defensive recruiting bonanza a couple years ago and they will be top 10 program for the next decade with no reason to join a conference. Not sure who will be lucky 16 in the SEC, but it will not be Miami or GT or Duke or WF. I hate it, but it is reality. If the conference can hold out a few years, the fortunes will turn, but just like GT fans, nobody wants to be patient and it is going to bite GT in the ass.
Option Bee
October 29th, 2012
5:57 pm
Firing Paul cannot be the answer right now, but it can be mandated that he has to replace 3-4 of his assistants (long time friends) to bring in guys that can recruit and coach! The ball is squarely in Bud’s corner now, and I hope that he has more management skills than either of our former two AD’s.
DRad tied his horse long ago to Swafford, and thus the hugh spending spree the last six years.
Are we sure that DRad is a man? Seems he married Tech, and over six years went on a hugh spending spree, and then left with the first guy that had money, leaving poor Tech with debt and regret! Tech will live to see a better day….believe it!
Carol From Tech
October 29th, 2012
6:00 pm
I don’t see anybody here suggesting that Tech hire a FEMALE as the AD.
Let’s face it, the Tech men athletes have not exactly Manned UP in competition lately.
And the Tech Women have the only NCAA championship in Tech’s history.
Its time to wire a woman. The NOW organization needs to get involved.
Carol From Tech
October 29th, 2012
6:02 pm
That’s “hire” not “wire”.
I may be a woman but I can’t type.
Dawgdad (The Original)
October 29th, 2012
6:04 pm
Like business, when you are stuck with a lemon, promote him. Make CPJ the AD and have him hire the coach from Middle Tenn State, that pounded you guys. Just think what he could do with some talent.
Phil
October 29th, 2012
6:05 pm
For a Georgia Tech A.D. to resign and take the same job at Clemson is nothing less than treason. If Drad had gone to a school outside the ACC I would wish him the best but considering where he is going I hope they eat him alive. He left GT with a failing football program, a uncertain basketball future, and he gave PJ a helluva raise his first year. So after all is said and done Good Riddance Drad. GT’s Athletic Department needs a massive overhaul. Hoping that President Peterson realizes how bad things are in the AD.
GTville
October 29th, 2012
6:07 pm
Phil, DRad is going to a non-ACC school, they just have not announced it yet.
GSU1991
October 29th, 2012
6:21 pm
If Coach Johnson would listen to me, I’d advise him to let his defensive staff recruit and coach players and to keep his hands off that side of the ball. He has enough mid-level and top-notch players on offense for his schemes to work. Stop micro-managing, as it will not add $2 to your bank account….the bonus will come when overall program achieves, not individual offensive records.
Had Coach Hewitt stayed away from those $1000 custom made suits, imported Italian shoes, and red ties, he’d still be here, winning, and probably with a nice raise in salary. Thank goodness for Coach Gregory and his Men’s Wearhouse two-for-one suits, “Cremins ties” and Florsheim shoes (he IS the coach for our GT basketball future).
Can we get our alums from Jos A Bank, Cofer Brothers, and Fuddruckers back into the fold and providing the image for all sports to emulate….
PSW
October 29th, 2012
6:23 pm
Minority opinion here, but having returned to the joint after 17 years away, I could care less what the football program does. Sorry for the puritanical bent I am about to go on, but student athletic fees when I started were about $24/qtr, $33/qtr when I left, and you flashed your ID on gameday and got in, sitting in the East stands. We also had a national championship season, and Bobby Cremins.
Today, its $127/semester and they are milking 6000 students for another $55 for “season tickets”. Everyone else gets to arrange their schedule to pick up tickets during the week and sit in the “prime” seats of the South stands.
I’m sorry, I have a hard time looking at this as anything but using the student body as a cash cow, and is a style of “leadership” I’m not sure I could advocate. This is on top of, when I left, no NCAA investigations ever.
Look, the varsity players at Tech are not the absolute hardest working on campus–try being a grad student–but they are right up there. I absolutely love the Band, and enjoy the games when I go. My dad has season tickets. But basically, I view the AA the same way I looked at them back in the day–as some corporate enterprise that just happens to have the same name as the school, off doing their own thing. Hard for me to get excited about a business. I consider the club level sports more representative of the school in many respects
Having said that–If Johnson is doing a decent job with the players, I’d like him to stay. I’d also like Gregory to have a good kickoff season. Tech should always be a power in basketball. But college sports today is actually a questionable enterprise in my opinion, too professional, too much money, and I therefore having difficulty caring. Especially since I consider the $127 highway robbery of a captive audience for the benefit of the AA, not the school, and am actually offended by it.
Just some thoughts from an alum and current student.
Dacusville Bill
October 29th, 2012
6:29 pm
Just my luck–My Freshman Granddaughter goes to Clem and Son, so I became a new fan of Clem and Son–Clem or his son, just screwed up like Hogan’s Goat–I figured it would be nice to pull for a winner for a change (Been a Tech fan since 1950)–then this comes along—Almost enuff to make me want to buy an ugly egg sucking bulldog and become a fan of—Fresno State– Citadel–Yale–Miss State–or———
PSW
October 29th, 2012
6:42 pm
Incindentally, Mark, I miss your old ’stache…
spider
October 29th, 2012
6:53 pm
hey why not hire ga states AD, at least she is good lookin.
George Stein
October 29th, 2012
6:57 pm
Jim S. is another who just makes it really difficult to come across as not elitist. It’s really not our fault, guys.
