AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2005 > November > 15 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USTuesday Countdown: Sticking with Chan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
10: Here’s a tip for all of your budding athletic directors: When you plan to give a head coach a contract extension, always do it before the team might get flattened in its final two games, never after.
9: See, as unpopular as Dave Braine’s decision to give Chan Gailey a new deal might be with some Tech fans, it figures to be even more unpopular after the Miami and Georgia games. So, really, it was a brilliant move. Sort of.
8: OK, maybe not so brilliant. Gailey does deserve some credit for beating up Auburn, a 6-2 start and the Jackets cracking the top 25, even if for only five minutes. But this all goes to what a program aspires to be. If Braine and Tech aspire to have a seven-win football team every season, then they’ve got their man.
7: But is that what you want? I’ve always operated under the belief that teams should try to win championships. Does Chan Gailey point you in that direction? In year four, the answer is still no.
6: This stat might come off as a defense of Gailey, but it shouldn’t. It’s just an illustration of the win-now times: He has the third-best winning percentage (.574) of any coach in Georgia Tech history. The only two ahead of him: Bobby Dodd (.714) and George O’Leary (.609).
5: If Reggie Brown, from Georgia, had any chance of making people in Philadelphia forget Terrell Owens, it disappeared Monday night when he dropped that pass. But he’ll certainly make them remember Reggie Brown.
4: It was bad enough when Ralph Nader came out saying that Owens has been wronged. Now it’s Jesse Jackson. Hey, here’s an idea: Maybe the two can go buy an NFL franchise and sign T.O. and all of the other poor and oppressed players in the world. Then let’s see how you react when Owens rips your quarterback and your franchise on national TV.
3: The lottery has reached $310 million. There’s an outside chance this will be the final Tuesday Countdown.
2: I’m guessing this will come down to dollars and Rafael Furcal is a goner. That’s fine. But given that he hasn’t had the most stable life away from baseball, he may want to take that into consideration before he decides to leave the Braves and Bobby Cox and goes to work for the Mets or Cubs.
1: Over/under on the first Hawks win anybody? Thursday? Friday? December? The winner gets 2 free tickets to a game. Second place gets 4 tickets. (Sorry. I still feel that occasional pull to the cheap joke.)
Permalink | Comments (12) | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Quick Hit
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By doc
November 15, 2005 05:14 PM | Link to this
it is too soon to tell what the program will turn into even for you to surmis at this point jeff though you have been a good college prognoticator this year last week excluded. must have gotten you mad. there have been many programs built in a similar manner for the first few years to come into prominance. one is beemer’s program at at va tech. we arent going backwards in a very challanging conference that doesnt have an ark., ms., ms.state, vandy, or kentucky, to choose from as “opponents”now that s.c. is off the list. from what i see duke is the only team that would fit in that league.
another interesting topic concerns o’leary getting his team into position to play for the conf usa title game if they have one, the amazing thing is it will be against coach price at utep of sports illustrated fame. will they call it the “integrity” cup?
By doc
November 15, 2005 05:17 PM | Link to this
btw after seeing farve chew up the falcons with quick throws and mcnabb throw it away monday night, maybe t.o. was right. sadly what t.o. needs to learn is that it sometimes is better to be happy than right.
By Michael
November 15, 2005 06:37 PM | Link to this
1) I’m wagering the Georgia men’s bball team will win a game in the United States (not the Virgin Islands tourney) before the Hawks win one. Eleven days until UGA takes on Western Kentucky with FAMU and Savannah State within a week after that. Any takers?
2) I’m betting the UGA women’s team wins more games than the Hawks. Shoot, I’ll bet the GT women’s team does.
3) UGA gives their football coach a big raise and extension after winning the Sugar bowl and finishing 13-1 in his second year. Tech does it after losing to Virginia. Word.
By Jeremy
November 15, 2005 09:18 PM | Link to this
Doc. Ark, Ms, Ms.state, Vandy, or Kentucky would beat half the teams in the acc. Wake up!
