AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2007 > November > 28
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tech needs style, but it also needs substance
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just one man’s opinion:
1. Georgia Tech needs sizzle, but it also needs the steak: After his press conference on Monday, it’s clear that AD Dan Radakovich wants some excitement in his new head coach. That’s fine and understandable as he tries to market Georgia Tech football to a wider audience. But he’s not hiring a used car salesman. He’s hiring a head football coach.
Radakovich needs somebody who can do more than entertain boosters and generate money. Hey, Ed Orgeron was entertaining and you saw how well that worked out. Georgia Tech needs a ball coach who can recruit and develop quarterbacks, among other things. Style will get you through the press conference and the first round of booster meetings. Then substance becomes a lot more important.
2. Tech needs to be careful with Jon Tenuta: If the Tech defensive coordinator is not the next head coach, then who is hired is extremely important if the school wants to keep Tenuta. It’s just my opinion, but I don’t see Tenuta sticking around if Georgia Tech hires an assistant from another school instead of a proven head coach. If Tech wanted to hire a top assistant, why wouldn’t they hire him?
3. The ACC championship game will be moving to Charlotte: If they don’t have a sellout this Saturday with Boston College and Virginia Tech in Jacksonville, look for the ACC to make an announcement that the game will be moving. There is tremendous pressure on the ACC office to at least try the game in Charlotte if attendance sags for the second straight year. Look for the game to rotate among several cities including Charlotte, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Orlando. The ACC would love to have its game in Atlanta, but the city will do nothing to strain its relationship with the SEC.
4. Arkansas football is in trouble: Houston Nutt got fed up with parts of the Hog fan base who think Arkansas is Florida and believe that the transfer of a teenage quarterback is grounds for dismissal. So, after the beating the No. 1 team the nation with a player (Darren McFadden) who may win the Heisman Trophy, Nutt took a big chunk of Arkansas’s money and headed off to Ole Miss, where he will take the players recruited by Orgeron and will be successful sooner rather than later. Who will Arkansas hire? If it’s Mike Leach from Texas Tech, that will be fun. Arkansas may not win a lot of games, but at least those fans will finally get the wide open offense they so desperately want.
5. Ditto for Southern Mississippi: Jeff Bower, a Roswell native, was the head coach at Southern Mississippi for 17 years. He had 14 straight winning seasons and has taken the Golden Eagles to bowls 10 of the last 11 years. He’s had chances to leave but stuck with Southern Miss. And Monday he was forced out. The fan base was supposedly splintered and wanted someone new. Winning consistently at that level of football is not easy. Those Southern Miss fans will get something new and they probably won’t like it.
Services »