Delbert D.
October 29th, 2012
7:11 pm
There is an unusual amount of interest in this topic about an athletic director leaving because he decided that it was best for him.
Bobby Petrino
October 29th, 2012
7:26 pm
I can be had but I need a few perks!
Stinger 2
October 29th, 2012
7:33 pm
It would seem that if Clemson followed protocol, they would have to ask permission from Peterson to talk to DRad. If this was the case, then it must have been granted which indicates that Peterson either wanted him to leave GT or did not care if he left.
Michael "the dynasty" Vick
October 29th, 2012
7:34 pm
Who cares about GT? They are and have been irrelevant for a very long time.
Re: Spurrier. Does he really believe Lattimore will be back. I don’t think so. But, I read that Lattimore was doing anything and everything the doctors were asking of him Sat and Sun. I think Spurrier does not want to totally deflate him by telling him, its over. Yes, the Miami back came back, but it is rare.
Seed-Tick
October 29th, 2012
7:36 pm
Should have been fired after NCAA denied appeal.
Donald Parker
October 29th, 2012
7:41 pm
I think Dan’s departure can be a positive for tech, assuming he is replaced by an AD that can market TECH as well as have some business experience. I believe PJ had a good recruiting class last year
and he needs to build on that. Have faith he can have a good year next year. Md should be a win with
Duke and N.C. a toss-up. A 6-6 record looks good at this point.
Under The Bleachers
October 29th, 2012
7:47 pm
The facts are for many many years the GT Football program was viewed by many as a school that mandated or forced players to be engineer students( but not really true), but that changed a few years back. Now the issue is getting high school kids interested enough in GT to come play football on the Flats. Since Paul Johnson took over the program is NOT attracting the talent needed to compete, to keep the students, alumni and fans interested. Is it the offense, Oh yes it is. It is fun to watch if you have the athletes and the schedule, but the ACC is not a defensive league and scoring points with the ball in the air attracts quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, offensive linemen, who want to get the opportunity at the next level. The fans want to see it and it keeps interest in the program. The old addage of ‘ if you have seen one triple option you have seen all the triple options” is more than true. It is not fun to watch in this microwave( we want it now) society.
You can say give Paul Johnson another year, but look around the league and you will see practically everyone being much much better in 2013 and Tech is not going to be making great gains on anyone.
Take what Spurrier did at Duke, Leach did at Texas Tech, and on and on,…they went out got a gun slinger quarterback, a few wide recievers, a good catching TE and used the 1.5, 2 and 3 step drop back pass and won with it which garnered more attention from athletes who loved the system and got better athletes to commit.
Time for the the new AD to clean up and clear out some old school football at a school that needs every advantage possible when competing against in state school UGA for athletes and playing schools like Clemson, FSU, VT, NC, Miami year in and year out.
quick fix
October 29th, 2012
7:47 pm
Promote Johnson to AD. He could easily still call all the plays of Saturday. Make the new special teams coach the “head” coach. He seems so good at his job..cannot argue with success.
Johnn
October 29th, 2012
7:48 pm
Hogan was so good at marketing they took the job away from him and farmed it to an outside firm.
bad brad
October 29th, 2012
7:49 pm
I don’t think I’ve ever commented on a Tech blog before…BUT wonder what it would’ve been like if Tech had stayed in the SEC. In hind sight, what an incredibly stupid move.
Glass House Rocker
October 29th, 2012
7:52 pm
I assume Clemson approached DRAD about the job sometime ago and this “announcement” had been in the works for awhile. It does remind me of
Braine and his assurance to McWorter (and us) that he had not hired another
coach–see Gailey. Also, see the success of Bill O’Brian at Penn State and think of the staff Tech might have had.
My wife, a UGA grad and a GT fan of many years, had the opportunity to meet Coach Dodd. He, obviously, knew he was ill. I have always been proud that he told her I was a “real Tech man”.
My concern about Coach Johnson is his choices of “going for it” on fourth down at the most inopportune times–Miami, for instance, with no time outs in regulation and Tech ahead. Tech’s defense was exhausted. A first down wins the game. Johnson punts. You know the rest.
For many years we had 4 tickets in the West Stands. When we no longer had use for 4 tickets because our child had become a student at GT, we cut our order to two. We still paid the same “contribution” for the two seats but they were assigned to a far less desirable location compared to the four we had. They were even out of our area of “contribution” area.
I spoke with someone on DRAD’s staff–an FSU alum–who, essentially, told me that if I did not like it I could stuff it. I told him that GT is not FSU.
Ultimately, I spoke with Mr. Griffith and the situation was resolved.
In the interium I exchanged e-mails with DRAD. I explained the people’s lives change over time. I emphansized that GT is not FSU or UGA and does not have that fan base support. I also mentioned Coach Dodd’s philosophy that this is a college game that’s supposed to be fun–especially for its participants.
ToccoaDawg
October 29th, 2012
8:00 pm
This can only be GREAT news for Tech. Now if they would just find a REAL football coach that will help UGA keep Georgia players in Georgia. The is NO reason for Tech to be this bad with all the talent there is in this state, NONE. Tech should be challenging for the ACC title EVERY year. Keep your head up Tech things are looking up.
Michael "the dynasty" Vick
October 29th, 2012
8:04 pm
Brad, incredibly smart move to get out of SEC.