By doc
November 15, 2005 10:57 PM | Link to this
jeremy, you seem to be living in the past. they might be able to compete but NOT beat consistently. but how will we ever know as they stay in the safety of the sec or playing those stalwart teams like like u of la monroe. i remember a time when the rebs and dogs of ms stste would play the eagles of southern miss but that team got too tough for them for a year in and year out for a stand down and they found it hurt their recruiting. check your data before you imply i am not awake.
now didnt ms state lose to little ole houston this year? everything is changing including the power base of the sec. are you in denial?
By Shakespeare
November 16, 2005 03:33 AM | Link to this
Doc (doc), you are lowering the IQ of everyone with your postings. Please stop the insanity, or get someone who at least passed the 4th grade to proof-read and edit your comments. Your sentences run-on longer than Jesse Owens ever did.
By wes
November 16, 2005 10:23 AM | Link to this
Gailey’s gone to 3 bowl games so far…about to be his 4th in a row. He’s done that with A.J. Suggs (worst QB in Tech history in my opinion)and a 5’ 9” Reggie Ball. Hey, at least RB can run, but c’mon. There’s no mistaking these leaders of Tech’s offense for NFL-caliber quarterbacks. Let’s see how Chan does with a pro-style QB in a few years…if he can recruit one.
By Michael Dean
November 16, 2005 10:52 AM | Link to this
Lood again at the records of other Tech coaches through their first 4 seasons. What if Tech smartens up and hires an O.C.? What if appropriate academic programs for athletes are adapted? What if another Joe Hamilton arrives on the scene? What if the powers that be begin looking more closely at workable solutions?
By brewerfaninATL
November 16, 2005 12:53 PM | Link to this
Michael, dude, UGA basketball absolutely SUCKS! I think even the Hawks will win one before the Dogs do.
By Spanky
November 16, 2005 03:00 PM | Link to this
brewerfaninATL,..Man, it’s a toss-up! It’s kinda hard to top that deep of a grave,that both the Hawks and the Bball Dawgs buried! I just hope that both have better seasons than last year! Either way,..bring a book!
By jackets fan
November 16, 2005 03:59 PM | Link to this
Note for Jeremy: Auburn can’t even beat half the teams in the ACC. WORD.
Another note for Jeremy: Vanderbilt took Florida to overtime. Florida beat UGA. Auburn beat UGA. Tech beat Auburn. Somehow your own argument beats you. You must be from the UGA debate team. WORD.
Note for Michael: Gailey got an extention. Not a big raise. WORD.
Another note for Michael: Will UGA take back some of Richt’s money when they lose to Tech next week? WORD.
Note for everybody: The AJC interviewed some prospective recruits of Tech and all were pleased to hear of Gailey’s extention and the continutity it preserves. I don’t recall any interviews of UGA recruits after Richt’s extention. But that may be because they don’t allow reporters at juvenile prison. What’s the word I’m looking for here? Oh yeah. WORD.
Note to the people who insisted trading 1st round picks and giving tens of millions of dollars to Joe Johnson was a good idea: How’s that working out for you? At this rate the Hawks would be the favorite to win the lottery if they hadn’t traded the pick away. But just like real life, someone else always wins the lottery.
By Jeremy
November 17, 2005 07:09 PM | Link to this
Doc, The SEC is down this year. It is the weakest it has been in 20 or 30 years and yet it is STILL THE TOUGHEST CONFERENCE. I will grant it is not the toughest conference by as wide a margin as it usually is but it it still the toughest. The acc has Miami and Virginia Tech. Boston College is decent. FSU is way down and would be lucking to win 6 games if they played in the SEC and they still won a division title. What a joke. Tech is awful and is 6-3 enough said. Doc I know you wish the acc was tough but it is not. It is tougher than the Big East and the Big 12 this year but that is not saying much. Although I should not be suprised by the comments I see in this blog I am because I can’t figure out why people enjoy watching a sport they know nothing about.