Sept 1989, Bowden has choice SEC, or ACC. The rest is history. Check his record against ACC and SEC at that point. He knew to join the weaker conference.
South Carolina is SEC doormat but would have a 80% win record against GT. GT would be another Vandy in the SEC.
Michael "the dynasty" Vick
October 29th, 2012
8:09 pm
SC is SEC doormat when most of the big dogs are playing well.
Michael "the dynasty" Vick
October 29th, 2012
8:14 pm
hmmm a degree from a great school that has a terrible football team, or a degree from a mediocre party school that has a mediocre football team.
Let me ponder.
Hairy Dawg
October 29th, 2012
8:35 pm
Kinda classless of Radakovich to get the hell out of Dodge like that. It pains me to say this, but the folks at Tech, the alumni, and the fans deserved better. My guess is that they’ll find a good guy to take over the reins.
Reasonable
October 29th, 2012
8:45 pm
I can’t imagine someone wanting to leave a Nerd Herd.
Yeti
October 29th, 2012
8:48 pm
This is a head scratcher move. Kind of like hiring Bernie Madoff away from an investment firm to manage your investments. This guy did a horrible job at Tech. As a UGA fan, I hate to see him leave.
fuzzybee78
October 29th, 2012
8:53 pm
@Mark Bradley
I am an alum and longtime season tix holder both FB and BB, native Atlantan. GT, post major league sports, will only marginally attract sidewalk fans unless you win some and play a KILLER schedule out of conference, and take the hit on losses, especially in FB. Over time that can help put fans in the stands, alum and non-alum.
The other issue is graduating enough alum who have jobs in metro ATL. That probably requires a broader, but not dumber curriculum. The next AD sees the issues clearly. I think I do.
Walmart Retards
October 29th, 2012
8:57 pm
Good riddance! I await many years to come aof laughing at him living it up in ridnikville, losing to GT in football, basketball, and baseball. He’ll soon find Clempsux grads don’t have the funds that GT’s do. Sometimes quantity doesn’t equal quality. What a traitor!
WTH
October 29th, 2012
8:58 pm
>>I don’t think I’ve ever commented on a Tech blog before…
>>BUT wonder what it would’ve been like if Tech had stayed in the SEC.
>>In hind sight, what an incredibly stupid move.
The biggest blunder in the history of Tech sports, and an object lesson in why a good coach (Dodd) does not necessarily make a good AD. Dodd made Tech football great, and then in one stroke destroyed it. Tech football has never really recovered.
Michael "the dynasty" Vick
October 29th, 2012
9:18 pm
WTH, look at my response. Bowden ran from SEC opportunity. GT would have been destroyed year in and year out in SEC. 1990 what a farce, GT and Colorado. One hit wonders.
one stroke choke
October 29th, 2012
9:20 pm
I agree with WTH.
Michael "the dynasty" Vick
October 29th, 2012
9:22 pm
How many games were decide by field goals for GT in 90? BYU had NC in 80’s. Are they worthy of mention. No, just like Tech and CO. Crap happens.
1981 Bama vs Tech.
Jackets81
October 29th, 2012
9:23 pm
One hit wonders? You can put UGA in that same category too vick. They got one National Title. Idiot.
Michael "the dynasty" Vick
October 29th, 2012
9:26 pm
1991 Bama grad here. Idiot.
hind tit
October 29th, 2012
9:28 pm
I have a redneck slid-rule and it says hire a combination coach ad. fire Johnson buy out his contract kill two birds with one stone problem solved. That will be three dollars and a half.
Michael "the dynasty" Vick
October 29th, 2012
9:34 pm
Mr. Eastwood says “A man has got to know his limitations.”
Stick with what you all do, engineer. You will never be a significant football school again, never. You can’t even own that wipe in Athens. And he is owned by every good coach/team. FL was exposed.
JetBuzz
October 29th, 2012
9:59 pm
Great assessment and article Mark. You hit most areas germane to the Jacket Athletic Dilemma of present…
This is a new day of opportunity for GT Athletics, instead of just more bad news and poor execution. It’s time for DRad to move on, and chase his career elsewhere. (However, his timing, style of departure, and choice of nearby rival Clemson gives pause to consider his “brand loyalty” and motivations, etc.)
Obviously Jacket Athletics is in rebuilding phase, and it’s time to hire the perfect AD as architect of this major long-term task. This is a huge, fantastic, far-reaching opportunity. We’ve got to get it right.
Jacket 2009
October 29th, 2012
10:13 pm
I would donate $1,000 if they could win football games and I am only 3 years out of school. There are plenty of alumni willing and ready to fund the program but we want results (or the strong likelyhood of results)!
RWill
October 29th, 2012
10:18 pm
I know this article is about Radakovich, but considering CPJ is his most significant hire, and once again, the same tired, false and uneducated arguments are being used against CPJ in the comments, I’m going to copy/paste my reply on another article. Here goes…
Some of the arguments on these boards are laughable. I’ve read numerous times on here that CPJ isn’t a good head coach… You ever check his record at Georgia Southern? Navy?
Lets talk recruiting. Read on here hundreds of times that he can’t recruit. Well, let’s just look at that, shall we? Here are Georgia Tech’s year-by-year recruiting since 2002 from Rivals.com:
2002: 63
2003: 50
2004: 79
2005: 62
2006: 57
2007: 18
2008: 49
2009: 49
2010: 43
2011: 41
2012: 56
It looks like recruiting has actually improved in the CPJ era.
For such an educated fan base, you guys are failing hard when it comes to logical arguments.
How about the argument that the triple option doesn’t work? Top five in rushing yards every year he’s been here isn’t working? He’s apparently taken a team with a QB that can’t throw, and is too slow, and still averaging over 450 yards a game this year. The offense works, with or without passing. Oh, and by the way, he has implemented pistol formations into it as well.
Also, he is stockpiling talent. Look at Boise State. Do they recruit the top talent? Answer: no. They redshirt almost every incoming freshman, and slow the turnover rate and gain an extra year with everybody though. This is the same as what CPJ has been doing. And, if you look at the recruiting rankings, he does recruit talented enough players, so this should work well as it continues. By doing this, to get a real judge of an entire CPJ recruited team, the next two years should be what we judge him on.
There are downsides to CPJ obviously. One is his demeanor on the sidelines. The way he yells at players may result in some of them tuning him out. At Georgia Southern, he probably had better players than most teams, and with all the winning, the yelling didn’t seem as bad. At Navy, they’re used to being yelled at by superiors. It’s part of the training. At a big-conference school, where you are woo-ing the players to come play for you-star high school athletes-then berate them weekly on tv, it might not be as well-received. Whether that’s all on him or also on the players as well, is up for debate.
The lack of defense during his tenure is concerning. Yes, it could be said that because of the offense they run, the defense doesn’t see much time in practice against conventional style offenses. However, considering the scout team mimicks that week’s team, this isn’t the biggest problem.
The choices in defensive coordinators is concerning as well, and perhaps his choices for assistants overall. The special teams coach hire is puzzling. To go get someone who was coaching in Canada, when there are plenty of qualified assistants that have ties to this area was a poor choice. Not so much because I don’t think the ST coordinator can’t coach (the ST unit hasn’t been very good though), but he has zero ties to the area for recruiting. That can’t help.
Basically, CPJ has warts, like all coaches not name Saban. He is an offensive mastermind, yesterday not included. Again though, even the best look bad occasionally. His offense does and has worked, with both his players and Gailey’s players. He definitely has the ability to outsmart the opposing coach more often than not. On the other hand, he can’t get a quality defense here (remember when George O’Leary had the same problem?), he is an abrasive person at times, maybe causing players to tune him out or quit, and he has gotten a little too conservative the last few years, as opposed to his first few here. All in all, he should be given more time to sort through the struggles. The talent is there, the offensive scheme is there, lets see what happens with a new defensive coordinator.
It really makes some of you “fans” seem less than educated with the arguments you put forth as to why CPJ should go. Being such a strong educational institution, to argue the pro’s and con’s of the football program should have a higher level of discourse and more well researched and backed in fact arguments than what is spewed here on a daily basis.
Bobby Cremins
October 29th, 2012
10:18 pm
Bobby Cremins would be a great AD candidate. He doesn’t have any experience but he’s a god at GT and can bring things back together again for them due to his ties with the top boostes and former players.
Falcon Fan
October 29th, 2012
10:49 pm
Radakovich was the worst thing to happen to GTAA. He left Tech with huge debt which will hurt Tech for 30 years, and his lack of integrity caused Tech to vacate the ACC championship. He gave PJ a contract that prohibits firing him. However, Radakovitch may fire Dabo and hire PJ- he is that stupid.
Bold Gold
October 29th, 2012
10:57 pm
Georgia is 6th in the nation–about to be in the Top 3 or 4; Tech’s AD jumped off a sinking ship. Paul Johnson is a dirt bag. Must suck being a Tech fan.
lance manion
October 29th, 2012
11:05 pm
Lots of trolls here today. Lets talk facts. Tech athletics are in good shape, except for football. Don’t forget, we just finished a 14 consecutive year run of bowl games and winning seasons, hardly a program on the rocks. We have had a lot of recent football success, and there is no reason this will not be corrected again soon. As for basketball, we went to the national championship game 8 years ago. With Greagory as our new coach, he has recruited two great classes and he even has Cremins back on campus. We have a beautiful new arena, and are on the verge of a good run under Gregory. Golf and baseball have been consistently two of the best programs in the country for 30 years. Women’s basketball is ranked in the top 25. Volleyball has been good for years too. We will hire a good AD and will continue to make progress. Our facilities have been upgraded. We have a first class new indoor football paractice facility, a rebuilt baseball stadium, an almost new, first class softball stadium, new tennis facilities being built and McCamish is gorgeous. I am a sidewalk fan who graduated from another Georgia school and has had season tickets for 25 plus years. I would add to them if we dropped the additional donation, and that is something we should look at. By the way, the Wall Street Journal ranked Tech the number one engineering school in the country. This is a huge resource for our state. I am proud of Tech and so is my son who is a third year there. I have another son who will be there next year too. Bottom line is that there are a lot of jealous folks who post crap about the institute, most of whom are UGA fans who never even attended UGA, or any college. Go ahead and hate,. A degree for Tech is a ticket to success that UGA alums will never experience. Tech will be just fine. Go jackets!
lance manion
October 29th, 2012
11:09 pm
BG, you are idiot. I imagine, you did not go to college, so all of this is very complexs to you. We will fix the football problem, the other sports are in great shape. By the way, we are the number one engineering school according to the Wall Street Journal. How about your school?
bad brad
October 29th, 2012
11:10 pm
@ the dynasty…Now Tech is the also-ran of the ACC. At least Vandy recruits better players because they are in the SEC. And look at how FSU has faired since selecting ACC. Weaker conference, weaker team. They are becoming an under-achieving joke also. Bad move by Tech, bad move by FSU. Most football fans outside of ACC fans can tell you which ACC team is in which conference. Bobby Dodd led Tech down a path to mediocrity. Bobby Bowden chose the easier path and it is hurting FSU.
lance manion
October 29th, 2012
11:16 pm
Overall Tech is in good shape. Basketball is on the rise with a great new arena, two great recruiting classes and a good new coach. Golf and Baseball are two of the best programs in the country and have been for 30 years. Women’s basketball is preseason ranked in the top 25. Football is coming off 15 consecutive bowl games and a 14 year winning streak. The teams have not been perfect, but have been good. Add a brand new basketball arena, a new indoor football faciltiy, a new tennis center and we have first class facilities. Football will be back soon. Oh, I’m a sidewalk fan, graduate of two other Georgia colleges and have had season tickets for 25 plus years. Go jackets!!!
wreckmaniac
October 29th, 2012
11:35 pm
Can we find another Dr. Homer Rice who resurrected Tech and placed our program in a solid national position ? Lets hope so.
DRAD did some nice things but nothing major. He can count on the fact that Clemson fans will always fill up their stadium but he will also have to live with their perpetually mediocre (at best) basketball legacy and an attitude among many that Clemson should exit the ACC for the SEC. He is arriving with the football program in great shape and it can, honestly, go nowhere but down from where it is today.
Tech needs someone with a solid, long-term vision and strategy for improvement which I don’t thing DRAD had. His orientation was much more toward today’s problem.
wreckmaniac
October 29th, 2012
11:37 pm
The comments here in upstate SC is that DRAD and Dr Peterson did not see eye-to-eye at all.
whatfor
October 29th, 2012
11:44 pm
It should have been PJ who resigned. Tech will never have a Good team until PJ leaves.
lance manion
October 29th, 2012
11:44 pm
Good comments wreckmaniac and RWill. We have a great school and a good foundation with lots of history of success in all areas. We will be fine.
Michael "the dynasty" Vick
October 30th, 2012
12:18 am
Vandy recruits better players? and still sucks like an academic school like GT would too. GT should give up football and I have not a clue how you do in basketball.
Reasonable
October 30th, 2012
5:30 am
It’s amazing to me how these self proclaimed rich alumni don’t fund the athletic program. Gtu is a third rate program and school.
Reasonable
October 30th, 2012
5:31 am
Keep on running that high school offense…it makes me laugh.
Jacketnation Deflation
October 30th, 2012
6:04 am
It ain’t going to get any better this year. Can’t blame Dan for bolting for Clemson. Much, much more supportive fans, than the fair-weather band wagon jumpers on the flats. Johnson is so hard headed that he will not change his game plan. Trying to run the ball and the triple option against BYU was a disaster. Vad Lee to the wide outs and A backs might have produced more points had he gone in the first half. Tech’s sorry defense is two years in the rear. We need to offer Giff Smith a nice package to return. He can recruit. Johnson should be able to get those 4 star running backs with this run oriented offense, but he doesn’t. We really stink!
lkmantsk
October 30th, 2012
6:06 am
Lord I feel for you folks………….I don’t know why, but I do….
MC
October 30th, 2012
6:52 am
Does anybody else remember all the talk about when “PJ gets HIS players”? Well he’s got them.
Sugar Hill Dawg
October 30th, 2012
7:07 am
Rejection is tough to take. I understand the hurt feelings of my Tech buddies, but consider this an opportunity to take a step forward. I hear how fantastic the Tech business degree is – show us! Hire a Tech man (loyalty goes a LONG way in college athletics) with a background in business (a “Mitt Romney” of the athletics world) and get out of his way. There’s absolutely no reason why Grant Field is so empty at every home game not involving UGA, Clemson, or VA Tech. As a kid, I attended quite a few Tech games – always had a blast! Say what you will about Tech’s location, but give me Midtown/Atlantic Station any day over Oconee County, SC. Tech fans – get proactive! Demand greatness from everyone associated with the Institute. I’ll see y’all in Athens in a few weeks!
3d
October 30th, 2012
7:37 am
Sad, but who wants to go downtown and risk getting cut or shot?
Hardhat
October 30th, 2012
7:40 am
The Ga Southern AD is stepping down they have down well in football. Hiring him that would be an OPTION ! LOL !
Rufus
October 30th, 2012
7:48 am
As it stands, we are a Div 2 program trying to compete in Div 1 in both football and basketball. D-Rad’s arrival and departure had no impact on that fact. Until we can recruits quality athletes who can also make the grades, we’re stuck in that rut. I pity the poor person who is desperate enough to take the AD job at Tech.
GT
October 30th, 2012
8:02 am
Alumni run an athletic department, bad or good. Radakovich like most executives or coaches is an opportunist. Day in day out we are about as good as our alumni and I think Tech has some of the best. You don’t fire alumni, we need to fire them up every once in a while but this is a family thing.
TechRon
October 30th, 2012
8:04 am
I have been saying all along that PJ and his nonsense offense is the biggest problem. The AD was on the list, but down. Horrible defense ever since Oleary left. Tech should have welcomed Oleary back when ND rejected him. We had excellent defense under Ross and Oleary. People who say we never should have fired Gailey are way off base. Gailey was awful. Just like Johnson, he continued to whip a dead horse. Does not common sense tell either of them that if it is not working over a long trial period, it is not going to work? Gailey’s sticking with Reggie Ball was the most outstanding example of his lunacy. Johnson’s idiot offense is certainly evidence of the same syndrome. That, and standing by while we have the worse defense in the nation and doing nothing. Johnson further infuriates the faithful by acting like anyone who asks obvious questions is a foolish amateur insulting a great master. I think if I were in his place I would be a lot more humble and be apologetic about the dismal failure. I would say that, having seen that plan A is obviously not working, that big changes are due and will be instituted immediately. He is too arrogant for that, and too foolish to see the need to change anything.
DawgRobin
October 30th, 2012
8:12 am
As a die hard Dawg fan, it saddens me to see the GT program diminished. I would remind my UGA friends that its not a zero-sum game, and that GT’s problems don’t make us any better. It just serves to diminish other’s view of sport in our state. Besides, I love a good, sharp competition between UGA-Tech. Who is intereste when one school has a lop-sided advantage — can you say Gators, boys and girls? Good luck to the Bees.
GT
October 30th, 2012
8:15 am
I like Paul Johnson.
alex
October 30th, 2012
8:19 am
How do you measure the effectiveness of an AD,in todays NCAA it is football and men’s basketball, period, Rad was therefore ineffective….period. Ga. Tech has many obstacles to winning:academics,uninterested alumni and students, among them. Clemson has none of the above.He’ll be a big fish in a pond, but it’s only a small pond,He’ll be gone in 6 years…
H20
October 30th, 2012
8:28 am
How is Atl only a 5 point fav over dallas???
Funny we just decimate philly. Dallas plays them next week in philly. I would guess the odds on that game if we could see it would be philly by 3-4. I’m gonna put 1k on the falcons to cover. That line is a joke.
GT Man
October 30th, 2012
8:30 am
Two down and one to go. The sooner we get rid of mr.personallity the better
Tyler
October 30th, 2012
8:41 am
Gailey never had a losing season. Gailey never lost to a team from a non big 6 conf, much less get blown out. Gailey had one major problem. He couldn’t get a qb worth a crap. ball did gailey in. But gailey at least never looked this bad. This is bill lewis bad. And it’s only gonna get worse. Guess what. next year fsu is back on the schedule.
TechLB
October 30th, 2012
8:43 am
@Lance Manion and others – Good, logical comments, much appreciated among all the frustrated haters trolling. A lack of class is most obvious when you see someone gloat, can’t hide it.
GT is an excellent academic school and will be fine. Paul will fix things or he’ll be gone, a new AD won’t have any reason to accept mediocrity. It won’t be because of the offense either but the other issues that have become obvious. As for fans, check out ticket prices at other schools, we’re actually pretty cheap. I would say, win baby win, then raise prices a bit if necessary.
Never thought DRad was all-in although he did a great job updating our facilities with pretty cheap money, we’ll be in fine shape in a couple of years. – We need an AD with passion, an enthusiastic believer in all that makes Georgia Tech unique and great.
AthensTech
October 30th, 2012
8:49 am
Until Tech changes their academics Nick Saban/Bear Bryant couldn’t help.
Tyler
October 30th, 2012
8:54 am
“Paul will fix things or he’ll be gone”
Huh? This is the second year with his recruits. Thing are suppose to be the best now. That’s what I heard from gt fans. How just wait til he gets his recruits. He’s been on a downward spiral for the past 2 years and this was w HIS recruits. And the opposite won’t be true. When he does get fired, the new guy will have a hard time with his recruits. It won’t be like the other way and how PJ benefited. Basically gt football is gonna be a mess for at least the next 5 years. Nice!
Tyler
October 30th, 2012
8:57 am
Funny athens it sure wasn’t an issue in 1990 or 98-2000. Funny it doesn’t affaect ND or Stanford.
rsb
October 30th, 2012
9:13 am
His biggest move was facilities and money management not hiring a football coach. The “other” sports (not bb) are doing very well.
Eric
October 30th, 2012
9:23 am
No one cares about other sports rsb. They lose $$
Bad Dawg, Yeck
October 30th, 2012
9:26 am
Pressure should be on one Paul Johnson. He’s the CEO of the primary income engine. I was at Saturday’s game versus BYU and in the 3rd quarter pointed to my wife to look at the coaches on the sideline. Absolutely no emotion, no spark, no fire. Johnson is 0-4 in bowl games, 1-4 versus VT, Miami and soon to be 1-4 versus Dawgs. He has recruited poorly. If I hear him say one more time on this radio show “I’ve coached for 34 years…..”. He is responsible AND accountable!
Sideline Dude
October 30th, 2012
9:38 am
Time for Tech to clean house. The entire athletic program sucks, starting with football.
Flat on the Flats
October 30th, 2012
9:46 am
Tech alum here. I have stuck with the team for many years now. As bad as I hate to say it, the 2 words that come to mind are “Bill Lewis”. Total devestation of a program. It will take at least 5 years after we finally fire Johnson to get the program back to mediocre. I will always love and respect my Institution, but right now, I am sick of our fotball program.
Heat Check: Dogs and Falcons are smokin’; Tech’s a-mopin’ | Mark Bradley
October 30th, 2012
10:01 am
[...] Which means nothing good. Forecast: Dan Radakovich, who hired Johnson, chose this happy moment to take a job as Clemson’s athletic director. This is getting serious, [...]
RWill
October 30th, 2012
10:01 am
@TechRon: Really? Same dumb arguments again. Read my post @10:18pm. Then try and use logic. Please, try. Where to begin?
O’Leary had good defenses? Why did GT lose four games in Joe Hamilton’s senior year? I suggest you go back and look at the statistics from that era again.
Johnson’s idiot offense? The one that is top five in rushing every year? The one that consistently is among the leaders in big plays? (Again, look it up). The offense that averages as many, if not more yards and points per game than any Tech team under Friedgen? The offense that puts up over 400 yards and 30 points a game with a QB that can’t throw? Please, give up the illogical arguments, people!
Standing by and doing nothing about the worst defense? By standing by, do you mean firing TWO defensive coordinators, and now being more hands on on defense?
Lastly, if someone of your OBVIOUS intellect even began to question me, much less CPJ, I’d laugh you out of the room as well.
@Tyler: These are his recruits, yes. The classes rated at least on par with any of Gailey’s classes, even while being under probation. And it hasn’t been a downward spiral. Remember, the 6-7 was with a large portion of upperclassmen being Gailey’s recruits. What does that tell you? And going from 6-7 to 8-5 does not equal a downward spiral. Yes, this year is a downer, granted. But again, read my previous post as to recruiting.
New Idea
October 30th, 2012
10:11 am
UGA now has 800 Engineering students. They will get the funding from the BOR. Where does that leave GT.
We either expand Majors and become a University or go private and become a MIT. I chose the former. We cannot continue to take State taxpayer dollars and be a specialty College with UGA Engineering. Georgia cannot afford this and we only have 50% students from Georgia anyway.
Thank You - Thank You
October 30th, 2012
10:11 am
RWill & lance manion,
Finally some logic and common sense of this blog. I also have been a huge Tech fan for some 50 years plus. I have seen the so-called good time and the so-called bad times in GT football. I happen to TOTALLY agree and think that Coach Johnson will get this turned around. I really am tired of all the negativism on the blogs. We have a great academic institution which thankfully does not prostitute itself academically in the order to recruit football players who probably have no business in a higher learning institute. I love Ga Tech having 2 sons who graduated from Tech and who are highly successful men. “THWG”
Jacket Nation Deflation
October 30th, 2012
10:45 am
Sorry recruiting = sorry for years to come. Tech is usually around 50th (average) in recruiting. We have not had a great duel threat qb since Joe Hamilton. We don’t have a Calvin Johnson or a Deymarious Thomas to throw to. We have a sorry defensive line. We can’t stop the run. We can’t stop the pass. Just about anyone can run up the score on this sorry excuse of a team. As I said earlier, Johnson is hard headed and he isn’t going to change things up. If you are up against a team that your scheme won’t work, then go to plan b. We need an effective passing game.
ARdawg
October 30th, 2012
10:50 am
Jacket Nation
Recruiting will never improve until you get a coach that believes in an offense something other than a triple option. Manboobs has proved it doesn’t work in anything other than short term for victories, doesn’t work at all for the kids today in recruiting. Believe it or not, no matter how nerdy a football player maybe, his hopes and dreams are to play in the NFL. Johnson’s system does nothing to help or encourage that
RWill
October 30th, 2012
11:04 am
@Jacket Nation and ARdawg: Good grief…. Do you two have any reading comprehension? Any logical thoughts?
Answer this: You want GT to run a more conventional offense? Maybe a spread passing system? More like Alabama, UGA, Tennessee, South Carolina, FSU, Clemson? And compete for the same athletes with these school? Talent pool is deep, right?
Except for GT. A significant portion of the talent pool is unaccessable to GT. That means that they’d be competing with these heavyweights for the qualified athletes to run the same type of system. How do you figure that would work? Gailey tried it. Look up his recruiting class rankings. Absolutely not better. O’Leary did it. Had a very similar record to CPJ. When was the last outright conference title before CPJ was here, by the way?
Good lord, I am fair enough to admit the guy has issues. I pointed them out earlier on here. It’s just ridiculous that a supposedly educated fan base makes such dumb and unthinking arguments.
CPJ has proven it doesn’t work long term? You see his record at Navy? Georgia Southern? You don’t consider Vad Lee a dual threat QB? Just wondering if you guys actually think about what you post…
Good Riddance
October 30th, 2012
11:05 am
I feel sorry for Clemson. What did Rado do other than build a new basketball arena? He should have been kicked to the curb two years ago when his mistake put GT on probation. He could have hired a real football coach in Cutcliffe and he blew that by hiring a Div 1AA troll coach. Days will be better for Tech now that Mr Slickster is gone.
RWill
October 30th, 2012
11:15 am
@Jacket Nation and ARdawg: Good grief, do you guys have any reading comprehension? Any logical thoughts?
Answer these questions: You want GT to run a more conventional offense? Maybe a spread passing style? Like UT, UGA, Alabama, South Carolina, Clemson, FSU? You want GT to compete with these heavyweights for the same recruits? Deep talent pool, right?
Except for GT. A significant portion of that talent can’t qualify for GT. That means they’re stuck competing for a portion of that deep talent pool with these local heavyweights. And you want them to run a similar offensive system, too? With lesser talent? How you figure that will work? Gailey tried it and failed. His recruiting rankings were absolutely no better than CPJ. Look it up. Might help your arguments to do that occasionally. O’Leary made it work, to the same amount of success as CPJ has had. Check their records. By the way, when was the last outright conference championship before CPJ was here?
I guess you don’t consider Vad Lee a dual threat QB? Oh, if recruiting was so hard to do with this system, how did he land a four star, highly touted QB like Vad Lee?
And CPJ has proved his system doesn’t work longterm? Look at his time at Navy. Or at Georgia Southern. Again, research before making dumb arguments.
The ridiculous thing is, there are legitimate problems/criticisms of CPJ. I pointed a few out on this board earlier. Look it up. Yet, a supposedly highly educated fanbase conitinually comes on here and makes dumb, illogical arguments.
Tommy
October 30th, 2012
11:27 am
Our family originally had 12 season tickets, starting in the 60’s. Then we cut down to 6 in the 90’s.Got displaced when the gold seats went in and finally dropped all season tickets when GTAA took our points away and required a doantion for every seat. Terrible marketing.
ARdawg
October 30th, 2012
11:52 am
RWill
You should understand I’d be completely happy to watch you bugs lose and squirm under Johnson the rest of your days. You don’t have to believe or even understand it, I’m just telling you. Kids with NFL aspirations are not going play at Tech until you get a coach that runs a more exciting, prolific offense. I ain’t making this kaka up here, it’s the facts of life.
Gailey DID recruit some good athletes and won about as much as any coach can win at GT. Until your university gets behind the football program and stops looking down it’s nose at it, Gailey is as successful as you’ll ever be
PonGT
October 30th, 2012
2:40 pm
They can always hire Bill Curry. He’s a Tech man and is going to be available. Tremendous proter and sales man … Yessir, they should hire Bill Curry.
RWill is a PJ Lickspittle
October 30th, 2012
3:59 pm
PonGT,
Curry is a loser! Was at GT and everywhere else, too. And what is a “proter”?
RWill
October 30th, 2012
6:35 pm
Ok ARdawg, you’re obviously not a fan. You’re obviously not good with reading comprehension, either. You keep making the same tired points, without facts. Look at the recruiting rankings for GT under Gailey and Johnson. CPJ recruits just as well, if not better. That’s the facts of life. Look it up. Not many offenses around that are as prolific as CPJ’s. I’ll concede the exciting part, even though big plays, whether running or passing can be exciting.
To say Gailey won as much as any coach can at GT is laughable. Of the last three coaches, he is the only one not to win at least a share of a conference title. He’s also the only one of the last three to not beat UGA. (Maybe that’s why you like him?) He lost a minimum of five games every year. CPJ has had two years already where he lost less than that. Gailey only won more than seven once. CPJ has won 8 or more three times. Tell me again how Gailey is the better, more successful coach? And please, use some facts. I know that’s difficult for you people.
BS Patrol
October 30th, 2012
8:05 pm
There is nothing wrong with the TO, but you MUST have a QB that can run it (the football & the TO) and pass decently. Right now I don’t know if tech has a Qb that can do either. Even this combo couldn’t overcome our defensive handicap.
As for Rad,he was a joke. How could tech do worse?
William Casey
October 30th, 2012
11:31 pm
RWILL is right. GT defense was not good in the late ’90’s. Perhaps, slightly better than now but not much. GT seemed to be on the rise then for one reason: JOE HAMILTON was a magnificent QB. What would the Jackets record in 2012 be with Joe at QB? 7-1 at worst. The sky is not falling. Solve the problem!
ACC M5: 10.31.12 EditionRush The Court | Rush The Court
October 31st, 2012
8:01 am
[...] Atlanta Journal-Constitution: It’s safe to say Mark Bradley is not impressed by the current state of Georgia Tech‘s athletic program. Bradley points out that the biggest problem facing Georgia Tech right now is generating excitement around the program, so athletic director Dan Radakovich’s successor should really focus on selling the program instead of just being a “money man.” While Bradley criticizes the Yellow Jacket program as a whole, he clearly places significant blame on Radakovich for his role in the growing irrelevance of its athletics. Who Georgia Tech picks to replace Radakovich will be very important going forward if Brian Gregory wants to get his basketball program back on track. [...]
Hatfieldgeoff
November 1st, 2012
10:12 am
And, it appears the rumours of Paul Johnson being a genius were greatly exagerated…
DawginNY
November 4th, 2012
8:28 am
As a Georgia fan, I hope Tech does fire Paul Johnson for his unconventional offense. I mean they are only 4th in the nation in rushing this year. As Tech fans are quick to remind everyone, they have a recruiting problem due to their academic standards and narrow curriculum. Having an offensive scheme that most defenses see only once a year levels the playing field. The problem is that it’s hard to find a good defensive coordinator. I suggest Greg Hudson, LB coach at FSU. He was previously the DC at ECU under Skip Holtz.
Heat Check: Falcons and Bulldogs and Hawks, oh my!!! | Mark Bradley
November 5th, 2012
9:07 am
[...] to a 21-point thrashing by Middle Tennessee to the dismissal of defensive coordinator Al Groh to the departure of AD Dan Radakovich to … the Orange Bowl? [...]
Heat Check: Falcons and Bulldogs and Hawks, oh my!!! | Egypt
November 5th, 2012
9:55 am
[...] to a 21-point thrashing by Middle Tennessee to the dismissal of defensive coordinator Al Groh to the departure of AD Dan Radakovich to … the Orange Bowl? [...]